Photo: Sergey Zaykov/Shutterstock; Twitter via Canva Pro
He could just call an exterminator like a normal person... but this is way cuter.
By John Sundholm — Written on Feb 16, 2023
If you've ever had a mouse problem in your house or apartment, you know how difficult it can be to get rid of the wily little guys.
Most of us have had the experience of putting out mouse traps with cheese or peanut butter only to awaken to find the snack successfully retrieved and the mouse still roaming free.
And as any exterminator will tell you — if you've got one mouse, you'll soon have several mice, so finding a solution that works is vital.
But while mouse traps may not be 100% reliable, there is one solution that usually is — a cat.
That gave one woman's landlord an unorthodox — but kind of genius — idea.
When a woman on Twitter reported a mouse problem to a landlord, he hired a cat to come in and hunt them.
Writer Kate Mooney posted her interaction between her landlord and a neighbor about their mutual mouse problem on Twitter — it instantly went viral.
Most of us would expect to get a response along the lines of, "Great, I'll call an exterminator," but Mooney and her neighbor instead got a question that seems right out of an "SNL" sketch — "Do either of you have access to a cat?"
When Mooney and her neighbor replied in the negative, he replied with an even more ridiculous question.
"Hmm are you against a cat coming in for a few weeks?"
What? As, like, a freelancer? What is this dude on about?!
The landlord explained that not only do cats hunt and eat mice, but mice are afraid of the scents cats leave behind.
"Cats catch mice and the smell of a cat deters mice from ever coming back," he wrote — which is fascinating. Nature really has thought of everything!
Now we know what you're thinking. "Oh my God, just call an exterminator!"
Photo credit: @yatinbrooklyn/Twitter
Don't worry, the landlord did plan to call a professional.
He just wanted to hire a very cute and fluffy sort of assistant exterminator, if you will.
As he put it in his response to Mooney, "Let pest guy do his thing roll up sleeves and throw away any mice caught in traps. And I’ll research a cat."
We're certainly no experts at pest control over here at YourTango, but this... kind of sounds like a good idea?
The landlord found a cat named Fat Bast--d, who he hired to be a 'mouser.'
Man, the cat-for-hire industry works fast. Who knew?
Must be a challenging job market these days for freelance cats — especially ones named Fat Bast--d.
Photo credit: @yatinbrooklyn/Twitter
Anyway, naturally, Mooney and her neighbor had some questions about this arrangement—like who's gonna clean up after it? And feed it?
Their landlord had solutions for this, too.
Photo credit: @yatinbrooklyn/Twitter
He had someone on hand to take care of the litter box, and as for who would feed Fat Bastard?
"He's gonna eat mice!" he excitedly wrote to Mooney and her neighbor.
He then confirmed that the plan was in place — after being a stand-up guy and correcting himself for misgendering Fat Bast--d.
Cat owners commented on Twitter that the landlord's 'mouser' cat solution actually works — and people loved the idea.
Many were tickled by the hilarity of the whole thing.
"'I'll research a cat' is sending me," one user wrote, while another said, "Wait. Are we supposed to feel outrage or delight? (I am trending towards delight.)"
But others felt it the landlord's plan was far more than just whimsical and ever so slightly absurd.
When one Twitter user insisted the landlord's plan was "absolutely not going to work," another pushed back with his own successful experience with his own cat.
Others pointed out that even the British Prime Minister's residence 10 Downing Street has had a "Chief Mouser," Larry the Cat, since 2011.
Larry has outlasted five Prime Ministers in that time and become a celebrity in his own right over the years, with his own Twitter account and everything.
In the end, even Mooney herself was eventually on board with the whole "mouser" plan and seems to have agreed to take on Fat Bast--d.
We wish Fat Bast--d the best of luck in her new career and hope she can be a pawsitive (sorry) inspiration to felines everywhere.
As one Twitter user put it, "we love a working woman!"
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.