Night of the Mouse

It was about 11pm. Leanna was asleep, and I was watching TV. A mouse scurried across the floor, having (I later ascertained) come in through a crack under the garage door. Isis, who had been asleep, instantly awoke when the sound of the scurry reached her ears. She was out of bed, off the table, and onto the floor (and the mouse) in a flash. A minute of scrambling around boxes, furniture, and other clutter, and she had the mouse properly in hand (well...) and was scratching at the back door. Leanna had long since trained Isis that mice could be played with outdoors, but not indoors. Isis left, with her mouse, but before I could close the back door, Ramses had joined her, demanding to be given the mouse. Not willing to share, Isis darted to the back corner of the yard into the darkness. Ramses followed at a dawdle, knowing that in the cat-proof fence, Isis could not stay away for long. It was only two minutes later that I heard a scream from the bedroom (where a cat door was installed in the window). Ramses had returned, mouse in hand (well...) and was proudly displaying "his" kill for Leanna. By the time I got there, Isis was filing a protest over ownership of the mouse. With a bit of drama and effort, both cats and the mouse were back outside a moment later, and the cat door was firmly closed. Two hours later, the cats asked for (and were given) admission through the back door (the mouse was nowhere to be seen) and the cat door reopened in preparation for the dawn patrol a few hours hence.