This is a followup to El Ratón Número Dos. There have been a couple of wild mice regularly coming into my house for the past few weeks. Last week I finally caught one in a garbage receptacle. I had taken the trash out the night before and not replaced the bag, so when it jumped it expecting to find food, it went straight to the bottom and was unable to jump out. I caught it and placed it in the cage with the domesticated mouse. As is normal with wild mice, it panicked and went crazy for awhile trying to escape. Then it cowered in a corner. The next morning it was dead. This has never happened before. It looked to be a young healthy mouse, but apparently the stress of being placed in a cage (with food, fresh water, and a friendly companion) was too much for it. It really is a shame, and there was no way it could have survived if I had released it outside in the cold in an unfamiliar location (miles from my home so it couldn't come back).
The next morning I found the second one trapped in the same way as the first. It had probably been searching for its companion in their usual hangouts. I took it and placed it in the cage. (There really is nothing else I can do in the winter.) It also went into a panic, but, unlike the first, it pushed its way through the bars and escaped. It accomplished this in less than two minutes. (I find this annoying, since the cage is specifically designed for holding mice.) It made a run for it and presumably left the house, since there have been no signs of mouse activity since. This is further evidence that trying to keep wild mice in captivity may be overly cruel. They don't seem to understand that I am trying to help them.