Deja-vu

Note: time of conversation is 10 minutes after J is supposed to have left for the airport for a conference. Sound familiar much?

johngnassi (10:19): Oh shit... it ran from under the couch into the kitchen. Cats going nuts.
johngnassi (10:19): I didn't get a good look at it because there were too many CATS in the way.
johngnassi (10:22): Couldn't see it or hear it over all the scrabbling, except dark fur.
johngnassi (10:23): Weasley guarding under back stairs...
johngnassi (10:23): Tijgetje still guarding the couch... (sigh)
[...]
johngnassi (10:31): Shit, something brown under couch too!
johngnassi (10:31): and lots of junk... you will have to take the whole thing apart - I don't have time.

... to be continued ...

Relief. Mostly.

There were no dead animals in or near the house, which is both good and bad. I guess this is one of th few times I did wish for dead critters, so we wouldn't have to hunt. At least the cats weren't injured either, which I had been worried about.
We looked around, but saw no signs of any mice or rats, but the cats were obviously still in hunting-mode. Or at least Weasley. So it was time to dismantle the couch and get whatever was now living in it out. We had been planning to throw it out anyway, since it was now down to the bare wood in places. We armed ourselves with sturdy gardening gloves, a long-poled (!) shovel, and a big metal flashlight. You never know!

After removing everything from on and around the couch, opening the front door with a clear pathway (hint, hint!) we then stared taking the pillows off the couch. Veeery carefully, because we still didn't know what was in there. Finally a face poked out - it looked like either an adult mouse or a baby rat. Hard to tell from just a face.
We tilted the couch forward, so the bottom was facing the nice open door. But the damn thing made a run for it, and scurried under or behind the barrister bookshelf by the kitchen door. Of course, now we can't get it - there's a big empty space underneath. Will have to rely on the cats getting it.

The couch was declared a total loss. The creature(s) had obviously tried to make a nest in there. Plus, I'd completely had it with the damn thing. out, Out, OUT! Since we didn't have to worry about keeping it intact, we just basically dragged it out of the house, into the driveway. Done. Good riddance. Did I mention yet I wanted it out anyway? :)
We opened it up (it had a fold-out bed in it) to see if creature #2 was still in there, but no luck. Hopefully it had skittered into the street or garden as we hauled the couch out. Then again, maybe it's still hiding inside somewhere. No way to find out. Then again, I'm a hell of a lot less worried, now that I saw the first mouse. Pretty sure it was a mouse. hard to judge by just the face and the butt, since that's all I saw of it, in 2 glimpses. Oh well.

Now that the worst of the disaster was done, we cleaned up the rat's nest (!) that was where the couch had been. Nerf-darts, coasters, hair-ties, pencils, domino-piece, pieces of Karin's doctor set, half a bar of chocolate. Vacuumed, and looks 200% better now. Maybe tomorrow we'll feel up to hauling the old couch from the basement, to see what state that one is in. I strongly suspect not much better, after 4 1/2 years buried there. If it's dead (or mouse-infested) it goes the same route as the first one.