There's a mouse in the house

IT may sound like a cheesy tale but for one lucky mouse, being rescued from the brink of death has led to a new life of luxury.

When Greta Balsom discovered her pet cat Pussum had caught a baby woodmouse and brought it indoors she decided to give it a permanent home.

And three years later, the now adult mouse is enjoying a healthy, happy and unusually long life.

"I had the day off from work, so I was at home when the cat caught the mouse and brought it in," said Mrs Balsom, who lives in Needham Market.

"I could see it was still alive so I grabbed the cat and the mouse ran under a chair. It was a tiny little thing no bigger than a 10p.

"When we got it out I decided to give it a chance and made a cage for it with an old fish tank."

Now called Skittlemouse, due to her tendency to run around the cage, the mouse has been part of the Balsom family for so long she has lived an unusually long time for a woodmouse. In the wild they usually live for around a year, but Skittlemouse has already celebrated her third birthday.

"I'm frightened to let her go because I would forever worry that an owl or another cat had caught her," said Mrs Balsom

"I mostly feed her rat food and little amounts of anything else I think she might like that doesn't harm her. She has little bits of lettuce, tomato, raisins, she eats everything up and is very healthy."

Skittlemouse has certainly proved herself to be a survivor, and has escaped the clutches of Pussum twice.

"She escaped once and I thought the cat had got her, we searched everywhere and after a while we found she had made a nest in my daughter's riding helmet.

"I don't know whether you could call her tame, because she has always been quite skittish, but she comes to the front of the cage when you say her name, but then maybe she just knows food has arrived.

"People might think I'm an oddball but there is so much cruelty in the world that if I can do one little thing then I will."