Ruby the Quilter

I agree with dunster - just put baste another piece to it. I do that all the time to use up pieces. Once it is finished it doesn't show.

nstitches4u

So sorry that happened to your quilt. My recommendation is ---Get a cat!

earlori7

There is also a product you can buy by the yard. I am pretty sure it is called French Fuse. I ask one time at Hancock's if they had the batting tape, but they were out of it. One of the ladies sold me the French Fuse. It is on a bolt and you can cut the size of strips you want. I used it to piece two pieces of batting together. It worked great. Was less expensive than the strips and was so thin that there was no trouble quilting through the area I fused. Those mice can be destructive little buggers.

auntpiggylpn

I was going to suggest this very thing!!!

annpryor

Sound like you need a fur baby!

onaemtnest

Eww...I love some proverbs
"It is better to feed one cat than many mice."
"When the cat's away the mice will play"
"A Cat is a Lion to a mouse."
"Mice won't dance in a cat's doorway."

We too live with a pasture and we do not have mice, neighbors on either side, no cats own these neighbors and they have mouse problems. Our two indoor cats patrol house and garage where bird seed, is stored. Kip-purr and Girlie keep our home rodent free. Our Miniature Wire haired Dachshund catches mice and voles (eww inserted here) in the garden area...he's a terrific outside mouser. It is said that if mice enter into an area and sense that cat's are there they move on...in our experience that certainly seems to be the case.

There is one thing that you can be certain of, if you see one mouse and or droppings there are many mice in the area or will be within 3 weeks. One mouse gestates in 17-21 days giving birth from 3-14 per litter. Females can breed @ 5 weeks, males the same. Having 5-10 litters a year....

Isn't it interesting, at least to me....that there is now gray area when it comes to cats. It seems either people like/love cats or they hate them. I understand allergies, I also understand generalities but that has been my observation.

Mice dart across open floors...their highway's are along baseboards....place some traps along their highway's and where there is evidence of where they party. I would suspect that you already have a population considering the damage done in such a short time.

Like my Mom used to say it's no shame to have a mouse, it's a tragedy to provide a home for them. So your doing good girlfriend in getting busy to carry those buggers out in body bags. However since you've previously had a cat...it would be wonderful to provide another kitty a loving home and it will repay you with keeping your home free of these filthy rodents.

SueSew

Onalee, thank you for that nice post about the cats and mice. I had no idea about the breeding habits. I am sending someone brave - the DH - to the basement to find that nice white fluffy batting which they are using for nesting and destroy the nests. The traps I put out they laughed at, and made off the the bits of batting stuck on them!
Thanks to everyone encouraging me to get a cat. Every time I go by the animal shelter (right on the way to Joann's!!!) I have to try not to pull in. Maybe I should give in and bring one home.

feline fanatic

I have to agree. That seems an awful lot of damage, done very quickly for one little mouse. I would think you either have something bigger like rat or squirrel or a whole lot of mice. Either way, I would be on the phone with an exterminator darn quick as any of those can do a whole lot more damage than a bit of torn batting, like chewing wires which will short and cause electrical fire.

Not only that but you may wish to inspect your stash of batting, fabrics and such for more evidence of raiding and infestation. The last thing you want is any of these rodents trying to make a nest in your home and that certainly looks like what is on their mind. I'd be setting out poison and/or traps.

onaemtnest

Oh you are so welcome SueSew!!!! I'm grinning for ear to ear to think you are considering saving a kitty and giving it a Forever Home.... Can I be it's God Mother???? Please post pictures of your new family member if you decide as a family that you can go to JoAnn's AND pull into the animal shelter on your way home, bringing home a wonderful addition to your life!!!!!

IshtarsMom

Have read the board for months but haven't commented before..Much enjoyment and knowledge gained from here.

For the first time in the 13 years we have lived here in the Missouri boonies we had a problem...We have all sorts of wildlife running around...some annoyances but no serious damage..until this year when we got in the car to go for our monthly shopping trip and our car wouldn't start...DH looked under the hood to find several wires had been eaten...made it to the dealership and they were able to patch the wires without having to replace the wiring harness...still cost a bundle...Did it again but DH got a look at the critter which was/is a packrat....What to do???? can't keep having it fixed..ended up spending over $200. Out of the blue..where it came from I don't know...I thought of making mothball bags to put in different places in the engine compartment...used a dozen 6 in squares of muslin folded in half,about 12 mothballs in each and sewed them up..distributed them next to wiring and that cured the problem ...just have to remember to take them out before we go and put them back...we forgot once and lost a sparkplug wire..luckily we had extra ones for just in case. No odor inside the car from using them....

No problems in the house as we have 5 adopted cats..3 that people have turned out and wandered up....one of which was 15 minutes pregnant when she came in LOL ..63 days later we had a litter and kept 2 we just couldn't part with...we have had to place many, many more that we couldn't afford to keep with Haven of the Ozarks. However can't say the cat would be in the middle of the laid out quilt...matter of fact would guarantee it...but if it comes to a choice...I'll take the cat over the mouse any day....