While I was out, the maintenance guy put down traps for a mouse that’s been poking around the birds’ cage lately. When I came back, the mouse was already caught.

But my poor parrots! It was dead in a trap next to the cage, and they were huddled up in the corner making flock alarm noises and staring at it. My poor quaker was traumatized for most of an hour. She couldn’t stop staring at the spot where it had died. She would try to pay attention to me, but then she’d turn and kind of freeze, staring wide-eyed, and then visibly shake herself out of it a minute or so later and turn back to me for pets.

She’s feeling better now, but I feel so bad.