Dan'l Boone killed a bar

Me?  I killed a mouse.  Set a trap, waited, killed him last night.

Clever mouse.  He'd already eaten the peanut butter I'd put on the trap without incident.  Likewise the pepper jack cheese (I had worried it would be too hot).  Finally I really wedged a goober of rye breat (seeded) into the trigger mechanism.  Woke up this morning ... voila!

Being a Buddhist, however, this troubles me.  We respect life in all its forms and crushing that little mouse resonates with me.  I should buy a cat and let the cat kill the mice.

A couple of thoughts?
Sure.
First, you're not a Buddhist.
Okay.  Where are you going with this?
Nowhere.  Just stating the fact that you are a lapsed Catholic, not a Buddhist.
Okay.
Second, if you were a Buddhist, buy the cat and letting him kill the mice wouldn't let you off the hook.  It's like those JPMorgan guys sitting back and saying (to eachother), "Manomanoman, Madoff must be doing something illegal to generate that level of profit that consistently" but saying nothing to the larger world.
Meaning?
Meaning guilty!  As charged!  Or as they should be charged.

Me?  I'm making some lentil soup.  Only one chicken killed ... and not by me.