Are you having trouble with your mouse?
Just to be clear, I’m talking about your computer mouse, not the live varmints or the ones that your cat brought you.
I know it might sound stupid, but just humor me, the first thing to do is to reboot the computer.
If rebooting didn’t solve the problem, and if you have a PS2 mouse (the round connector), shut the PC down then unplug the mouse and plug it back in. If you try to unplug and plug in the mouse with the PC running you have a chance of causing the motherboard to fail by trying to “hot plug” a PS2 connector. The chances are slim, but it has happened. Shut the computer down, check the connector for bent pins and the cable for damage; sometimes house pets like to chew on cables. Replace the mouse if it’s looking bad.
If it’s a wireless mouse with a USB adapter, check or replace the battery in the mouse; make sure that the + and – ends of the battery are oriented correctly. Someone had me drive out to their house and that was the whole problem; and yes, they needed to pay me for my time. As long as I was there I did a tuneup, but still, they felt kind of dumb.
Then make sure that the USB adapter is inserted into the PC or laptop.
If it’s still not working, look for a Connect button to push on the mouse.
If it’s still not working, try a different mouse with a USB connector.
If you have a USB mouse you can unplug it from the PC and plug it in again or maybe plug it into a different USB port. The computer will go thru the process of installing the driver software which takes a minute or so.
If it’s the real old kind with the ball, and it works but is jumpy, you can open the bottom cover around the ball and clean out the dust.
It is possible that the mouse has failed; that is rare, but it does happen.
I have also seen rare cases where plugging in a mouse causes real strange problems to occur. In that case, it doesn’t make any sense to spend time trying to solve the problem. Replace the mouse. Use the old one to entertain a cat.
If you have trouble with live mice, bring in a rat snake, ball python, or maybe a cat. Rat snakes are constrictors, so they are not poisonous and actually make great pets. Although, it’s important to keep them in a properly setup herptile terrarium. There are many great websites for ideas. One of the best is
http://house-of-reptiles.com/
in Tigard Oregon. Stop by their store for an up-close look at their many fascinating herp’s.