If my cat actually ate the things, I'd be impressed. Instead, being a fully satiated indoor house cat she spends hours and hours "playing" with them, and then comes to us crying when they don't move anymore.

They definitely have a predator psyche.

Still, living in the country in an older home we tried for years to stay on top of our mouse problem. There's no way we could seal up all the holes and accesses here.

Once we got the cat, it was an instant transformation. A couple times a year the mice come in from outside looking for shelter and the cat has a week of entertainment and then we're mouse free.

There's absolutely a movement for people to keep house cats inside because they maul grounded bats and other small animals they don't intend to eat. They're also at risk of getting hit by cars, eaten by coyotes, etc.

Coming from a less-than-responsible owner, based on my experience with a well-fed housecat, the cat will definitely make them suffer until they succomb to exhaustion which will take a few minutes. Once playtime is over death is pretty fast, either crushing the windpipe or a canine slipped between the cervical vertebrae. That's still loads better than the glue trap where death is at least hours away after exhaustion sets in.

I know you put /s, but I just want to say that if I were a mouse I would much prefer being eaten alive.