https://moelane.com/tag/the-house/
The first few days, the animals disappeared quickly, always when I was not actually looking at them. But the sixteenth mouse did not vanish immediately; it managed to stay in its cage for a good six hours before the inevitable happened. The seventeenth through twentieth mice had about the same longevity; starting with the twenty-first and twenty-second ones, I acquired a webcam and another cage in order to film one mouse while the other one was left out as a, well, offering.
The mouse being viewed lasted for a full two days, even when there were no other mice available. This relieved me a bit, because it implied that whatever was going on in the house could possibly be defended against, if necessary. Not that there were any indications that something in the house would eat people, but then again I was feeding it regularly. It would be highly ironic if I was feeding up something that might want to snack on me, eventually.
Speaking of which: once I was reasonably certain that the webcam defense would work I turned it off. It had been two days, and whatever it was in the house that was feeding on the mice probably felt at least a little peckish at that point. I am not a monster.
Schroedinger’s Mouse! When observed it exists, and when not observed it doesn’t! (Yes, I know it’s going to be more esoteric than that)