I've got rid of my mice using peanut-butter traps and now keep them away using smells they don't like. I've found that they absolutely scurry from the smell of any kind of mint.You oughta get ten cats. Any mouse problems will be quite temporary.
By-the-way cats probably hate the smell of mint, citrus, rosemary, thyme, banana, mustard and eucalyptus. These smells might activate some strange behavior from them, such as an urge to escape out the door, possibly leave you forever and never write. 9 Smells That Cats HATE - Excited Cats