mouse?

So, while at a pet store a couple of days ago, my 3 year old son decides he wants a mouse. My wife repeatedly tells him no, but he's got this idea so completely stuck in his head that he was wandering around the house telling anyone and everyone about HIS mouse, and how he was going to name it after his best friend from pre-school, and how he'd pet it, and hold it.

For my older sons 9th birthday he got 2 mice, both of whom died within a few months, I believe from sheer terror. The cats would sit and stare all day long.

I remember one time walking down the hall and both cats (we had 2 at the time) were sitting next to my sons dresser, just staring. Figuring they found a bug or something, I pulled the dresser away from the wall. Our huntress, Cinnamon, dashed in, struggled for half a second, and came out, with a little pink tail dangling from her mouth. I was able to rescue the mouse, and put it back in its cage (my son had decided he didn't like part of the cage, so he threw the part away -- leaving a gaping hole in the cage).

Now, that was a 9 year old. My *3* year old wants one, and to top it all off, we now have 3 cats. The answer was an adamant NO. I sat him down and explained why he couldn't have a mouse, and he seemed okay with it.

We got him sea monkeys instead, and he seems pretty happy with them :)