Mice

We are over run by mice. At first we saw droppings in my kitchen drawers. Then we saw them on the kitchen counters. Then we saw several mice dash across the living room floor when we were cuddled up in the dark watching TV. I upped my bleaching and cleaning, but it wasn't working. Michael put out traps and caught a few, but obviously not enough.
I am terrified of the mice. I can't help it. When I see one, I begin screaming and then I find myself perched up on the nearest counter top.
We have had many mishaps as we have fought the mice. Once Michael forgot to unbait the traps before he left for work and one was snapped right at my feet while I was making the kids breakfast. The poor little thing was screaming his little mouse lungs out and I was mortified. I had to call Uncle Larry to remove it.
Then our Maltese, Ellie found one of the baits and ate it and I had to take her to the emergency vet on a Saturday night where they dosed her with ipecac, charcoal and Vitamin K and charged $215.
And then today I went over to pantry to get the kids an after school snack and when I opened the door a mouse leapt off one of the top shelves directly at me. It flew the air, landed on the ground and dashed for under the wine rack. I found myself screaming bloody murder on top of the dryer and I refused to come down for some time.
I've had it! We are either buying a cat or paying several hundred dollars for the exterminator to come and rid us of them. I'm trying to decide right now which choice is an easier pill to swallow.
The kids and I pulled all the food out of the pantry this afternoon, threw away anything that looked compromised, bleached the pantry and put everything in new containers before returning it to the pantry.
Now every time I hear a rustle or see a shadow I panic. The kids are convinced it's Ralph S. Mouse and want to find his hole and feed it.