Not a chance, Amos!

In its normal context, it would indeed be "bated breath," but in this context (breath smelling like cheese in order to lure Mickey from his hole), "baited" seemed the more precise word.

This illustrates a common problem when trying to commit a pun in written form:   different spellings of the crucial word. Whereas, if it were just spoken, no problem.

I did agonize over the spelling for some time before choosing that one.

Don (careful attention to detail) Firth