Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Cat Cravings

I was preparing my usual low-fuss breakfast this morning -- almond butter on spelt toast, which I then top with blueberries.  After the toast popped up, I placed it on the kitchen table on a plate.  Then I turned to prepare some tea.

Soon I heard "lap lap lap lap lap..."  I turned to look at the noise.  The cat was licking my toast.

I'll repeat that.  The Cat.  Was Licking.  My Toast.

My toast!  Not My Bacon, or My Breakfast Sausage, or my Egg-Crust-Pizza.  He was licking my toast, with his cat saliva tongue, which had just licked his own fur and whatever was clinging to it.

"No, please stop," I said gently.  Gently, because I know about food addiction.  I know he's not thinking, "Let's piss the human off by licking his toast."  He's thinking, "I really, really, Really, REALLY need to lick that."  (Perhaps the moist warmth exuded by the toast reminded him of a freshly decapitated mouse carcass.)

Gently, also, because he's a big cat -- 22 pounds -- and a formidable opponent.  I lose my balance whenever he rubs against my legs.  One time, hissing and spitting, he took a swipe at the dog's nose and missed.  He raked my kneecap instead.  I'm sure he shape-shifted briefly into a bobcat, too.

So I fended him off while I spread on the almond butter.  I guessed that the almond butter would mask whatever was attracting him to the toast.  Sure enough, he lost interest and strode away.


Wheat gluten is added to some cat food in order to provide taurine, an essential amino acid.  Could our cat food be deficient in taurine?  I always buy food that has added taurine and no wheat gluten, But maybe the pet food manufacturer is cutting back on the formula.


Do your pets occasionally show unusual preferences for human food?  What are they?


3 comments:

Molly said...

Molly is writing her memoirs and wants to include the time that she and Shadow tried out for baseball. Shadow seems like a natural since he can hold two balls in his mouth at the same time.
I'll post the story on my blog before it ever goes anywhere, and you can look at it and make sure that I haven't written anything offensive. I'm envisioning, Shadow making the saving catch of the World Series, and Mollie hitting the winning run. I'm addressing the problem of the spitball.

Square Peg Guy said...

Thank you for including Shadow in your memoirs, Molly.

He often recounts that game saving catch of the low line drive that he lunged at before it passed over second base. Of course such inhuman feats are quite possible for him!

How fond of you for mentioning it! :)

Molly said...

Thanks,
And I'll include the low line drive that he lunged at before it passed over second base.