Small Talk: We'll Be Right Back

[Bruinsfan]

I fill out a lot of marketing surveys online and am tempted to respond as if my two cats are 10-year-old children just to see how it reacts if I indicate that I feed them prescription cat chow as a staple.

[CrystalBlue]

3 hours ago, mmecorday said:

I went to the store on my lunch hour. I picked up several cans of cat food. Just to make conversation, the cashier asked me how many cats I had. And because I was in a mercurial mood, I said, "Cats? I don't have any cats! I hate cats!" The cashier looked shocked and then I laughed and said, "Kidding! I have six cats. And they are my whole life." 

Did you get the kitty crew Fancy Feast?

[mmecorday]

Quote

Did you get the kitty crew Fancy Feast?

They like Friskies, but not the seafood varieties. Sometimes I'm like, "Don't you know how to cat?"

[Prevailing Wind]

Stella is supposed to get Cosequin sprinkled on her food. She eats kibble, so I had to switch her over to wet food. We tried all kinds. She was OK with chicken pate until, of course, I bought a case. I think the avian flu caused Purina to change the Fancy Feast formula.  OK, so we moved on over to flaked tuna. She went through two cases of it and then she refused to eat any more of it. What kind of cat refuses any and all wet food?

We're back to kibble and she's getting the Solensia shot for her arthritis tomorrow.

[dleighg]

my vet swears by Friskies shreds as the equivalent of potato chips for cats, that is "every cat likes it". That's what we used for our cat who was sadly declining in health and losing weight.

[Gramto6]

5 minutes ago, dleighg said:

my vet swears by Friskies shreds as the equivalent of potato chips for cats, that is "every cat likes it". That's what we used for our cat who was sadly declining in health and losing weight.

My yard tigers love the Friskies shreds! They get the pate too, sometimes I mix them. I buy all their food from Chewy and get the shreds by the case of 40 and pate case of 32 every month. They also get Friskies kibble by the 30# bag. Chewy's prices are pretty good and they ship free over about $45 forget the exact number.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Many years ago I had a 20+ year old cat that needed to eat baby food for awhile due to a tooth issue.  I went to Target to pick up a dozen jars of chicken or turkey baby food.  The cashier said to me, "Your baby needs to eat more than meat."  I snapped back, "My cat does not care for strained peas."  The woman in line behind me laughed. 

[Prevailing Wind]

When Bosco was still alive, I'd open a can of pumpkin to feed to them - like a tablespoon's worth - to help with hairballs & digestion. They loved it...ONLY if it were a freshly opened can. If I emptied the can into a glass storage container & refrigerated it, they would NOT eat it the next day....even if I warmed it up in the microwave.  So I tried baby food pumpkin. It's not the same & neither cat would eat the baby food.

On the other hand, a lady I used to work with would make a fabulous plum cake using 3 jars of baby food plums.

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, PrincessPurrsALot said:

Many years ago I had a 20+ year old cat that needed to eat baby food for awhile due to a tooth issue.  I went to Target to pick up a dozen jars of chicken or turkey baby food.  The cashier said to me, "Your baby needs to eat more than meat."  I snapped back, "My cat does not care for strained peas."  The woman in line behind me laughed. 

One of my favorite cashiers (with whom I'd exchanged chit chat for years, both of us picking up information about the other we bothered to remember) at my local market became my hands-down favorite when I - whom she knew was a parent to cats, not humans - came through her line not with my usual weekly order but a special trip to pick up nothing but the Beech Nut chicken & broth and turkey & broth baby food jars that are great for enticing sick cats to eat.  She, having had cats for many years, immediately cottoned to the situation and asked, "Oh, no, what's wrong with your baby?"  This was probably ten years ago, and I still won't go to any other line if she's there.

[Haleth]

My cat is very picky about wet food too, only eats certain flavors of Science Diet.  Unfortunately SD is switching more to pouches and the cat will.not.eat anything chunky, only pate.  Just today I thought I'd try again, maybe if I mash it up with a fork?  Nope.  She just laps up the gravy and leaves the bits.  (She only eats a spoonful of pate anyway and would rather eat kibble.)

[peacheslatour]

2 hours ago, Haleth said:

My cat is very picky about wet food too, only eats certain flavors of Science Diet.  Unfortunately SD is switching more to pouches and the cat will.not.eat anything chunky, only pate.  Just today I thought I'd try again, maybe if I mash it up with a fork?  Nope.  She just laps up the gravy and leaves the bits.  (She only eats a spoonful of pate anyway and would rather eat kibble.)

Our Nathan was the exact same way. He was born with bad teeth. We had to have all but his two upper fangs pulled. He still loved dry food but we worried about him getting enough hydration so we tried every canned food, baby food and plain yogurt. We were at our wits end trying to get him to eat. He was so painfully thin when he finally died of a blood clot in his back. RIP, old man.

[Prevailing Wind]

When (dog) people say the difference between dogs and cats is that dogs are so friendly and cats are so aloof, I always think, "Boy, do you not know cats. The difference is dogs will eat anything. Cats snub even cat food."

[proserpina65]

19 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Stella is supposed to get Cosequin sprinkled on her food. She eats kibble, so I had to switch her over to wet food. We tried all kinds. She was OK with chicken pate until, of course, I bought a case. I think the avian flu caused Purina to change the Fancy Feast formula.  OK, so we moved on over to flaked tuna. She went through two cases of it and then she refused to eat any more of it. What kind of cat refuses any and all wet food?

We're back to kibble and she's getting the Solensia shot for her arthritis tomorrow.

Cats are weird and contrary creatures.

19 hours ago, dleighg said:

my vet swears by Friskies shreds as the equivalent of potato chips for cats, that is "every cat likes it". That's what we used for our cat who was sadly declining in health and losing weight.

One of my cats hates shreds.  The other would eat anything which didn't eat her first.  Except sometimes she won't eat the same kind of treats that I just gave her earlier the same day. 😵

[peacheslatour]

53 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

Cats are weird and contrary creatures.

One of my cats hates shreds.  The other would eat anything which didn't eat her first.  Except sometimes she won't eat the same kind of treats that I just gave her earlier the same day. 😵

Cats! Amirite?

[Bruinsfan]

My cats started out as alley kittens behind my apartment building, and being used to foraging in garbage dumpsters, would eat anything—including the power cord to my laptop. But thanks to a bladder sediment issue I had to switch them to prescription Hills Science Diet years ago and they now turn their noses up at even steak and lunchmeats if I offer them treats from my own plate. Only barbecued pork and canned tuna seem to have kept their allure. (I guess it stands to reason; their swanky kibble costs more per pound than the meat I buy for myself at the grocery store!)

Edited May 17, 2023 by Bruinsfan

[Tom Holmberg]

21 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

Cats are weird and contrary creatures.

One of my cats hates shreds.  The other would eat anything which didn't eat her first.  Except sometimes she won't eat the same kind of treats that I just gave her earlier the same day. 😵

We had a cat that would go absolutely crazy if we were eating cantaloupe. It was like catnip to the cat.  It would hug it and roll around on the floor in ecstasy before finally eating it.

[peacheslatour]

34 minutes ago, Tom Holmberg said:

We had a cat that would go absolutely crazy if we were eating cantaloupe. It was like catnip to the cat.  It would hug it and roll around on the floor in ecstasy before finally eating it.

It must be something to do with melon family. Elizabeth goes wild over pumpkin. If my DH is trying to carve a jack o lantern, she will be eating the bits of pumpkin as fast as he can cut them out and if she thinks he's being too slow, she will start gnawing on the pumpkin itself.

[Jaded]

21 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

It must be something to do with melon family. Elizabeth goes wild over pumpkin. If my DH is trying to carve a jack o lantern, she will be eating the bits of pumpkin as fast as he can cut them out and if she thinks he's being too slow, she will start gnawing on the pumpkin itself.

I've read that pure pumpkin is a good source of fiber for cats. I hope the litter box doesn't become a disaster area after she's eaten that much of it.....🙃

[Gramto6]

1 hour ago, Tom Holmberg said:

We had a cat that would go absolutely crazy if we were eating cantaloupe. It was like catnip to the cat.  It would hug it and roll around on the floor in ecstasy before finally eating it.

My mom had a cat when she was young that she swore loved cantaloupe. I never quite believed her but reading this, I do now!!

[Tom Holmberg]

22 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

My mom had a cat when she was young that she swore loved cantaloupe. I never quite believed her but reading this, I do now!!

There's actually some videos on YouTube about this, but none of the ones I've seen have had a cat as passionate about cantaloupe as ours was.

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, Jaded said:

I've read that pure pumpkin is a good source of fiber for cats. I hope the litter box doesn't become a disaster area after she's eaten that much of it.....🙃

Nah, she's always been prone to constipation. Cats seem to know what's good for them.

[Prevailing Wind]

Stella likes the melon juice at the bottom of the container - I buy the pre-cut cantaloupe and watermelon and she loves the residue I leave behind. She also loves cooked tomato - she gets to lick THAT residue, too - tomato soup, spaghetti sauce; if it's a tomato that's been cooked, she'll eat it up.

She likes cheese, but she pukes it back up. And she adores the crumbs of baked goods.

When I lived "at home" 50 years ago, the family cat loved olives - but only to play with. Green olives. He'd manage to get the pimiento out & leave it somewhere on the floor and then roll around with the olive, rub it against his teeth, and generally act as though it were 'nip. Then he'd leave it - for me, barefooted, to step on - both the olive and that damn pimiento. He was a funny cat. Loved catnip, too.

[peacheslatour]

Elizabeth, just like our last rescue tortie, loves bread. My DH and her have a ritual every Sunday morning. She can be sound asleep but as soon as she hears his toast pop up, she's sitting, waiting patiently for her "toast points" which are the corners of his toast.

Edited May 17, 2023 by peacheslatour

[proserpina65]

43 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

When I lived "at home" 50 years ago, the family cat loved olives - but only to play with

I had a cat who ate any black olives which fell off my pizza.  I'm not sure if it was really the olives she wanted or if it was because they tasted like the pepperoni.

[Jaded]

My Mom and I had a cat in the late 90's/early 2000's named Honey who was a tabby that loved Angel Food Cake. We discovered that due to him eating half of what was an unopened one that was in it's plastic/tin packaging which had been left on the counter.

I woke up one morning and grabbed a couple things out of the fridge without turning the light on so I didn't notice that anything was amiss.  It wasn't until a couple hours later when my Mom woke up and wondered aloud about what happened to the Angel Food Cake which was always a cake she liked a lot more than me.

I asked her what she meant and she said it wasn't on the counter anymore. She was implying that I had something to do with that. Then we both looked around the kitchen where in a corner we saw the a half eaten cake in it's tin in a corner wedged under some of the bottom cabinets. The Angel Food Cakes got put in of the higher cabinets after that.

[Prevailing Wind]

I wonder if the censoring happens with dogs...

When I was driving down the Natchez Trace Parkway, I made a side trip in Alabama to see the Coondog Cemetery.  It's really a touching place. Your dog has to be an honest-to-Pete coonhound breed. Some of the grave markers were carved marble. Some were bricks wrapped in a brown paper bag. All of the COONDOGS had been greatly loved.

;-)

ETA: after 4 hours, "Coondog" and "Coonhound" remain - probably because it's not just the word "c****."  Although, I could be stupid and claim it's discrimination against cats. Bwaahahahahahaha,  So I guess It'll work if we call them Mainecoon cats or Maine cooncats.  OK. It's after 1 AM. I'm gong to be before I get even sillier.

Edited May 18, 2023 by Prevailing Wind

[SoMuchTV]

I had a cat many years ago who was extremely fond of corn cobs. Like, she’d grab one and threaten severe injury to anyone who attempted to take it away. I’ve had many other cats since then and none of them had a similar preference.

I did have one who chewed through bread wrappers and licked photos (back when you got them developed), until we learned to keep things like that properly secured. 

[Bruinsfan]

Back in the 90s one of my roommates' cats would grab a corn chip out of your hand on its way from the bag to your mouth.

[peacheslatour]

15 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

Back in the 90s one of my roommates' cats would grab a corn chip out of your hand on its way from the bag to your mouth.

Our last tortie, Peaches loved pancakes and croissants so madly, she would try to eat them out of your mouth. She was crazy about bread. I figured it was because her mother was feral and they survived on thrown out bread.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

When I was in college, I had a cat named Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner.  We raised him from a kitten.  He was a huge black longhair.  He was obsessed with bread.  He would drag the loaf to the floor, tear at the top of the packaging, then roll back and forth on it.  We would often come home to him sleeping on his back on top of a shredded loaf of bread. 

I had to explain to my roommates that I couldn't fix his obsession.  We were probably the only college students with a extra large bread box.

[Prevailing Wind]

Wow! A Feline Zevoneer!  Congratulations!

Although he didn't have one, WZ liked cats. When he visited Memphis and stayed with his friend Senator Steve (State Sen., now US Congressman Cohen), he'd go shopping for groceries & brought back half & half for Steve's cat.

[DMK]

I had this cat once that loved peanuts. His idea of heaven was sitting under my chair while I was eating a Pay Day and catching all the peanuts that dropped. He was my weird vegetarian cat. He did not like canned food or any sort of meat. Dropped lunch meat scraps would get a passing disdainful sniff at best. He would only eat dry food. 

My current cat loves tortilla chips. I only made the mistake of leaving an open bag on the kitchen table once… ONCE!

[Jaded]

On 5/15/2023 at 4:13 PM, mmecorday said:

They like Friskies, but not the seafood varieties. Sometimes I'm like, "Don't you know how to cat?"

That's actually not a bad thing. Even though it seems like it would be a natural thing for them to like the seafood flavors more, the non seafood ones are better for them especially the ones with urinary issues.

I didn't know this until I ended up with a male cat who developed pretty bad urinary issues. They are more susceptible to ending up with urinary issues in general. He had been getting a good bit of seafood flavored wet food and liked a bit of dry food daily too. Once his issues started I was advised to do wet food only. I got extremely lucky that Captain wasn't anywhere near a dry food addict.

Navigating the process trying to find the best food for cats with urinary issues that they'll actually eat can be a tough process. Sometimes they won't eat any of them and people end up feeding the foods they'll actually eat knowing it may shorten their lives because it's better than them starving. They can end up hurting themselves when people try to keep giving them food they've rejected for whatever reason because cats won't eat it just because it's the only thing available. 

If this came across as a lecture to anyone that wasn't my intention. I just want to try to keep cats from developing urinary issues and their pet parents from the stress of having to provide extra care for cats who end up with them.

[Prevailing Wind]

"Harvey Wallbanger" was a response on today's Jeopardy! and it reminded me that I used to bake a Bundt-style Harvey Wallbanger cake. Chester loved the crumbs left behind.  Odd, since cats aren't supposed to like citrus. It was a Duncan Hines Orange Supreme cake mix jazzed up with the instant pudding, extra eggs, oil, & orange juice. And, of course, Galliano and vodka.  We both loved that cake.

[proserpina65]

From another thread:

  

Quote

 

20 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I was using GrubHub the other day to get something from Burger King. I noticed they say their plant-based Impossible burger is broiled on the same equipment the beef burgers are.

 

Which is one of the reasons why they do not claim their Impossible Whoppers are vegan.  Each individual location would have to completely re-do its kitchen to accommodate a separate broiler/assembly line and that would be a huge financial investment that many franchises wouldn't make back.  Never mind that they generally don't have that much space in the kitchen.

[lh25]

Re cats and seafood - one day I was taking some salmon out of the oven and one of our cats was watching me and meowing.  So I set aside a bite for him, to let cool.  Set it on the floor, he came up, sniffed it, jumped back with tail all fluffed out then ran away.  Like it scared him.  

One we have now loves tuna.  So any can being opened is worth him coming out to the kitchen.  I have learned he won't eat mushrooms or green beans.  He still comes out every time.  And he won't eat wet cat food.  None of ours will.

Edited May 22, 2023 by lh25

[Shrek]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

From another thread:

  

Which is one of the reasons why they do not claim their Impossible Whoppers are vegan.  Each individual location would have to completely re-do its kitchen to accommodate a separate broiler/assembly line and that would be a huge financial investment that many franchises wouldn't make back.  Never mind that they generally don't have that much space in the kitchen.

Or that they (BK) are on the verge of bankruptcy having recently announced the closure of over 400 locations.

[Tom Holmberg]

45 minutes ago, Shrek said:

Or that they (BK) are on the verge of bankruptcy having recently announced the closure of over 400 locations.

BK has been in trouble for years.  They've been owned by hedge funds, who seemed to be sucking money out i=of them (as hedge funds are wont to do). 

[Prevailing Wind]

But their burgers taste so much better than McD's or Wendy's.

[CrazyInAlabama]

A big problems for several fast food chains in the past few years is that a lot of outlets are owned by a single owner, usually regional, so when that person can't make a profit, then they either sell out to someone else, or go out of business.    

Where I live we used to have a bunch of BK's, but now we're down to two.  

Edited May 23, 2023 by CrazyInAlabama

[Haleth]

17 hours ago, lh25 said:

So any can being opened is worth him coming out to the kitchen.

For my cat it's anything that sounds like dry food poured in a bowl, like cereal.  I've found she's partial to Kashi honey nut oats.  (I only give her one since she's all over me, thinking I'm eating her kibble, but she'll eat it.)

[mmecorday]

Quote

But their burgers taste so much better than McD's or Wendy's.

Are you all familiar with Cookout? They're very popular in the South, particularly in college towns. The food is really good and not that expensive. The burgers taste like they were actually cooked on an outdoor grill and they have lots of different milkshake flavors. 

[Jaded]

1 hour ago, mmecorday said:

Are you all familiar with Cookout? They're very popular in the South, particularly in college towns. The food is really good and not that expensive. The burgers taste like they were actually cooked on an outdoor grill and they have lots of different milkshake flavors. 

I want them to open a location or two where I am so bad. Seeing pictures of their food and discussions about eating there from online friends in some groups have made it sound so good. They are in Hattiesburg, MS I guess the college there is a big draw. Down in the area I'm in there are a couple of those, the beach and casinos. it gets tiring having so many locations of the same chains without much variety. 

[Prevailing Wind]

There isn't one too near me. I'd rather not drive that far for just a burger, which is why I'm not going to our new Whataburger, either.  I have seen Cookout's billboards when I'm on a Road Trip, but never at mealtime. Bummer.

[EtheltoTillie]

There are none near me!  Sounds good, though.

[Prevailing Wind]

Moved over here at the encouragement of Princess Purrs...

Quote

peacheslatour said: You can't take Cipro? My MIL can't take it either.

No need for a more expensive, newer drug. The old-fashioned sulfa works for me. I don't have any drug coverage, so I have to pay for it all myself.

 

[Blergh]

All this talk of a commercial in which a mother claimed to be mistaken for her daughter's sister brought to mind my own maternal grandmother.

Long-short is that she had borne Mama when she was nineteen years old and did her best to dress 'young' and what she considered fashionable. She also said that she and Mama grew up together (although, I can attest that  when I knew her, more often than not, Mama was the more mature one).

Anyway, yes indeed, my grandmother LOVED it when folks took her to be Mama's sister. A few years before my grandmother died, a gentleman came up to the two of them and said that he could tell that they were mother and daughter which prompted my grandmother to somewhat sourly respond, "I used to look MUCH better!"😄

Edited June 11, 2023 by Blergh

[Shrek]

12 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Moved over here at the encouragement of Princess Purrs...

No need for a more expensive, newer drug. The old-fashioned sulfa works for me. I don't have any drug coverage, so I have to pay for it all myself.

 

I had crap insurance & by using Good Rx drugs were sometimes cheaper than with my insurance given its high deductible. Hopefully you're already using these sorts of tools readily available now.

[Prevailing Wind]

2 hours ago, Shrek said:

I had crap insurance & by using Good Rx drugs were sometimes cheaper than with my insurance given its high deductible. Hopefully you're already using these sorts of tools readily available now.

Oh, yeah. I was SO overpaying at Walgreen's until I started using GoodRX Now I get my meds at the supermarket - much cheaper even withOUT GoodRX.  One of my meds is only $7.50, with or without GoodRX, so Publix told me they weren't going to flag this med as a GoodRX, because they pay GoodRX NINE dollars for each prescription.

[DMK]

On 6/10/2023 at 8:02 PM, Prevailing Wind said:

No need for a more expensive, newer drug. The old-fashioned sulfa works for me. I don't have any drug coverage, so I have to pay for it all myself.

I’m allergic to sulfa drugs. Oh, the raaaaaaash it gives me, I look like a strawberry. Thanks dad (he’s allergic to sulfa too).