Strange Pet Foods

Cafe Society
1

I find myself thinking about a poodle my late Aunt Lee had, and how she brought the doggy with her one Christmas when she came down to visit my grandparents. She was a tiny little thing, and used to being carried around by little old ladies, and was inoffensive enough. She liked being petted, but wasn’t overloaded with personality.

The poodle, that is. Not my Aunt Lee.

Until Mom and Mim (my grandmother, long story) decided to try her on leftovers.

There wasn’t enough of the hamburger left to do anything with, so they said hellwiddit, warmed it up, and put it in a little dish for the poodle, whose name I have long since forgotten. She sniffed at it, looked at the humans, looked at the hamburger, and looked at the humans again. The general message was Confusion.

Well, Mom and Mim were stumped. Mim in particular was not a dog person, but neither of them had ever seen a dog that was all wishy washy about cooked hamburger. They pushed the dish towards her and made soothing noises. The poodle sniffed at it, and continued to act like she wasn’t sure if it was food or not.

It was Mom who realized what the problem was. She got one of Lee’s bottles of Tabasco out of the fridge, knocked a little bit of hamburger loose, and dashed the sauce on it.

Poodle sniffed again, and amiably ate the little Tabascoed chunk, scarfed it right down.

Mom grinned. Mim’s mouth fell open. But we all knew that Lee put Tabasco sauce on ANY damn thing except possibly fruit salad and ice cream, and Poodle had apparently become accustomed to a spicy heat that even made my old man uncomfortable, and he was a man who ate sliced jalapenos with his scrambled eggs in the morning. Mom dashed more Tabasco on the remaining hamburger, and Poodle wolfed it down with satisfaction. And Mim goggled at the idea of a dog who wouldn’t eat ground beef WITHOUT Tabasco sauce on it…

This got me to thinking about weird things that I have known pets to eat. My ex had a cat once who loved cantaloupe… and would howl in frustration if the rinds were placed in the trash, instead of being put on the floor for her to nibble. And I once had a cat who liked CELERY, of all things.

Anyone else out there ever had a pet who was fond of foods not usual for that species?

2

The same cat who liked celery was also fond of rum. I never GAVE him any, but he’d lick the hell out of the shot glass after I’d used it.

Didn’t like beer, though. Carbonated beverages made him suspicious.

3

I had a cat who ate corn on the cob. I would eat a cob and leave a row or two, then give it to the cat who was bugging me for it the whole time. He couldn’t hold the whole cob in his mouth, so he would grab the small end and drag it off to a spot where he could set it down and nibble the bits off with his teeny tiny incisors.

And it wasn’t butter or salt or anything he was after, these were super tender and sweet organic corn that didn’t need to be cooked, I’d eat them as a cold summer treat right from the fridge. Nothing on 'em but sunshine.

4

I have a mental picture of a cat dragging an ear of corn off into a corner, like fallen prey…

Also knew a cat who liked banana. Not the actual consumable part of the fruit, but the peel. He’d gnaw on the inside of the peel for awhile, then walk off. Which meant that at my house, for a time, one had to keep an eye out for discarded banana peels on the kitchen floor…

5

I had a cat who loved potato peels. Didn’t care diddly squat about the potato itself, just the peels. Whenever he’d hear the sound of the peeler on a potato, he’d come racing into the kitchen and yowl until he got some. If I inadvertently forgot and tossed them in the trash, he’d sit and yowl at the trash recepticle in a very aggrieved manner.

The cocker spaniel my family had when I was little adored watermelon. She knew when one came in the house - she recognized it. She would sit in front of the refrigerator and wait and wait until someone got it out and cut it up. Then she’d beg until she got some.

The same dog also loved carrots and apples.

I had a samoyed about 15 years ago who adored dill pickles.

6

I had an adventurous kitty named Frango who liked yogurt-covered raisins. She also liked Pringles. Not any other potato chips, just Pringles.

Another kitty liked angel food cake.

7

My wife said they were given a mature dog when she was a kid that would not eat meat, any kind of meat, but would bring it to its one puppy it had.

I’m still skeptical of a vegetarian dog.

8

I once had a cat that liked soda crackers.

9

I had a dog who loved romaine lettuce. The current dogs always come begging when cabbage or broccoli is being chopped; apparently it’s only good for them to have in moderation, though. They’re always up for strawberries, blueberries and apples, too.

One, or both of them also loved the raisins they stole, but not the emergency vet visit afterward.

10

My mom once took in an abandoned elderly dog, who was accustomed to eating pizza because that was all her owner ate - she was an older lady who was no longer able to cook, so she just ordered pizza and shared it with the dog.

11

I once had a cat that liked olives.

12

My Pekingese, Delilah, is crazy about peppers, green and red. Whenever I’m slicing them, she’s right at my feet, waiting for her share. She’s a little picky with everything else.

13

I am told by my dear one about a cat who was fond of Nacho Cheese Doritos and Diet Pepsi.

This boggles me a little. I had a cat once who’d lick the salt off a potato chip, and then abandon the cleaned off potato chip. Of course, this was the same cat who liked celery and rum…

14

We had a poodle that only ate leftovers for almost the whole of her 16 or 17 years. She had a bad reaction to some regular dog food as a puppy and my mom and the vet decided she would never eat dog food again. She ate whatever we had, mostly, supplemented with scrambled eggs. She had a real talent for eating beef stew and leaving a little pile of potatoes licked perfectly clean in the bottom of the bowl. She didn’t care for potatoes. She did like to finish off the last of your apple, though, if you’d hold the core for her.

15

I had a cat who liked iceberg lettuce and grapes.

I have a cat now who likes shortbread cookies and yowls like he’s starving if he hears me open the packet. He only stops when I give him a bit.

One of my other cats is crazy for Cheetos and popcorn. I can’t eat either without him all in my face trying to get some.

16

By any chance, did this cat have an unusual number of limbs?

17

Just the usual five.

18

And I am now told of a dog who would happily lap up beer until he fell over.

I think that may verge on animal cruelty, though.

19

One of my cats likes to lick vegetable oil out of the pan. :confused:
Not oil that I’ve just used to fry a steak or something - that would taste/smell of the meat that had been cooked in it, and so would be understandable. No, this one likes it fresh. Given the chance, he’ll jump on the side and lick it out of the pan before I’ve started heating it, otherwise he’ll have a go after I’ve finished cooking - usually after frying eggs. I now have to put the pan in the oven while I’m waiting for the oil to cool. :rolleyes:

That same cat also has a fiendish junk food habit - any sort of salty/savory snack and he’ll jump up and try to bat it out of my hand - he’s particularly fond of twiglets and popcorn. He’ll also try to lick our dinner plates clean, given the chance.

Aside from one of the others being fond of vegetables (particularly peas) occasionally, the other three - including his twin sister - are all quite normal so I have no idea where he gets this from. I did ask the vet once, but got a ‘eh, some cats are just like that, I wouldn’t worry’ response.