# The following is not cat food **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 18, 2004, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-following-is-not-cat-food/269780 "2004-10-18T04:18:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-following-is-not-cat-food/269780/1 "2004-10-18T04:18:36Z")
Maggie, I understand you are growing, and so you’re hungry all the time. Okay, fine. But for the record, the following is NOT part of your diet: -lettuce -potato chips -toast crusts -tuna salad -microwave popcorn -chocolate chip cookies -saltine crackers Got that? Perhaps, if you are so hungry, you might try the dry cat food you seem to disdain in favor of the stinky wet stuff? ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-following-is-not-cat-food/269780/2 "2004-10-18T04:20:52Z")
My cat likes to lick Sour Cream and Onion potato chips. Is that so bad? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-following-is-not-cat-food/269780/3 "2004-10-18T04:21:02Z")
What no olives? Cats love olives. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-following-is-not-cat-food/269780/4 "2004-10-18T04:24:10Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > What no olives? Cats love olives. Hasn’t been put to the test yet. Wouldn’t surprise me, though. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-following-is-not-cat-food/269780/5 "2004-10-18T04:39:58Z")
Cats are omnivirous and going to eat whatever’s laying around and edible so, actuallty, if those items aren’t in the fridge or covered on the counter, they are part of his diet. ---
**Author:** ![Graycat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Graycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Graycat)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-following-is-not-cat-food/269780/6 "2004-10-18T04:41:52Z")
I once had a cat that was so crazy for baked sweet potatoes he would steal the skins out of the trash can. I’d come into the kitchen and find my 17 pound cat and 14 pound dog scarfing stolen sweet potato skins side by side. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-following-is-not-cat-food/269780/7 "2004-10-18T04:54:52Z")
> [@Graycat](#): > > I once had a cat that was so crazy for baked sweet potatoes he would steal the skins out of the trash can. I’d come into the kitchen and find my 17 pound cat and 14 pound dog scarfing stolen sweet potato skins side by side. In this era of war and strife, it’s nice to see an example of interracial cooperation. ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-following-is-not-cat-food/269780/8 "2004-10-18T04:57:00Z")
Cats like to eat anything they’re not allowed to. Including toe-nails, elastic bands and contant lenses. However: Should you offer your cat a nice, freshly-cut toe-nail, he would decline. It’s the stealing that makes it appealing 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-following-is-not-cat-food/269780/9 "2004-10-18T04:58:30Z")
Why don’t you see how she goes for mice, **Guin**? ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-following-is-not-cat-food/269780/10 "2004-10-18T05:00:21Z")
_contact_ lenses as well. [I swear I never buy my lenses other than with cash] ---
**Author:** ![LilShieste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@LilShieste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilShieste)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-following-is-not-cat-food/269780/11 "2004-10-18T05:03:21Z")
I would have never guessed olives… next time I snack on black olives, I’ll be sure to not leave my plate unattended for very long. We have a big problem with Snoops (our cat), whenever we order delivery pizza. We have to actively keep him away from whatever the pizza is perched on (coffee table, kitchen counter, etc.). One time we woke up in the middle of the night to a loud crashing, in the kitchen. We had put the empty pizza box behind the trash can, so Snoops wouldn’t get into it. Well, he was so determined to get to those little pizza crumbs, he knocked over the kitchen trash can trying to get to the pizza box. Always keeping us on our toes… 🙂 LilShieste ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-following-is-not-cat-food/269780/12 "2004-10-18T05:16:45Z")
Mehitabel would eat whatever I ate. When it came to pizza, I had to lock her in another room, for she was unstoppable. Squeaker had a nasty midnight snack habbit: my leg. For a few weeks, until I trained him to not chew on my leg, I had to sleep with jeans on. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-following-is-not-cat-food/269780/13 "2004-10-18T05:47:46Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] What no olives? Cats love olives.[/QUOTEI triedit, but no, my cat doesn’t like olives. She does jump onto my lap and demand her share whenever I am eating potato chips, though. Don’t understand why the OP has them on his ‘not cat food’ list? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-following-is-not-cat-food/269780/14 "2004-10-18T06:45:47Z")
> [@Graycat](#): > > I once had a cat that was so crazy for baked sweet potatoes he would steal the skins out of the trash can. I’d come into the kitchen and find my 17 pound cat and 14 pound dog scarfing stolen sweet potato skins side by side. Heh. We always save our potato skins and give them to the dogs. The cats have not shown any interest in them. Both cats, however, will eat (or at least chew on) rubber bands, hair elastics, and wire twist ties. We (the humans) have to be ever vigilant to keep those items out of the cats’ reach, as we don’t want to go to the vet and spend lots of money to have the offending items surgically removed. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-following-is-not-cat-food/269780/15 "2004-10-18T08:57:05Z")
My Grace is very old and very picky, and she won’t eat anything except meat, preferably raw (liver seems to be a favorite). The only other food I’ve ever seen her enjoy is Goldfish crackers, which are not available in this country and we are forced to import personally at great expense. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-following-is-not-cat-food/269780/16 "2004-10-18T09:04:31Z")
I mentioned Cookie eating maple syrup the other day. She’s munched down chocolate too. Recently she’s developed a penchant for drinking tea. She also sits politely on a chair at the table when we’re having dinner. I swear she’s trying to morph into a human. ---
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-following-is-not-cat-food/269780/17 "2004-10-18T10:36:19Z")
I used to have a cat who adored french fries. She’d jump on the back of my chair, stand with her front paws on my shoulder, and try to snake around and snatch them as I raised the french fry to my mouth. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-following-is-not-cat-food/269780/18 "2004-10-18T10:56:09Z")
My mother’s cat loves dog food. Ever seen a big Airedale wait anxiously as a small, old (she’s 18) cat slowly picks at their dinner? Truly pathetic! ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-following-is-not-cat-food/269780/19 "2004-10-18T11:04:09Z")
A few years back we had a cat who was mostly comatosed 24/7, until one of the kids would rustle a Twisties\* packet within 50m. To see a cat move from a state of near death to manic hyperactivity within 0.6 seconds was quite interesting really. Watching her try to crunch on the Twisties with bugger-all teeth left was even more entertaining. 😃 \*Twisties are a rice-based cheese ‘snack’ shaped like little turds. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2004, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-following-is-not-cat-food/269780/20 "2004-10-18T11:13:11Z")
Hey **kambuckta** watching a cat with bugger-all teeth eat anything is amusing. That head-to-the-side determination always makes me giggle. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-following-is-not-cat-food/269780.md?page=2)