# What's the biggest secret you've ever kept...from a pet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 29, 2022, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636 "2022-01-29T17:18:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636/1 "2022-01-29T17:18:01Z")
[![](https://i.imgur.com/a4rJhCg.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/a4rJhCg.jpg) These two cats are a year and a half old. They’ve lived in this house since they were 2.5 and 3 months old. Neither of them has any idea that the house has a full unfinished walkout basement. It’s been easier to deal with either only going in and out of the basement from outside, or shutting them in a room before using the door in the kitchen to go down stairs, than to let them discover there’s a messy place with tons of nooks and crannies below us. Someday I’d like to get it all ship-shape and get a new cabinet for all the paint and other dangerous-to-pets chemicals down there, but probably not for a few months. So at the moment they live in blissful ignorance that there’s another 1000 square feet they _could_ explore if I wasn’t such a monster. So, what secrets have you kept successfully from your furred and feathered (and maybe scaled) friends? ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636/2 "2022-01-29T18:43:12Z")
Neither realized they are adopted. They know who “Mom” and “Daddy” are. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636/3 "2022-01-29T18:45:29Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > Neither realized they are adopted. - That was _my_ joke. :glares: ---
**Author:** ![MeepersC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meepersc/32/12088_2.png) [@MeepersC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeepersC)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636/4 "2022-01-29T19:58:22Z")
Our cats, Sadie Mae and Wilson, have a serious addiction to the Feline Greenies (salmon flavor specifically). Sometimes we run out of them before the next Chewy order arrives. Instead of going to the store and getting another bag to tide them over, I just refill the Greenies container with regular kibble. Three years of Greenies addiction, and Sadie Mae and Wilson haven’t figured out the difference yet. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636/5 "2022-01-29T20:15:53Z")
I don’t own a cat, but one of the neighborhood cats has been visiting me every evening for a few hours for over half a year, and I kind of adopted her (or rather, she adopted me). I have one room though she never was allowed to enter: it’s my former work/computer room, but it also my room for storing everything that doesn’t fit anywhere else. The room is a mess, and she could wreak so much havoc there with all that stuff that I’ve never let her in. And btw, OP: is one of your cats derived from a lynx? 😉 (beautiful cats anyway) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636/6 "2022-01-29T20:59:54Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > And btw, OP: is one of your cats derived from a lynx? 😉 (beautiful cats anyway) He’s about half the size of one, lol. He’s a Maine Coon, still growing. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2022, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636/7 "2022-01-29T21:08:25Z")
The cat doesn’t know that there is such a thing as outside. I’m pretty sure he thinks the sliding door in the back is just a big TV. (only a slight exaggeration. He’s just scared of the outside) ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2022, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636/8 "2022-01-30T11:30:32Z")
Was raised on a farm. Raised dozens of pet lambs. Didn’t tell any of them they were going to end up on the dining table as the main course. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636/9 "2022-01-31T06:46:44Z")
_How to Serve Lambkind_ ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636/10 "2022-01-31T16:07:02Z")
That when I tell the dogs, “I’ll be right back”. I’m usually gone for hours. ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636/11 "2022-01-31T17:14:54Z")
Got a catport in the kitchen-to-cellar door for litterpan access, so no secret there - rather Spike has a secret from me; where the hell does he sleep when he wants alone time? Dan ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636/12 "2022-01-31T17:58:09Z")
You name it. Allie’s very inventive on that subject herself, and that’s assuming she elects to stay in THIS dimension. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636/13 "2022-01-31T18:22:25Z")
This, and that my wife and I are her “Mommy” and “Daddy”. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636/14 "2022-01-31T19:12:46Z")
When I lived in an apartment in NYC, my two cats had no idea that beyond the apartment door were lots and lots of other apartments, many of which had other cats or dogs. My cats would never meet these other animals. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636/15 "2022-01-31T19:24:08Z")
There’s another room with an extra bed that is perfectly nice for sleeping. But they didn’t know because I kept the door closed for over 10 years. The door is open now and my one dog was sleeping in there a lot over the summer, when it was just too hot to share a bed with me and his sister (another secret: it is not his blood sister). ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636/16 "2022-01-31T20:38:10Z")
Pluto has never realized that in another room of the house is a large cold box and cabinets full of delicious food that we can eat or give him _anytime we want_. He’d never forgive us if he knew. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636/17 "2022-01-31T21:59:34Z")
I didn’t tell them what “fixed” meant. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636/18 "2022-01-31T22:03:56Z")
But they knew after… ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636/19 "2022-01-31T22:38:24Z")
I have a secret from my two cats right now. They know that sometimes (in winter) the three neighborhood cats they see from the windows come to stay in the spare room for a few days. And they are ok with that. What they don’t know is that the one who has been in there alone for the past week is going to join them in the house in a month or so. Surprise! ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2022, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636/20 "2022-01-31T22:44:21Z")
Ours don’t know that I can give food to cats. The only time I ever give them any food is when I’m giving them medication or those rare times hubs isn’t home to do it and then I do it wrong. Hubs gives them food and treats. This means I can go into the kitchen and open the fridge or cans or pouches and I’m not being mobbed while trying to cook people food. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-secret-youve-ever-kept-from-a-pet/958636.md?page=2)