Thursday, October 04, 2007
Cleopatra Eats French Fries
Cleopatra was a street cat, a small, gray and black tabby with just a hint of orange on her muzzle. She first appeared at my home to eat dry cat food. She was very self-contained, but not wary, and my first impression was that she belonged to someone. After a pregnancy and kittens, I knew she belonged to no one.
We took responsibility and had her spayed. She also received her shots. At first, we let her come and go as she wanted during the day. But sometimes she did not return at night. I discovered that she was hanging out at a nearby cafeteria begging for handouts. Cleo had to cross two busy streets to reach the cafeteria, that was too dangerous, so Cleopatra became a house cat. She adjusted without a problem.
My mother loved hamburgers and fries. Because she had problems keeping enough weight on thanks to Parkinson's Disease, I catered to her tastes. At least once a week, I brought home hamburgers and fries from Burger King (sometimes I also included small salads). At these meals we learned Cleo's peculiar tastes.
Cleopatra loved french fries. She would jump on the table to steal a fry off a plate. If I was slow setting the table, she would simply burrow into the bag for her fries. If you tried to thwart her by scolding her to get off the table she ignored you. Cleo had learned a great truth: there was no corporal punishment in this house. I tried spraying her with water. She half-closed her eyes and pulled her ears down, but she did not budge. The only thing that worked was to physically remove her from the table. She would wait at least a minute before returning. Only feeding her french fries stopped her. What made all this odd was that she never behaved like this except in pursuit of french fries, and she would pass up hamburger for fries. I think her early years on the streets had developed her taste for fries.
The other cats preferred meat. Sometimes they would nose a fry to see what Cleo found so tasty, but none of them ever ate one. Then Shackleton came to live with us. This little kitten watched everything that Cleo did. When she ate french fries, so did Shack. I thought as he grew up he would stop, but just like Cleo he developed a fondness for fries.
Cleopatra is gone now. She made it to eighteen plus. Shackleton still eats fries.
We took responsibility and had her spayed. She also received her shots. At first, we let her come and go as she wanted during the day. But sometimes she did not return at night. I discovered that she was hanging out at a nearby cafeteria begging for handouts. Cleo had to cross two busy streets to reach the cafeteria, that was too dangerous, so Cleopatra became a house cat. She adjusted without a problem.
My mother loved hamburgers and fries. Because she had problems keeping enough weight on thanks to Parkinson's Disease, I catered to her tastes. At least once a week, I brought home hamburgers and fries from Burger King (sometimes I also included small salads). At these meals we learned Cleo's peculiar tastes.
Cleopatra loved french fries. She would jump on the table to steal a fry off a plate. If I was slow setting the table, she would simply burrow into the bag for her fries. If you tried to thwart her by scolding her to get off the table she ignored you. Cleo had learned a great truth: there was no corporal punishment in this house. I tried spraying her with water. She half-closed her eyes and pulled her ears down, but she did not budge. The only thing that worked was to physically remove her from the table. She would wait at least a minute before returning. Only feeding her french fries stopped her. What made all this odd was that she never behaved like this except in pursuit of french fries, and she would pass up hamburger for fries. I think her early years on the streets had developed her taste for fries.
The other cats preferred meat. Sometimes they would nose a fry to see what Cleo found so tasty, but none of them ever ate one. Then Shackleton came to live with us. This little kitten watched everything that Cleo did. When she ate french fries, so did Shack. I thought as he grew up he would stop, but just like Cleo he developed a fondness for fries.
Cleopatra is gone now. She made it to eighteen plus. Shackleton still eats fries.
# posted by January Cat @ 1:30 PM 
