Saturday, December 15, 2012

T is for TROUBLE

I have a begging cat.

Okay, okay, I admit it. I created this situation myself by giving in to the cuteness that is Emily. She is now obsessed with whatever I eat for breakfast! I don't feed our dogs from the table or give them a lot of treats, but I do share the crust from my toast every morning. I don't recall how this started! I have toast with cashew or peanut butter with tea when I first get up. A little later, I have fruit and yogurt and granola, or cereal or oatmeal or whatever. I always eat breakfast in two shifts. I'm one of those people who like to graze all day.

The dogs know that I have toast as soon as I get up, but they are often outside performing their ablutions when I start eating. As soon as they are let back in, the frantically race to whatever room I'm in and sit quietly next to me, rigid with anticipation, waiting for me to give them each a bit of crust. They are quite polite about it so I don't mind. Occasionally Gordon will whisk away my plate and dump the crusts without me noticing. You can see the bitter disappointment in the dogs' eyes when this happens!

Emily is less polite. Emily is out of control. And Emily would like you to know that she MUCH prefers cashew butter to peanut butter! Now, every morning I have two dogs drooling next to me and a cat directly looming in front of me, either on my desk or on my chest if I'm having tea and toast in bed (thank you, Gordon darling!) But Emily doesn't sit quietly like the dogs. She sticks her nose in my toast. She reaches out and tries to bat it off the plate. She tries to grab it out of my hand. She occasionally steps on the plate. She is obsessed. I push her away until she backs off, but then of course her cuteness gets to me. Those sad little eyes! I offer her a little dab of cashew butter on my finger. Licklicklicklicketylickylick!
Who knew cats were into cashew butter?

And at the end, I save her  a tiny piece of crust, because she also loves BREAD.  I only give her a wee piece, because I don't think bread is a particularly healthy cat treat!

Nowadays she's showing up for my second breakfast shift as well. She's decided that it's just awesome to lick out the bowl after I've finished my yogurt or cereal.


"I spy with my little eye SOMETHING THAT'S DELICIOUS!!"



"You need to give me that bowl RIGHT NOW!"





"I give you 30 seconds. After that, I'm gonna flip that bowl right out of your hands!"

Good thing she's so cute... 





35 comments:

  1. She is getting there! Eventually she'll master you!

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    1. Three more months should do it! :)

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  2. Emily is one good-looking cat with very refined tastes. Cashew butter, indeed!
    I have peanut butter on my morning toast with a bowl of oatmeal. Sunny, my side-headed cat, sits and waits to finish the milk in my bowl every day. If I'm taking too long, he starts pressuring me by pawing at my leg or meowing. Like all cats, he has lots of rules about how long he will wait, where the bowl should be set, etc. It's good to know their rules to keep things moving along equitably.

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    1. It's a kitty conspiracy to steal our breakfasts!!!

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  3. I have to eat peanut butter toast standing up.

    Or in the garage. Cereal too.

    *sigh*

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    1. That makes me feel a lot better!!!

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  4. Wow. I'm amazed at how fast Emily has grown. And what a nut butter connoseur she has become.

    One of my cockatiels was like that in his youth. Whatever I was eating -- rice, lentils, miso soup, Cheerios, nori, corn on the cob -- was something he had to sample too. It was adorable, seeing him nibble things on my plate. He doesn't do so anymore, but he still likes the vegetables I give him to round out his pellet diet.

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    1. I'm thinking an adorable, polite little bird is easier to take than a six-pound cat standing on your toast! :)))
      Emily is just over a year old now! SHe is VERY long and lean!

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  5. Beautiful cat. I don't understand this nonsense about NOT feeding animals at table; I always do. They have crusts, rinds, bits of steak; and why not? They are proper members of the family. Our two (dogs) are also very polite.

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    1. My father-in-law, who passed in 2012, ALWAYS used to feed our dogs from the table. And we always let him! :) Anytime he came for supper, he had one or two drooling dogs sitting quietly next to him. Big old softie!!

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  6. I have a beggar cat as well! Lia is relentless in her pleading for anything off of my plate. I understand, she was a stray and was more hungry than not, and she has this angelic face and is 100% irresistible. She stole a loaf of bread yesterday morning... off of my plate,of course.

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    1. Ohhh, little devil!! I often wonder if it's the fact that they were strays that makes them so food-obsessed. Emily showed up as a starving waif last January. :(

      I do find it funny that so many cats like bread!

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  7. She is a cutie..
    Do you think Gordon could have a word with Mike re tea and toast in bed?

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    1. I will see what I can do! :)))

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  8. What a sweetie!! I so wish I was not allergic to cats. We had one for 21 years and I developed the allergy around 19 years. They are such intelligent animals.

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    1. Oh what a shame you got an allergy! We need to find you a hypoallergenic kitty. ;)

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  9. Kane can stare a piece of toast and pb right out of your hand. He is polite though and has a very soft mouth. Never grabs. Now, the cats are shameless. I have had to stand up to eat and Ed is the worst. He must have eaten off his owners plate all his life but when we first adopted him he was emaciated. Audrey will not eat any food that we eat. NOTHING!

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    1. Okay, knowing that you go through this makes me feel MUCH better!!!! I am not the only one with hooligan kitties. :)

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  10. Oscar would kill for lettuce ,kale, collards,spinach etc...it's a race to prepare it for meals.Can I get it prepared before it disappears into his chops?...sometimes.
    Jane x

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  11. I think soon she'll be sitting at the table and lick half of your cereal. With that look, she could have the world at her feet.

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  12. Your is the only blog I follow which is not food related. Your post today is the reason why. I'm not even a cat person, but I love to hear about, and look at, yours. Keep up the good "spoiling."

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    1. THank you Stephen! Hope you enjoy today's "Cats in Hats' edition. :)

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  13. She is both cute and clever.

    Hugs

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    1. She is too smart and quick for me!

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  14. I have that same problem with Tux. We usually eat on the couch, and Tux will sit right beside me look at me with those puss n boots eyes and purr. He likes to head butt my hands and try to knock the plate off my lap. If I ignore him too long, he'll reach out try to pull things off the plate with his paw. It's amazing the things he likes. Meat, of course, but also potatoes, rice (that one really threw me!) and they say cats can't taste sugar - but my boy certainly has a sweet tooth. His favourite thing of all is icecream (preferably black cherry, but he's not too picky), pudding (butterscotch is the best) and leftover cereal milk - funny fact.... he won't drink milk if I just pour him some - it has to come from my cereal bowl (I eat sugary cereals, so I think he likes the extra kick). He too loves peanut butter toast. Funnily enough, he won't eat eggs, or most fish.

    Rocky begs too - but mostly he just sits there politely. Unless I have Romaine lettuce (yeah... can't explain that one) or chicken wings! That boy loves chicken wings.

    Peno begs a little - but if you give her anything she mostly ignores it - unless it's raw. She's the first in the kitchen if I'm cutting up raw meat!

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    1. You are making me feel a whole lot better! :) It's funny how picky they can be!

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  15. She's a gorgeous girl. I had a little black kitty who begged me to open the bread machine during the kneading cycle. She would then daintily swipe out tiny pieces of dough. We lost her to FIP but I think of her often & of course whenever making bread.

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    1. That's the best cat story I've heard in a long time. So sorry you lost your little kitty-girl. She sounded lovely.

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  16. AHahah! She´s lovely!

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  17. They do get their point across, don't they.

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Thank you for all your comments, which I love to read!