This is BY FAR the best thread here on the forum!
Cats can be next level picky. Many years ago I sublet an apartment for 2 months in the south of France that came with a cat. The owner (a British yacht captain who was going off to sail a rich Swede’s yacht) explained to me that the only thing the cat would eat was ground beef that was sold in frozen patties at a supermarket in the next town, which was a 30 minute bus ride away. I refused to believe this cat wouldn’t eat commercial cat food. Day after day I bought a new tin of a different brand of wet food – Whiskas, Friskies, you name it – and he wouldn’t touch it. Finally, on the fourth day Pushkin sniffed the Purina food, turned away and went into the bedroom. He climbed onto the bed, lay down and rested his face on his paws. I stroked his head and he just buried it harder into his paws like someone sobbing into their hands. I gave up and took the bus.
HO was a stay-at-home pet mom. The dog went EVERYWHERE with her. She was local, so I went for a live interview. She said she spoon feeds the dog every bit of both his meals, and treats in between. She knew I worked, and would be taking the dog with me to work ( again, he had never been left alone); but I was honest and said " that won’t be happening, I’ll put his food in a dish". She said ok, try, but he probably won’t it that way, he never has". We agreed on the sit. Well, on first meal, in his dish, he ate it all up. I took videos and sent to her to show that her dog could actually eat like a dog. She was thrilled and he ate from his bowl even for her on her return and forever after. I did multiple sits for her after that and we are now friends.
I’m sure if she left the room the dog would eat. He was just trained in front of humans to wait for that word.
@KChev True story: I knew someone who named her cat Pushkin, because “Boris wasn’t Godunov.”
@Ckone2541
Not raw chicken livers and not for a dog, but a few days before I donate platelets, I try to eat chicken livers, cooked. Makes sure my hemoglobin hits 13, required level for men to donate platelets.
Not many restaurants serve them anymore but believe it or not Popeye’s Fried Chicken used to have them on the menu - showing their New Orleans origins.
I sat a tortoise in Tucson, AZ during the heat of summer. She didn’t move much and didn’t eat much, but when a red hibiscus blossomed I took the flower and gave it to her - only red flowers.
I’ve had a repeat cat sit where he gets a tablespoon of fruit flavoured greek yoghurt each morning. A specific brand and flavour. When I couldn’t get that flavour and bought the nearest fruit flavour, he refused to eat it so I ate it as it’s a brand I love!
@Rhe, great question. We’ve looked after a dog that only ate cooked chicken. Lots of it. Every meal.
More broadly then the more we housesit, the more we respect kibble. We have encountered across all manner of approaches to feeding pets that, unless medical related, seem unclear in purpose other than conscious complexity. Clearly we respect pet parent wishes during each housesit and feed pets accordingly. But any future pet of ours would eat kibble.
@Skylos we have a sit where when you use the milk frother the dogs will be lining up waiting for their “pupacino”. The older dog has turmeric and black pepper in his. I understand black pepper helps with the absorption of the turmeric in humans, so maybe also in dogs.
My husband LOVES chicken liver, and they are really cheap to buy here in the UK as no one else seems to like them .
His other best buy is salmon heads - he makes them into soup. The fishmonger always presumes he is buying them for his pet cat
We are drifting of topic, but….
Both of my grandmothers would make gefilte fish for Passover. They would stuff the heads and that was always the piece that grandfathers would get. Usually whitefish, carp, and pike.
What about the dog owners who suggest that we give the dogs our left overs.
Mr Itchyfeet and I don’t have left overs
Every day is a school day! @Ckone2541 @Maggie8K @mdarden1x
I’ll investigate a bit and may consider adding it to my diet
The chickens also miss out on leftovers as we don’t have them either @Itchyfeet
Our dog loves licking off:
- the pan the bolognese sauce has been cooked in
- the delicious olive oil at the bottom of the bowl that the linguini and pesto was served in
- the grill pan we cooked sausages on
- the spoon I used to serve up the cat’s wet food
Those are his “treats”.
Oh, and the milk left in the frother after I’ve made a capuccino.
I generally do not do that even if the home owner asks. I have always trained my dogs not to beg for food and in fact teach them to be calm and away from the table when we eat, during a sit, I do the same and give the dogs a HO approved treat after we are done with dinner.
There’s nothing like having peace during a meal.
Just an FYI, kibble alone is not a good choice as the only food for any pet.
Wet foods are necessary in a pet’s diet as dry food alone is a huge cause for kidney damage/ failure in pets due to chronic dehydration. We learned this the hard way with our first cat. The vet who euthanized him was the one who told us that they’re not really allowed to say it but that dry food alone is often a huge culprit for kidney problems in pets.
Always balance pet’s diets with wet food, be it canned pet food or things such as chicken, rice, eggs, sweet potatoes, etc.
What a load of codswallop!!! Not suggesting you weren’t asked to do that but some owners forget that their pets, whilst definitely muchb loved members of the family with individual personalities, are animals…