Junk Food Junkie

My cat loves junk food.

Here's a little back-story about me, pets, and health food. I used to have a dog that loved peanut butter. Yes, Sophie loved peanut butter so much that she'd do anything for peanut butter. And when she wanted her way, Sophie also had an iron will--far, far stronger than mine. So peanut butter she got.

But not just any peanut butter. See, I adopted Sophie as a tiny, 7-week-old ball of black fluff, and I just couldn't bear the thought of harming her precious little sharp teeth with any old sugar-sweetened peanut butter. So I bought Sophie the healthiest, most premium natural peanut butter I could find.

Meanwhile, I continued to eat Jif. (Just in case you were wondering, I'm now a natural peanut butter convert.)

So, getting back on track, now I have this cat, Maxine the Bean.

Doesn't she look like a black bean?

I feed the Maxine the Bean the healthiest, most premium cat food I can afford. Max loves Purina cat chow.

My parents think it's a great joke to bring a little tub of Purina when the come to visit. I swear, Max knows as soon as she sees (smells?) them. She morphs into a little social butterfly. She rubs on their travel bags and weaves around their ankles, purring and grinning her cunning little kitty grin. And when they produce the little tub of Purina, she attacks it like it's going out of style. She's like a junkie.


Lately I've been feeding Max a combination of dry and wet food. I've been experimenting with different brands of the wet stuff--natural, whole-food ingredients and no by-products, of course--and yesterday I took advantage of a sale to try a premium brand that's normally over my budget.

I was especially impressed with the ingredient list, because it included several yummy additions that her usual doesn't. Blueberries? Sweet potato? Carrots? Ginger? Cool!

The Bean was less impressed. Her initial, Pavlovian, excitement upon opening the container faded with her first whiff. She stalked out of the kitchen and didn't come back for a taste until half an hour later.

After the first bite or two, she warmed up to it...except for this forlorn carrot, rejected with much disdain.

Vegetables? Eeew!

Everybody say it with me...one...two...three.... Eeeeeeew!

OK, I hope this post hasn't turned anyone away from Crave! I just had such a giggle over this that I had to share. Ironic, right, that the nut-butter-iest of health nuts has a cat that craves McPurina and won't eat a vegetable?

Does anyone else have a picky pet? A pet with a "special" food craving?