Darn! Forgot the cats like those....

[applestar]

Yesterday, when I brought the cold sensitive plants back inside again, I harvested a handful of broccoli side shoots from some overwintered sprouting broccoli.

I was busy and left it on the end of the kitchen table, then forgot all about them.

...I didn't feed our two cats this morning because I went out in the garden early and got caught up doing various chores. Now I came in and was making myself some canned salmon sandwich, thinking "Oh yea! Those broccoli shoots would be good in here, what did I do with those...?"

...there were only two very mangled pieces left on the table.
(doubly bad because they are not supposed to get on the kitchen table or the counter)

BTW apparently it didn't matter to them that half of them were bright red violet colored Purple Sprouting Brocoli.

Yeah, they had their (*my*) vegs. And the air is eerily silent now that I gave them the skins and dark meat of the salmon. (they were meowing insessantlyuntil a moment ago.)

[Francis Barnswallow]

I didn't know cats ate broccoli. I guess when they're hungry they'll eat just about anything.

[applestar]

We feed our cats natural food.

One likes broccoli, cucumber, and zucchini (she was probably the thief -- she was NOT meowing as loudly as the other one)

The other cat likes lettuce and fresh beans of any kind -- green, yellow, runner, purple podded.

They both like carrot peelings, corn on the cob, and the white part of the watermelon.

[gumbo2176]

I didn't know cats ate broccoli. I guess when they're hungry they'll eat just about anything.

My wife got another cat a few years ago and it loves edamame. She will turn down shrimp for those little morsels of soybean. When I harvest the soybeans off the plants and prepare them, the cat is in the kitchen with me the whole time.

[imafan26]

I don't have plants in the house because the cats I had would dig out the plants, especially orchid seedlings overnight. I haven't had a Christmas tree since 1995 because my cats loved ornaments.

Once my cat stole a trout out of my plate; ran off and scarfed it down as fast as she could.

My current cats are curious about vegetables I bring in, but so far have stayed off the counter and while she will sniff them, she hasn't tried to taste any.

[LGT]

Growing up we had cats and they would always use the bathroom on my mother's peace lilies. With the Christmas tree they would always climb it and play with the ornaments. Cats aren't really the most disciplined animal either. Almost impossible to break them of a bad habit.

[Cola82]

Iamafan: hah! I can totally see every little detail of that scene. That is such a cat thing to do.

Our old cat doesn't care about plants or people food at all (he will run off with kitchen towels), but the little one wants to put her mouth on everything. I've tried to teach her that if she's just patient I'll put my plate on the floor for her to lick (and try to cover up) but this very morning she had her nose in my bowl of cereal the entire time I was eating. She's the reason I put the tomatoes eight feet up on the bookshelf last night. I've had enough trouble with regurgitated poinsettia leaves under the bed.

As for Christmas trees, I just hang the breakable ornaments on the wall, up high. It's good for kids, too. I have a tiny niece who still thinks ornaments are toys. Which is good, because some of my ornaments are actually just plush toys I shove between the branches. ;p

[gumbo2176]

There's a male, black cat, that has adopted me as of late. He shows up on my back porch every morning and afternoon for a bit to eat, some petting and a little grooming.

Just about every time I get into the garden to weed, he shows up and lays near me between the rows on the leaves I've placed there for mulch and weed control. If I move up a few feet, he does too until I'm ready to move elsewhere.

Now, we have a cat that my wife rescued 3 years ago, but by the way she acts toward me, you'd think I throw her in a tub of water every chance I get. She doesn't like anyone but my wife at this point in time. Matter of fact, last time she went to the vets, they had to sedate her to do a routine exam and check her for a UTI. You should have seen the battle getting her into the cat carrier for that trip. She acted like a cornered cougar-------I have the marks to prove it.

[Susan W]

Gumbo, you have one of those 2 -family cats. There was a story, and funny, about these critters. Kitty goes home to main house in the evening. Gets fed, petting, and curls up for the night. In the AM goes to your house, family #2 gets fed, petted, dozes and ambles about, fed, petted more, then goes back to family #1. Those cheating guys!!

[ElizabethB]

Love my cats. Sallie Sue is 19 months old and Daisy Faye is 14 months old. We aquired Sallie Sue after my 19 year old Callie died. Then 22 year old Patches died and we adopted Daisy Faye. We both adore our girls (both spayed of course and strictly indooor pets.) It is kind of funny because G is a big guy who hunts and fishes but he is an absolute sucker for the girls. They have never expressed any interest in vegetables. Even though they never get table scraps they do beg for meat. We feed them a veternarian approved diet of raw, ground chicken, chicken liver, eggs - yolks raw and whites lightly cooked, fish oil, vitamins and taurine. When we go out of town I have to give them dry food in a feeder. I shop for food with no rice or other grains and chicken - not chicken meal as the first ingredient. Even then when we return even from only an over night trip their feces stinks to high heaven from the vegetables and other non protien stuff. They also drink 3 times as much when on the dry food.

Wish I could find dry food that is 100% chicken.

Think I got off the subject. Just love my girls.

[RamonaGS]

A lot of cats like greens. I have a Bombay who is a danger to any salad within his reach! Several times when eating dinner, various family members offered him pieces of meat, scalloped potatoes, and an assortment of other goodies a normal cat may like, but Darom turns his little nose up at it and wants the salad...not even with dressing on it, LOL!

[applestar]

Remember that in nature, predators eat the stomach contents of their prey. That would be the extent (percentage and representative menu) for their vegetable and grain nutritional requirement. We do give ours vitamins with taurine as well -- that's a must, though I understand heart muscles are high in taurine, so I do occasionally get them a mixed tub of chicken hearts and livers from the Amish market. (It sounds like you may have access to other sources, ElizabethB)

I love all the cat stories everyone has been posting -- keep them coming.