A reply from Temptations

About a week ago, I wrote about noticing that my cat's bag of Temptations treats contained an ingredient called "natural free range chicken flavor." And, I wondered, what is this "flavor" made of? I'd understand actual free range chicken in the product, but was this "flavor," as it was called, just some concoction made by a scientist in a lab?

Having much too much time on my hands, I ended up emailing Mars, Inc., the parent company, to get to the bottom of the mystery. In my email, I inquired:

I recently noticed, on the packaging, the printed claim of "natural free range chicken flavor" contained within the product. I am curious as to what constitutes this "flavor?" The ingredient list did not provide a breakdown or definition. Thank you, and I look forward to your reply.

Days passed with no response. Then, last night, I received the following email:

Thank you for contacting us. We appreciate your interest in our WHISKAS® TEMPTATIONS® Treats for Cats.

The Free Range Chicken flavor is made with chickens that are allowed to eat free range. Which means they eat grass, bugs, worms and natural things instead of only allowed to eat chicken feed.

Your confidence in our products and continued goodwill are very important to us.

I don't know where the "confidence" line came from, since I was writing to them with nothing but skepticism. But, grammatical error aside, the folks at Mars at least gave me an answer. A somewhat cryptic answer, since it still doesn't explain why this ingredient is called a "flavor" rather than just "chicken," but an answer, nonetheless. It also doesn't actually say what the ingredients are in this "flavor," but I guess it's all I can expect from a giant behemoth of a company.

What's this supposed to mean?

My cat has me trained to give him treats every morning as I get up. He then, having a full belly, marches into the bedroom and settles under the covers for about six hours of sleep.

The other day, while wiping the sleep from my eyes and opening a new package of Temptations for the little monster (really, why aren't they just called Cat Treats? Who are they trying to impress?), I noticed this interesting tidbit selling point printed on the bag:

Wow, natural free range chicken FLAVOR! That's . . . . wait, what is free-range flavor? I could understand if there was actual free range chicken inside, but only flavor?

Checking the ingredients on the package didn't help, as, about 1/2 of the way through the list, well past "chicken meal" and "dried meat by-products," I found "natural free range chicken flavor," nestled between "calcium carbonate" and "vitamins." No parenthesis with an explanation or ingredient breakdown. Just "flavor." But, hey, it's natural, right?

So, does this mean that, in a lab somewhere, a scientist is trying to constantly capture the essence of free range meat? 

"Oh, this one is too grassy!"

"Oh, this one isn't gamey enough!"

"Wait! This one is just right! Call the people at Temptations! The formula is a success!"

Duped by a cat

My cat has a knack for duping me. I know, he's just a cat. His brain is very, very tiny. And yet, he gets me at least once or twice a week.

It all begins with him looking at something: a coat rack, the ceiling, a book shelf. He'll stare and stare and stare, his eyes wide, pupils saucer-shaped. Eventually, I'll notice this and begin to stare at the coat rack or ceiling or book shelf, as well. After a few moments of searching and seeing nothing, I look back at the cat, hoping to trace his eye-line, figuring his stare will lead me to the bug or whatever is so interesting. But, he now isn't staring at the object in question. He's staring at me, eye to eye. 

And smiling.

Once again. 

Things my cat makes me learn about others through Google

I finally got a new ID tag for Tuesday, our cat. He's an indoor pet, but I've always made sure he's had a current tag, just in case of emergency. To be truthful, though, I also have a paranoia that one day he'll find an escape route, some sort of secret passage in a closet, a trap door only he has noticed, and crawl past treasures hidden and forgotten by time in the walls, past bricks of gold and bags of silver, through some sort of ventilation duct and eventually out onto the busy streets of West Hartford, a cat free from human clutches. 

Either that or he'll walk out when the door's open.

Regardless of the plausibility of either circumstance, he needed an updated tag, if, for nothing else, to at least make him identifiable. So, I made the trek to the pet store in Bishops Corner to buy a new little metal oval. The self-service machine inside engraved it for me as I waited and watched, and the smell of a cage of birds nearby provided a farm-like atmosphere. In only about 2 minutes, the gold plate was completed. I took it in my hand and read it to make sure the machine (and by "the machine", I meant "I," the person who typed in the information) didn't misspell anything.

I'm Tuesday.

I'm lost. Call

860-XXX-XXXX

Everything seemed fine. Though, looking at the tiny ID in my hand, I couldn't help but feel a bit ripped off. $6.50? Really?

Getting the new tag on Mr. T was pretty easy. And, after doing so and sitting down on the couch, the cat jumped up behind me and, beginning to purr, proceeded to burrow his head into my hair. This isn't uncommon for Tuesday. In fact, it's a trait he seemed to pick up about 8 months ago, completely out of the blue.

Once the session was over and Tuesday settled in for a nap, I got up and turned on the computer. I had been meaning to find out where this relatively new sign of affection generated from, and to see if anyone else out in the world shared such a pet experience. And today seemed to be the day to find out. It was time to learn what this hair sniffing meant.

After my search, I'm still wondering. Though, some Google queries did provide a few funny web links.

I started with a search for "cat hair smelling" (in hindsight, not the best phrase to use). Of course, this lead mostly to websites devoted to cats that smell. From "Is it normal for a cat to smell?" to "Cat hair is not sexy," the gamut was run on follicle odor. But, I did learn through Yahoo Answers that it is OK to wash one's hair with cat shampoo. So, if I'm ever in that pinch . . .

Of course, this cat shampoo link made me wonder who was in such a desperate situation that they had to pose such a question. I mean, is this James Caan in Misery typing away? Is this person stuck in a house with no supplies? If so, shouldn't they spend their online time asking for a rescue team to find them? Honestly, don't worry about your hair! We're coming to save you!

I refined my search to "cat smelling human head," thinking this would weed out the sites devoted to smelly felines. And, thankfully, it did. But, it also weeded out any site willing to answer why my cat decided to start loving my hair. Oh, and there was a strange UK Yahoo Answer post debating whether a dead cat smells "bad" or "really bad" if confined to a small space.

I did not click to find out.

Finally, I went for broke and searched for "cat smelling MY head." Again, I did not find my answer. The only site of interest in the bunch attempted to answer the age old question, "How do you tell someone they smell like litterbox?" (a question stressing the minds of man for generations). There was also a vegetarian that claimed to love the smell of cat food and who wondered if cat "waste" had an invisible smell. 

Now, I don't know what kind of smells this vegetarian is accustomed to, but if they're usually VISIBLE, I think they should question the type of "plants" they're eating.

In the end, I was unable to find an answer to my question. I only can assume that Tuesday started to do this odd little act out of boredom. Why he waited until the age of 6 to begin, I'll never know, but I don't mind. As long as he doesn't start wielding scissors while he's back there, I think I'll be safe. 

A classic

I haven't seen this in a long time. Always good for a laugh.

A farewell to Amos

It is with a heavy heart that I write this post. At 2PM today, EST, just about a half hour from when I type this, my buddy Amos will no longer roam the land. Time caught up with old Amos and my parents have made the decision to put him to sleep this afternoon. He was a good pet, a great cat, and had a huge heart (as those who saw him would immediately notice, as he was also the largest cat I have ever seen in my life). Though he hasn't been "mine" since I left for college nearly 12 years ago, it is still very sad to hear this news.

We got Amos about 16 years ago. We had adopted his brother, Tigger, and learned shortly after the adoption that he had a brother that didn't take to his adopted home. We weren't in the market for two pets, but we decided to take him in anyway. It turned out to be really wonderful, as the two brothers immediately recognized each other and spent all day playing. Tigger was orange and Amos was a blond long-hair.

We lost Tigger after a couple years. His body just shut itself down one day and he faded faster than any vet could control. He was fine on a Sunday and dead by Tuesday. It was horrible. We all took it rough, but Amos seemed to be hurt most of all by the loss. He ate more and more and went from a sleek bullet of a cat to a large, rolly-polly feline. But he was still Amos, still always wanted to be cuddled, still wanted to be scratched on the belly.

We ended up getting Soma, a female tiger cat, as a new companion to Amos. They tolerated each other, but the spark that was between brothers never blossomed between the new roommates. Now, I imagine Soma will be at a loss, as will my parents. She's alone now.  

So, hug your pets tonight. Tell them you love them. Sometimes they mean more to you than you realize.