I always thought dogs were the best pets for kitchen clean up. You drop a dollop of mashed potatoes on the floor and the dog’s right there to lap it up. Spaghetti, a cherry tomato, a slice of cucumber, or a green bean, the dog is bound to lick that soiled floor clean. On the other hand, a cat is more likely to leave it lay.
Sure, the cat is intrigued when something drops. She will run to it or saunter, depending on her mood, and she’ll sniff it and generally walk away, unless it’s tuna or something she isn’t supposed to eat. Olivia is a fiend for peanut butter, especially the kind in the Reese’s peanut butter cups. No, we don’t let her have that at all. We happened to learn of her elevated sense of taste when she dug a wrapper out of the trash once and began licking it. No-No, Olivia.
Has your cat ever helped you find something you thought was lost or pointed out something you should know about? Some cats will let you know when they or another pet in the family has urfed on your carpet or your bed, for example. Cats will show you where the lid to your toothpaste went. They’ll hide things from you—knock an earring off the dresser and bat it underneath. But they’ll often eventually help you find it—usually long after the occasion for which you desperately wanted to wear it.
Then there are bugs. Cats have bug radar. It’s uncanny the way they can scope out even the tiniest bug in the most obscure place and they’re eager to tell you about it.
I notice they will usually walk away from a spill from the litter box, however—you know, when something clings to their fur and drops off later someplace in the house. No one seems willing to admit to that faux pas. I remember an incident some years ago when I found one of those “cling-on” bits from the litter box half way up a wall. Now that was startling. I figured that the fluffy cat I had at the time, when he realized something was stuck to his bushy tail, gave it a fling, and the “something” hit the wall. Cats can be creative.