It's funny how sometimes something comes to mind and you wonder where that thought sprang from. I was sitting looking at our cat asleep on the chair near me and I got to pondering about how the food we feed our animals has changed over the years.
I have had a cat or cats nearly all of my life and I realised that up till about 15 years back we always made sure our cat/s had a saucer of milk each day or cream if there happened to be some available. Now, of course, it is said that milk is not good for cats. I certainly don't remember any of our cats suffering from drinking milk and they all seemed to enjoy it very much. If they wanted water I think they would find a source somewhere in the garden but I am sure we didn't leave water out especially for the cat/s.
Precious always has a bowl of water on the washing machine and one outside the back door which is refreshed daily. She drinks a lot of water but not to the point of it showing she has a problem. She just appears to enjoy drinking water. Occasionally she has been allowed a small amount of cream which she also enjoys but as we have it so infrequently in the house I doubt it does her any harm.
Many years ago cats were also fed bread and milk by people that didn't have a lot of money or even perhaps Weetbix and milk or something similar. I think we also used to give them liver (wonder if that was bad for them?) and there were no tinned foods for cats and certainly no 'bikkies' whatsoever.
Many things have changed over the passing years but the difference in the way we feed our cats (and even our dogs I guess.....we haven't had a dog for a few years now) has certainly changed. We had to find a brand of cat food that Precious would eat every day and she always has a small bowl of 'bikkies' available as well. She has her favourites there as well.
Once again here I am just thinking aloud as I often do these days. Sign of someone with not enough to do perhaps?
I remember all those changes too. Cats got off cuts, and leftovers - and no we didn't buy them dry biscuits. And milk was a treat.
ReplyDeleteOur current pair have water always available, though Jazz also liked licking the floor of the shower and drinking from the toilet. They do have cat biscuits, small helpings of raw meat (kangaroo) each day, and the occasional can. Spoilt to the bone.
Our Precious is also spoilt!! We are not sure if she thinks we are cats or she is human, more likely the latter I believe. She just knows she is the boss.
DeleteI remember we once had a cat that would drink from the toilet back in the day when nothing was added to the toilet water thank goodness.
I would find it almost impossible not to have a pet in our home, a cat for preference although we have also had some wonderful doggie friends too. We are too old to care for a dog now though much to MOH's sorrow. He loves Precious as much as I do but he did so love it when we had a dog.
I'm amazed at the amount of pet food that comes through my checkout every day. And the variety! Not to mention the health claims, pet treats, pet vitamins etc. It's a very expensive business to feed your animals these days. We love them and would do anything for them, and pet food companies know this.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was very young we had a cat, a dog and a galah. Pet quality meat and bones were bought from the butcher very cheaply, they were off cuts that couldn't be sold for human consumption. I don't remember where we go galah food from. The dog and cat also had any leftovers from the table. They were healthy and happy.
Nowadays table scraps are not recommended in case your pet chokes on a bone or something.