• limelight79@lemm.ee
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    4 days ago

    I had a cat that was a total food fiend. Eating pizza was hard because he’d try to get some for himself.

    When I would make burgers on the grill, the food I prepped in the kitchen - bun, lettuce, tomato, etc. - had to go in the microwave or he’d grab them while I was working at the grill. He was relentless.

    One time I had some friends over and warned them to watch the food. They didn’t believe me when I said how quick he could be. Later, I found part of a burger in my bed.

    Another time, he and I were staying at my parents place, and I got up one morning after they had left for work and noticed a red spot on his white fur. I asked my mom about it - turns out he had pushed a cake in a container off the counter to get some icing that was on the outside edge, and the spot was icing.

    He had a lot of food allergies, so he could only eat one specific variety of prescription cat food, which he didn’t like very much. That’s what drove a lot of his actions. I couldn’t blame him. Unfortunately, the food allergies were IBS that eventually evolved into cancer.

    I miss him. He’s been gone 10 years now, and I still think of him a lot.

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      When I was a kid we did one of those adventure outings with zip lines and obstacle courses on the wooded back area of an old farm. The farm had a couple dogs that were notorious for stealing food as a pair. We were warned but we could never have been ready. One dog waltzed right into our lunch circle and flopped for belly rubs. The other dog started grabbing brown bags full of food. When he was done the dog doing the distraction jumped up and sprinted away. The employees knew what was happening as soon as the first dog rolled over though. So we did get our lunches back.

      • limelight79@lemm.ee
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        3 days ago

        He really was. My best friend. We had so many adventures together.

        When my wife and I were getting serious, she said something like, “I’m not sure what to do about Snowball. I don’t think he likes me.” I said, “Are you serious? He loves you! Why do you think he curls up on you when you’re laying on the couch? That cat might like you more than me.” She had grown up with dogs and just didn’t know cat language.

        Snowball is gone, and a kitten we adopted late in Snowball’s life has also passed away from medical issues (and that one hurts so much, too - poor thing was only 7 years old - at least Snowball got a normal cat lifespan). But we have three cats now, and a dog.

    • SkaveRat@discuss.tchncs.de
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      4 days ago

      Oh they very much can.

      When I was a kid, ours opened the doors by jumping at the door handles. Grabbing them and pulling them down.

      They even taught their kittens

      We had to install all handles so they pointed upwards, just so the cats couldn’t grab them

      But even that only lasted a couple months until they learned to latch onto them anyway and wiggle around until their weight pulled the handle to the side and opened the door

      Clever fluffy bastards