Cow

Oliver is allergic to cow. He reacts to it in a variety of ways. As the main ingredient of a can of cat food, it makes him ill within minutes. Until recently, I hadn’t realized that his kitty crunchies had “meat meal” in them. This contributed to his chin acne – which has cleared up almost completely since switching him to seafood crunchies.

The juice from tonight’s steaks would have caused an immediate and violent kitten tummy explosion.

So the kittehs don’t get to lick steak plates.

Usually.

Obi is a good boy. He is well mannered and generally follows commands. But tonight? He wanted steak.

He started by getting up on the coffee table after The Boy was done eating so he was eye level with the TV tray. This is kind of bad, but generally okay.

Then he scooted closer to the tray and fixed it with a stare. From me he got a warning.

Then he licked the steak knife. That earned him a scolding from The Boy. We look down on our pets licking the sharp edges of cutlery in this house. But…

It isn’t Obi’s allergy. And it isn’t his fault his brother has the allergy.

As The Boy put the plate down on the floor, I grabbed Oliver and pulled him into my lap. He was not happy. He tried everything to get away so he could take his rightful licks as Alpha food cat. For about five minutes, Oli and I struggled as Obi thoroughly cleaned that plate.

He was VERY thorough.

Toward the end, Oliver was sitting in my lap, pushed as far away as his legs would allow, staring at me with full fuzzy fury. As the brown kitten finished and The Boy picked up the plate, my grip on him relaxed.

He also relaxed. He knew there was nothing left for him. His life is ruined.

But no one exploded.

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