Feline favourites

(Published in the Times of India, Sunday, August 29)

A cat has very discerning tastebuds. Some would call cats fussy, picky, pernickety, whimsical, temperamental and much more that cannot be described in words polite enough to be used in a family publication, but the truth is rather different. Cats know what they want and, more so, know exactly how to go about getting it. Where their food is concerned, they are exacting, demanding, even commanding – especially at 2 am when all humans should be awake and alert enough to deal with feline needs – to the point of being tyrannical and, well, a trifle selective.

Any cat owner will understand this. And search high and low across town to satisfy catly requirements, just because the feline personality is strong enough to make a human existence sheer hell if life shows a non-cat bias. To make things a little easier for cat owners in Mumbai, cat food is now available at supermarkets like Hypercity and Big Bazaar, as well as in pet shops such as Ebrahim in Kemps Corner, KPS and Barks-n-Meows in Chembur, Loony Dudes in Juhu, Pet Planet in Bandra, Pure Pets in Prabhadevi, RK Pets World in Vashi, Paws N Furs in Thane and many more.

There are, of course, variations. Dry food comes in small pellets shaped fancifully, from tiny doughnuts to fish-shapes to wee pockets that are touted to contain milk, cheese, salmon or chicken. Some food is medicated, advised for cats with hairball problems, kidney ailments, long hair, short hair, young, old, general health, excess weight…Royal Canin, Fit 32, Hill’s Science Diet, Purina Pro Plan, Natural Balance, New Iams Veterinary Formula and others are recommended by veterinarians for special needs felines. Some cats take well to canned food, also available in pouches, most commonly seen in the city with characteristic Whiskas branding.

Cat food is not cheap. Once found, which is not always easy, as any fond owner of a finicky cat would know, a week’s supply could cost as much as the same amount of people food. For instance, a 300-gram packet of Iams chicken formula sells for about Rs140, the locally made Showcat from Venky’s costs about Rs525 for a 2-kg bag and the same weight of special renal formula biscuits from Royal Canin rates Rs930. A 1.5-kg bag of Whiskas costs approximately Rs350, while the wet food in a pouch sells at Rs35. And there is wastage to be accounted for, always a factor with cats. Some ‘discerning’ felines will eat nothing but one flavour of one brand of dry food and then, suddenly, without warning, just when you have acquired a large bag of the stuff at great cost and with greater effort, will refuse to even sniff at it and demand something else instead or – always distressing for an owner – refuse to eat at all until that demand is met.

Apart from regular food, there are the treats. Chewy sticks, small segments of what can only be described as highly aromatic cat-food jerky, can occasionally be found in stores like Ebrahim’s, priced at about Rs100 for a packet that will last a while if judiciously doled out to a finicky feline. Small pinches of catnip, the catly equivalent of edible marijuana, will keep a cat happy for a while, adding a tiny ratio of valuable nutrients to the daily diet and a large ratio of joy to the cat’s day, but is unbelievably difficult to find, almost impossible in India. A house cat will eat fresh raw fish, or scoff enormous amounts of highly salty canned tuna, but that depends entirely on mood and inclination to oblige the one doing the offering. Raw meat is not advised by vets, though it may be relished by cats. And milk is a matter of taste – some cats will drink it, others will refuse, but none of them really needs it after being weaned.

Owning a cat is indeed a pleasure, bringing hours of fun and – in many ways – education into any life. But where food is concerned, feline favour is an expensive aspect that is not all joy.