comment #1

scooterzz says ...

no chocolate chips for dogs or cats....really...don't even think about it.....

comment #2

frankbooth says ...

That's odd. Usually the exact opposite is true: cats love morning breath, or they want to stick their head in your mouth after you've eaten something fishy like sardines or sushi. But they usually recoil from mint toothpaste, mouthwash, alcohol.

Then again, there really is no "typical." Animals have their quirks, just like humans. Most cats will take off like they've been zapped with electricity if you give them Thai or Indian curry. Then they'll sulk and try to lick it off their mouths as they give you the evil eye from across the room. But I had one once that lapped up anything spicy. She was consistent, too. Couldn't get enough of the hot stuff.

comment #3

frankbooth says ...

Here's a cat story for you:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/09/02/national/a130911D26.DTL&tsp=1

comment #4

Efron says ...

Mint and Catnip are virtually the same plant.

comment #5

Craig Kennedy says ...

Yeah. Same family. My cat used to go batshit crazy for mint.

comment #6

Rich S. says ...

Every once in awhile, on the way out of a restaurant, I'll grab a couple starlight peppermints, from the host stand- the ones wrapped in cellophane. I leave them wrapped and toss them to the cats. They go insane chasing them around.

As to catnip, most stores sell a scratching pad that consists of a bunch of corrugated cardboard wedged sideways in a box, sprinkled with catnip. Best $5 a cat owner ever spent.

comment #7

Edward says ...

Years ago I was living on a farm with several other people (we had a theatre company) and we had a house guest who made the ice tea. Had a nice dinner of spagetti, but the tea tasted different; not bad, unusual. After dinner we were feeling pretty good, more than good we all had a nice buzz. Turned out our guest used the catnip canister, which was next to the tea canister.

comment #8

Sarcastig says ...

I wouldn't give your cats ice cream though: the buggers don't have the best kidneys, and ice cream contains quite a bit of salt. I'd avoid giving them any salty foods, actually, so cheese is also a no-no.

But they do like the strangest things. One of mine goes wild for cucumber.

comment #9

BurmaShave says ...

Mint is fine, but like the man said, keep them away from chocolate chips. Also, from my experience of cat raising, keep them away from dairy, despite the old milkbowl clishe.

comment #10

Pinko Punko says ...

Yeah, cats get pretty lactose intolerant when they grow up. And chocolate is a huge no-no. Nice and toxic.

comment #11

Zimmergirl says ...

Cats almost always feel compelled to know every scent coming from their clan. So if a new scent is introduced, they're interested. They'll probably be bored of it at some point.

comment #12

nemo says ...

My cat from a couple of decades ago loved my stinky sneakers. The stinkier the better, especially if I'd been wearing them on a hot summer day. He'd stick his entire head deep inside the shoe, take a deep breath, and roll around in ecstasy.

comment #13

CM says ...

my cats LOOOOOOVE mint and ice cream and whipped cream...but as pointed out above, not too much of it. we just give them a tip of the finger for them to lick.

comment #14

AuggieBenDoggie says ...

Well my 14 year ols chocolate point siamese just about goes bananas whenever I open up a beer.

comment #15

Bocephus says ...

My cat likes to lick plastic bags. Cats are weird.

comment #16

dixiedugan says ...

Oh boy, our cat Tiger used to go batshit crazy over sweet corn. You couldn't shuck it in the house, you'd have to perform shucking duties outside with the cat yodeling and wailing like a banshee, doing the screen door climb. Then you'd have to run interference between the stove and the still screaming cat, more than once he'd burned some fur trying to get the corn out of the boiling pot. Once he had a couple of ears with a smidge of butter he was happy

comment #17

TJ Smoov says ...

I can't eat beef jerky without my cat trying to grab the piece and run. Not sure why. She doesn't care about any other people food that I've seen, but she goes apeshit for beef jerky. I think it's because cats are just weird.