Petco for Cosmo

This is a photo of a Petco in Texas, but it could just as easily be one in Kaneohe, like the one that just opened in July here.  I went there in search of bargains for Cosmo on catfood, cat treats, litter and the like.  I found one bargain, for the Fancy Feast brand.  I buy it for anywhere from 80 cents to 1.09, but I found it on special for 56 cents.  I also found a brand that Cosmo had not tried.  The friendly sales clerk signed me up for a discount card, giving me a keychain version with the dog-and cat logo.  They registered Cosmo's name in their data base, and said they would be emailing him discounts on cat products.  As his agent, I have as yet received no offers or discounts.

On a second visit, I bought a 24 pack of Cosmo's three favorite Fancy Feast flavors:  Classic Beef, Liver and Chicken.  At first he seemed moderately enthusiastic about them, then spurned them, then came back to them, then totally rejected them, wouldn't even touch them.  This is one of the feeding problems I found when I had small children--as soon as you get a good price on something they like and buy in bulk, they go off it.  And cats, like small children, when they  replace a favorite with another favorite, do not just keep the old favorite in the repertoire, they go off the old one entirely.    

I have the same lack of enthusiasm for this big box store as I do for others (Costco, Sam's Club).  At least this one does not require a membership fee.  Most of the things in the store I don't need.  The cat litter offerings do not meet my needs.  You cannot just buy a cheap bag of litter.  You either get luxury bags of technologically advanced litter types made out of velvet and satin (at least so I judge by the prices) or you buy the store brand in bulk at a not particularly attractive price.  Since this store is right near Long's I might stop by and check the fancy feast prices when I'm going longingly to longs in search of the cheap cat litter that they had for awhile for 1.99 a bag (normal prices from 3.99 to 5.00+)  Long's (actually CVS but keeping the name long's to fool longs customers) also has stopped carrying the "Filet Mignon" Whiskas flavor that was the only flavor Cosmo liked in that brand.  (I blogged about it earlier)  Perhaps someone else has a cat who loved that flavor, and bought up all the cans of it.  If things run true to form, the cat has probably gone off it.  Petco is full of things I have no interest in:  It sounds like they have train sets for fish, but my hearing is notoriously bad.  Also there is a dog grooming section.  I don't know if they have a cat grooming section, but I have never gotten Cosmo a lion cut or anything.  You can get little outfits and costumes for your dog, and buy dry food in sacks as big as your house.  

Not the miracle Cosmo and I had hoped for.

cat food diary: Rise and Shine: Kit Kat Klock

cat food diary: Rise and Shine: Kit Kat Klock: "Cosmo is such a good alarm clock that I have not had one for many years. Even when my daughter had to take a very early flight last summer,..."

Rise and Shine: Kit Kat Klock

Cosmo is such a good alarm clock that I have not had one for many years.  Even when my daughter had to take a very early flight last summer, we were both awake before her cell phone went off.  In the early days, he was like one of those old fashioned clocks with a tinny alarm that seems to jump around the floor until you squelch it.  He added the efficient tooth and claw feature that permitted of no snooze control.  Now it is all subtlety and patience.  He sleeps most of the night at the foot of the bed or on a nearby chair.  Then as five o clock approaches he moves to the area behind my back, so I cannot get up without waking him.  If five o clock (often more like 4:45) comes without my getting up and opening that refrigerator, he stares at me, bats a sheathed paw or two, maybe a gentle prodding mew.  Then, once the fancy feast has been administered, he's back to bed or has settled down for a snooze on the couch or a bask on the sunniest spot of the table near the window.  I am usually unable to get back to sleep once I have performed a feeding, so I am up for the day.  We are told that prime time for a cat is the crepuscular hours of evening or morning, the twilight of vampires and hunters.  Crepuscular Cosmo...

cat food diary: Tuna Party!.

cat food diary: Tuna Party!.: "So I decided it was time for a tuna party. I got a can of coral tuna and a loaf of bread. I already had Nalo Greens from here on Oahu, som..."

Tuna Party!.

So I decided it was time for a tuna party.  I got a can of coral tuna and a loaf of bread.  I already had Nalo Greens from here on Oahu, some mayonnaise, relish, and dill.    I gave a little under half to the cat (all of the brine and some pieces, then mixed the tuna salad for my sandwich in the can.  Cosmo, as I've said before, likes to feel like he's eating the same thing as I am, so it was a very sociable meal.  I have heard that canned people tuna is not too good for aging felines, so this was just an occasional special treat.

cat food diary: Hand-Fed Cosmo

cat food diary: Hand-Fed Cosmo: "When Cosmo was younger, I wouldn't even have hand fed him through a chain-link fence, as shown here with a tiger. I tended to throw the tre..."

Hand-Fed Cosmo

When Cosmo was younger, I wouldn't even have hand fed him through a chain-link fence, as shown here with a tiger.  I tended to throw the treats or food down on the ground or put them in his food bowl.  Gradually, with the boredom of an indoor cat (or the mellowing of age) we have trained each other to hand feed.  I have trained him not to bite my fingers if he wants the food, and he has trained me to socially interact while feeding him.  As seen with the Lol cat cheeseburger experiment, he sometimes prefers food given by hand, and sometimes will only take it that way.  It's like how he permitted me to give him a "pet wipe" bath today while he was sitting on my lap.  Perhaps it really is "soothing," as the package says.  I must constantly revisit my operating assumption that all advertising is a false product of the evil capitalist running DOG lackeys.