Every time I look at Louis Catorze, I think, “Aww. Our little boy has a heart murmur.” And he looks back at me, most likely thinking, “Oh, it’s you. Why are you still here?”

People have been asking after him and feeling quite sorry for him, but his symptoms so far have been screaming, demanding play and generally being a shite. During one especially energetic play session, he dug his claws into my foot and was utterly unrepentant even when I squealed in pain. But what completely floored me was catching the little sod lick my plate, from which I had just eaten tuna (10/10 for cat appeal) with soy sauce, chilli and lime (0/10 for cat appeal). And, later that same evening, he lunged for Cat Daddy’s plate of cheese.

Catorze has always been implicitly trustworthy around human food, to the point where we could even leave him to guard the cheese board if we had to pop out of the room. We knew not only that he would leave the cheese well alone, but that he would very kindly warn us about any approaching bugs, by doing the bird-chatter sound. (Yes, he makes this sound at any flying creature, including bugs.)

Now, it seems, we are going to have to watch him around food. Which is quite the opposite of what we expected to be doing for an older cat who has never shown any sign of giving the slightest shite about our food.

All those years of laughing at my cat freak friends who have to eat their dinner standing up on a chair, whilst their cats circle below like hungry saltwater crocodiles, have well and truly blown up in my face.

“Feed moi. Non, not with my food. YOUR food.”
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41 responses to “L’âge ne compte pas sauf si on est un fromage”

  1. Mary Henderson avatar
    Mary Henderson

    Has Catorze ever been tested for hyperthyroidism? I ask because it affects older cats and one of the symptoms is a heart murmur. One of our cats was diagnosed with it a few years ago. She was only about 9 so the vet didn’t pick up on it straight away. There are several treatment options if it is that. Luckily we had insurance so she had radioactive iodine treatment. Alternatively it can be treated by surgery or ongoing medication. The treatment she had cured her completely and she lived for another seven years.Just a suggestion, hope it might help.

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    Liked by 3 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      No, that’s probably the one condition he hasn’t had. Did your cat have symptoms?

      Like

      1. Mary Henderson avatar
        Mary Henderson

        Not really, she had lost a bit of weight but otherwise seemed okay. When the vet first found the heart murmur it was slight and he said it wasn’t uncommon in older cats. But when it became more pronounced, a “grade three” murmur he decided to do a blood test (sorry!) and that’s how it was diagnosed. Louis is obviously a real character😸 and l follow your blog avidly so he will undoubtedly deal with this the same way as everything else!

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        Liked by 1 person

        1. iamthesunking avatar
          iamthesunking

          So it was possible to find out the grade without the blood test?

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          1. Mary Henderson avatar
            Mary Henderson

            Well it was the vet’s estimation. Heart murmur can be grade 1 to grade 5 with grade 5 being the worst.  But cats can live for years with a heart murmur. The blood test was only to find out whether it was caused by hyperthyroidism. I think the only way to tell exactly how bad the murmur is and what is causing it is by some sort of scan. Luckily this wasn’t necessary for Pepsi as the blood test showed she had hyperthyroidism, she had the treatment and the heart murmur disappeared.

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            Liked by 2 people

            1. iamthesunking avatar
              iamthesunking

              The next time I take him, I might ask what their estimation is. Thank you!

              Like

  2. M - avatar

    I can relate. I had this one ginger cat who snagged a knob of wasabi (I was making sushi at home) and ATE IT ALL. What were the ramification, you ask? Absolutely none. It had no effect on him whatsoever. Fast-forward to Ramses: His digestive system is so sensitive it will react to certain cat treats. Needless to say, I carefully watch what he ingests.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      Some cats have innards of steel and others just don’t! I once gave Luther, Catorze’s big brother, a prawn covered in crushed raw garlic and lime, “to teach him a lesson for begging/pestering” and he ate it.

      Liked by 2 people

  3. mmechapeau avatar
    mmechapeau

    Ha ha! Good Louis, as the saying goes, it is better late than never.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      I was kind of hoping for never.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. alicephilippa avatar
    alicephilippa

    Jenny Cat of the heart murmur and slightly sensitive stomach has started trying to steal my food. Baggyarse has always been a food thief. Dealing with one food thief was bad enough, but dealing with two? It’s almost at the point I go and shut myself in the shed.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      Hahaha, I can relate to that! Cat Daddy has seriously considered sitting in the car to escape from Catorze, although it’s the screaming rather than the food-thieving. The food-thieving hasn’t had a chance to develop as yet.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. fatdormouse avatar

    We cannot go into the kitchen without Jim and Millie following us and begging for food. When we eat our dinner (off trays in front of the TV.) we have all four cats sitting in a circle around us, waiting for a morsel to fall. If that morsel is too slow, then it might be given a helping paw. The worst experience was when Pomme swiped an actual lump of steak from my actual fork as it was on its way to my mouth.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      Y’see, this is a strange and alien world to me! I always used to joke that I’d put my dinner plate on the floor and leave the room, just because I could. Not anymore!

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Sally Goodman avatar
    Sally Goodman

    We’ve been quite lucky with our cats up until we got Snoodle…..She can hear me even think about getting cheese out of the fridge and starts pestering relentlessly until I give in and let her have the tiniest morsel. But if I’m sitting down and eating cheese, I have to keep one arm free to fend off the incoming paw. I gave her some high quality vegan cheese once, as I was confident she would turn her nose up at it but you guessed it, it went straight down the hatch. Now no cheese, vegan or otherwise, is safe. Marigold, now 15, has started getting very vocal for cat treats (not human food. although she is developing a penchant for cheese I notice). She will sit on the table and absolutely yell at me for treats (usually straight after being fed!) until my ears can take it no longer and I give in. Welcome to the club!!! x

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      Blimey, even vegan cheese? 😱😱😱

      Liked by 1 person

    2. M - avatar

      Once lived with another Ginger who was the sweetest cat EVER. Anyway, he knew when we’d purchase Strauss milk – it came with a cream plug. He’d wait patiently until I’d unpacked the groceries and then he and I would share that cream plug.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. iamthesunking avatar
        iamthesunking

        Strauss milk! Is that some very fancy brand?

        Liked by 1 person

        1. M - avatar

          I misspelled it. Straus Family Creamery. Organic dairy. I must say their holiday eggnog is the best I’ve ever tasted – except for homemade. Excellent products. Never saw a cream plug elsewhere. LOL

          Liked by 1 person

  7. Penny Cooper avatar
    Penny Cooper

    Cheeky and Theo aka Darren (yes 5 years ago today, Violet’s birth day, Theo was established with his name for all his life but when Violet learned to say his name she called him Darren, she knows who I’m talking about because being set in my ways I always call him Theo, but now she’s taught Rory, 2, to call him Darren!)… As I was saying they do the bird chatter at lightning and fireworks, I taught them as kittens that these things are fun so they run to the window for both! As for food thieving my mother in laws cat (granny brain has forgotten her name, it was 50 years ago!, was fed entirely on fresh caught and cooked coley and wouldn’t eat anything else, but when we arrived home with fish and chips, absolutely starving after a day’s fishing I got as far as putting my pickled egg on my plate and had to dash to the loo, I came back to find her standing hind legs on a chair and paws on the dinner table, chasing my pickled egg round and round my plate I was so shocked I called my boyfriend in to watch, he thought it would be funny to hold it still for her to sniff expecting her to run away but she took a bite and wanted mpre!! When mother in law came home I couldn’t wait to tell her and she was most affronted 😂😂😂

    Liked by 3 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      Hahaha! The fact that it’s a pickled egg makes it even funnier! Pickled eggs are the kind of things that sound made up, or that only exist in witchcraft or something!

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Penny Cooper avatar
        Penny Cooper

        I still don’t like that mother in law now so I relish in the memory where I won for that brief moment in history. And yeah witchcraft and pickling go hand in hand, had never thought of that, maybe I was the witch in mother in law’s life! I certainly can’t eat anything pickled these days!

        Liked by 2 people

        1. iamthesunking avatar
          iamthesunking

          Cat Daddy loves anything like that. Pickled walnuts are his favourite, as are capers.

          Like

          1. Penny Cooper avatar
            Penny Cooper

            My mum craved pickled walnuts when she was expecting me, so she very inadvisedly said to me the bottomless bin of greediness to open my mouth and popped one in. One churn of my closed mouth and she wore it 😂😂😂 capers, mmm yes please! Not nowadays though, just cannot handle vinegar anymore!

            Liked by 1 person

  8. mcmcneil1 avatar
    mcmcneil1

    We all have had our tastes change as we get older – Louis is just buying into that option. So guard your cheese.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      It will be guarded. Even our cheapo budget stuff. 💂

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Dr. CaSo avatar

    My last cat (and dearly missed), Miss Penny Poupoune Chérie, never showed signs of interests in human food, until one Christmas, I was sick, and my neighbour brought me a tray with roast beef or something, which I ate in bed. And as I was calmly painfully to eat and not barf, I suddenly saw Ze Poupoune JUMP from her bed almost on the tray and start eating the beef as if I had not fed her in YEARS! And she at it so quickly I could do nothing but watch in amazement and horror. You should never think you know your cat 😉

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      Oh goodness! Miss Penny! Aren’t they all full of surprises? Having to guard our food hasn’t been a thing at all since Catorze came to live here. It’s going to take some getting used to!

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Kate Crimmins avatar

    My cats also don’t eat people food…until Gracie discovered rotisserie chicken. Now she discovered she likes turkey. While I was slicing the turkey, she dumped the trash to see if there was any in there. She hasn’t done that since we adopted her way back. She was a rescue from a hoarding situation. Old habits die hard.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      I don’t know anything about Catorze’s background so goodness knows where this sudden change is coming from!

      Liked by 2 people

  11. cat9984 avatar

    He just wants to keep you on your toes

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      I wish he’d just realise we’re good and we don’t need to be tested!

      Liked by 2 people

  12. Belle avatar
    Belle

    Catorze may have a reduced sense of smell, normal for cats his age. Thus he is now attracted to human food, most of which smells much more potent than dry kibble. Having owned thieving kitties who honed their ninja-level kitchen theft skills as mere babies, I sympathize with you. They can be cunning and relentless, depending on the prize to be purloined. Goddess help you 😼

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      NOOOOO. We don’t want ninja-level kitchen skills!

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Doug Thomas avatar

    Of all my cats, only Louie the ginger cat showed interest in human food. He particularly liked deli turkey breast slices. I, of course, bought this treat for him, the little darling! Andy the smoke Persian, my current kitty, likes to smell my food but doesn’t want to eat it.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      You bought deli turkey for Louie! Aww!

      Like

      1. Doug Thomas avatar

        He was worth it!

        Liked by 1 person

  14. Marie-Luce, miaougraphe avatar

    If he might have temporarily lost his sense of taste. Lime doesn’t usually agree with cat, even if tuna involved. Then again, I remember my cat sometimes licking something he liked coated in something he didn’t like and he would make the funniest face. After a couple of bites though, he would stop.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. iamthesunking avatar
      iamthesunking

      Yes, I think someone else might have mentioned that because he’s getting old, his sense of smell and taste might be going.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Marie-Luce, miaougraphe avatar

        I hope it’s more temporary for you, so that the situation resolve itself. Louis-Catorze gets in enough mischief as it is !

        Liked by 1 person

        1. iamthesunking avatar
          iamthesunking

          Oh yes, there is mischief galore! 😱😱😱

          Liked by 1 person

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