Shrimp or Crickets

Time for an animal interview in which, as usual, the animals' conversation is translated from their nonverbal communication...

PK: "What a lucky day, Serena! Some friends of the Cat Sanctuary sent you cats a big bag of frozen shrimp."

Serena: "What are those?"

PK: "Little animals that live in water."

Silver: "So why are they not in the water?"

PK: "Someone took them out and picked off their shells so you could eat them."

Serena: "What a nice thought. Er...you may have mine."

Crayola: "Is there any chicken left?"

Pastel: "People eat those things?"

PK: "Some humans do. Don't they smell fishious and delicious?"

Silver: "Those things aren't fish. They don't smell like fish."

Serena: "Fi-i-ish? Not coming down with another cold are you?"

PK: "Well, they're not really fish, but they live where fish do and eat what fish do. They smell like the ocean. 

Serena: "That may be. They do not smell like food."

PK: "Well, you can pick and choose if you want to. There's plenty of kibble. There's some garlic bread in the bag, as well. I suppose the possum will appreciate that."

Crayola: "I appreciate that! This piece is mine!"

Pastel: "I want some too!"

Serena: "Hey, me three!"

Silver: "Me four!"

Crayola: "I like garlic bread."

Serena: "Are you sure you don't want some? This is good garlic bread. Very oily and garlicky."

PK: "Much as I like garlic, I'd better not have the bread. I suppose the possum can have the shrimp then."

Serena: "Why not?"

PK: "Why not, indeed. Nobody loves a possum, the saying goes, but our possums certainly eat 'high on the hog.' Can you help me explain this to the Folks In Rio Linda? A shrimp is about the size of a large cricket. People keep some kinds of living shrimp in aquaria because they are cute--while living, anyway. They have pretty pastel-colored shells and walk about waving their little antennae almost like humans using sign language with their hands. Other than that they look a bit like crickets. You cats eat crickets. Some humans eat crickets. Some humans eat shrimp. Humans who will eat either one generally agree that crickets are a survival food, but shrimp are a special treat."

Serena: "I don't see you eating any!"

PK: "Well, no. Long ago a very wise man called Moses, the leader of the Hebrews, who had studied with the wisest men in Egypt and Ethiopia, told the Hebrews what to eat and how to eat it if they wanted to be immune to some diseases that were killing people in those countries. He gave them a long list of things to eat and avoid eating and ways to prepare them. In those days cooking was part of religious worship. People would build a fire and roast some sort of meat, and invite whatever God or spirits they worshipped to their barbecue. Different cults had different ideas about what God might like. Moses said that of animals that live in water, only the true fish, which have fins and scales, are good for humans to eat. From the way Moses instructed people how to cook different kinds of meat, I believe he had learned something about the way disease germs spread. The Hebrew people were a very poor, desperate little tribe but they stayed healthier than other tribes that were bigger and richer. I believe it's healthy for people to eat only what Moses told them to eat. So I never have eaten shrimp. But Moses said nothing about what cats and possums eat."

Silver: "If those shrimp things are such a treat for humans, why did Moses not want humans to eat them?"

PK: "Who knows? Maybe they were meant to be some other creatures' food and not ours. We know that some things Moses told the Hebrews not to eat were likely to contain worms or disease germs that made people weaker, more vulnerable to infections. Those animals might have carried the infections themselves. Moses told people not to eat or touch most insects. Four kinds of insects he said were fit to eat. King James' men called those insects "locusts, bald locusts, beetles, and grasshoppers," but Moses obviously wasn't talking about the insects we call those names in American English. He might have meant to include crickets. We don't know. Crickets are in the same general group of insects with locusts and grasshoppers. They weren't what ancient Israelites ate for a treat! For a special meal, such as a religious service, Hebrews liked to roast a lamb, a calf, or a goat kid. Sometimes poor people would roast birds. But eating locusts and grasshoppers wouldn't make people sick. Eating shrimp might have had that effect."

Serena: "Looking at them might. They look like a lot of glue trying to turn into grubs."

PK: "Yes...well, when my cat Black Magic and her kittens ate frozen shrimp and liked them, I think those shrimp had been cooked before they were frozen. I remember them looking a bit more solid. But they're not glue, and they're not grubs. I don't know that they're good food for cats, but they are their own kind of animal. It's quite all right to let the possum eat them, especially since you've eaten the garlic bread. It only surprises me that all four of you cats would prefer garlic bread to shrimp, especially when you eat crickets."

Pastel: "Crickets scamper about and behave like food, that's why. Whereas those things just lie on the ground and look like grubs and glue."

PK: "For humans it's sort of a fad to eat crickets these days. It's something our troops are taught to do in basic training, so maybe some people think that eating crickets makes you as tough as a soldier. That seems like a joke...they should try lifting more than their own weight, or doing a push-up every second, maybe running a 'fitness mile' in ten minutes. Anyway some people think it's very cool to eat crickets, and others be like "BUGS! No way am I going to eat INNNSEEECTS! People who recommend eating BUGS instead of beef are trying to degrade the American people!" I say, meh, not only can humans live a long time on a low-protein vegan diet, but that's actually beneficial for most of the common chronic diseases. But a lot of people who won't eat crickets will eat shrimp."

Silver: "Crickets are better food. For cats, anyway. We know you humans have strange digestive systems and like to at things that no cat would ever mistake for food."

Pastel: "Disgusting things like oranges. I'm glad I'm not a human!"

Serena: "If humans would rather eat these repulsive objects you call shrimp, that's good! It means all the more crickets for us."

This cat post was brought to you by the following Petfinder cats...for those who are not yet familiar with our game here, we pick at least three fabulously photogenic cats who are currently advertising for purrmanent homes through Petfinder. If by chance a reader is in the appropriate city and looking for a cat, the reader should run out and adopt the cat we've featured, unless of course they find one that's even more appealing, in real life. If not? Petfinder photos are for sharing. Share them, share them everywhere. Together we can picture these cats home.

Zipcode 10101: Gladys and Azalea from New York City 

Their web page: https://www.petfinder.com/cat/gladys-azalea-bonded-kittens-61188565/ny/new-york/bronx-tails-cat-rescue-ny1115/

They're stilll growing. Azalea is the one with the extra toes. In a shelter she picked Gladys as a sparring partnr and snuggling buddy. Both of them are bouncy-pouncy kittens. Azalea is described as the "puppy-like" kitten who greets humans at the door, Gladys as a calmer and quieter kitten, but they're not at the calmest stage of life. They are described as "play-maniacs." Sadly, it seems as if they may be in the custody of control freaks, but they do come with a money-back guarantee.

Zipcode 20202: Candy from D.C. 

Her web page: https://www.petfinder.com/cat/candy-59478672/dc/washington/city-dogs-city-kitties-rescue-dc22/

She's described as a sweet cat who was put in a shelter while, and probably because, she had kittens. The kittens have been adopted and the challenge will now be to keep this affectionate cat from becoming fat or "neurotic." She's friendly with other cats and dogs. She might become a foster mother 

Zipcode 30303: Banjo and Fiddle from Fayetteville 

Their web page: https://www.petfinder.com/cat/banjo-and-fiddle-60045116/ga/fayetteville/fayette-humane-society-ga83/

A possible side effect of adopting these kittens would be feeling a need to adopt a cat you call Guitar. They may also need different-colored collars; their individual pictures show different-looking faces but that could change as they grow up. Neither of those factors should be a deterrent to adopting them, but the fact that they're prisoners of the Humane Pet Genocide Society might be. 

Black cats bring good luck. The British have known this for years. A :scientific" explanation could be that melanin bonds chemically with adrenalin, so, all else being equal, black animals will usually be the energetic ones. Since all else is usually not equal, this can't be guaranteed. Still, any of the young black cats shown here is likely to provide the adoptive family with entertainment for years. 

If you've heard that black cats bring bad luck, there are two explanations for this backward thinking: 

(1) This superstition is common in France. Nufsed. In more enlightened countries people know that black cats bring good luck. Backward and unenlightened thinking on this and other subjects cost France dearly in the twentieth century. We should pray that they can break away from their misbeliefs. 

(Do ginger cats bring bad luck? Well, most ginger cats are male and some people don't want ginger kittens. Breaking this chain of bad luck, if you consider it such, requires a simple one-time operation.) 

(2) Failing to pet or feed a black cat who runs across your path could cause the "bad luck" of missing the chance to bond with a wonderful pet! (This applies only when the cat approaches you, soliciting food and attention and obviously looking for a human family. If it's a neighbor's pet going about its business, no problem.)