The Culinary Cat

I have a very odd cat. I know that. Joey has anxiety issues and takes daily doses of valium. He has a jelly belly that swings from side-to-side when he runs.

And he loves a spatula.

That’s right. My cat’s new favorite toy is a spatula.

I discovered this one morning when I rolled over and discovered a spatula in bed next to me. Just a simple, flat spatula. How did it get in my bed from the canister it usually lives in beside my stove? Unless I had taken up sleepwalking (and it is true that I love to cook) the only culprit could be my cat.

I washed the spatula, replaced it in its canister...then forgot all about it. Until it happened again two days later.

I’m a light sleeper. I’ve always been an insomniac. It amazed me that I didn’t HEAR this happen. I was especially astounded when one morning I rolled over on the whisk instead of the spatula. What the heck? He really took the whisk from the canister, got it from the counter top to the kitchen floor, then all the way into the bedroom without me hearing a sound?

He only chose the whisk once, though. And one time only he brought the carrot grater (which he must have taken from the dish drainer). Every other time—about nine times that I've counted—it’s been the spatula.

I’ve never yet seen him do it, but I’ll come home and find the spatula on the couch...or in the bathtub...or under the table.

I finally decided—why not let him have it? I drew a little cat face on the spatula with Sharpie. This would be his, and I’d use another one for actual cooking. He carries the spatula from room to room. He doesn’t actually play with it, but he seems to like it near him—he naps with it, sometimes even holding it like a doll while he sleeps.

I figure, who am I to judge? I’m all about tolerance.

But I documented all of this on Facebook. One morning my FB status was “Katrina Kittle finally gave up and is letting the cat keep the spatula as a toy,” and later that day I attended the fun and rowdy No Name Book Club. As a thank you gift, they gave me a lovely bottle of wine...and a new spatula.

That, my friends, is social media at its finest!