Who knew?

Full disclosure: this post has absolutely nothing to do with any topic even remotely related to this blog.  But because I'm in the midst of finishing some projects, and on the cusp of having LOTS of progress to post (though nothing at the moment), I figured I'd share something curious that has kept me entertained.

Over the past few months, while I was home (not The House of Goodwill), I observed something I've never seen before.

I was reading one morning in December, sitting in my living room, when I noticed my dog was fixated on something going on outside the window.  What was it?

Shiloh was watching a blue jay on the patio.

If it's hard to tell what the blue jay is doing in this pic, it's eating.

And while this may appear to be a small birdfeeder, it's not.

This is a bowl of...cat food.

Did you know blue jays like cat food?  I didn't.

Here's the blue jay again in February.  He's a regular at the cat food dish; in fact I often see multiple blue jays around the bowl.

I guess the cat must be sleeping.

Is it just me, or this a bit of a surprise?  And this isn't just regular cat food, this is special (expensive!) cat food created to help cats who suffer from urinary tract problems.  (The reason the cat mostly lives and eats outdoors.)  My guess?  That it wouldn't be as tasty as the grocery store, byproduct-filler-variety cat food, as it's more of a "food as medicine" type of kibble.

But what do I know?  I'm not a cat.  Or a blue jay.

And it seems the blue jay likes it even more than the cat.

So we have to place the cat food bowl in the center of the patio table, so the dogs can't reach it.  (Apparently ALL animals love this urinary tract problem-fixing food.)  If it's anywhere on the ground, it becomes dog food.  But if it's anywhere higher, now it's bird food.  (And there is an actual birdfeeder full of seed just a few feet from this dish; where the blue jays USED to eat.  Now they mostly ignore it in favor of the cat bowl.)

Now that I think about it, the only creatures I haven't seen in the bowl are the squirrels.  And that's definitely good, as the squirrels are always eating the food for the birds.

*Sigh.*  And this is not cheap, as the cat's food must be purchased from the vet's office, since it's a prescription food.  These blue jays are costing me a small fortune!

Oh well.  At least they're keeping me entertained.  And the dogs too.

As to the cat, well, let's just say if cats had their own feline police, mine would never make the force.

And if this little anecdote has a moral, I guess it's that many animals seem to highly prefer food designed for other animals.  So I guess animals and people really aren't all that different.

And urinary tract problem-fixing cat food is extremely appealing to blue jays.  You can wow someone with that little factoid at your next party.  

You're welcome.