Notes on Caching/ "Cooking"

I did not learn how to cook really well until I was in my twenties. It took a lot of practice to become a good cook. Fig, however, by some miracle of nature, has either learned, or simply has an innate ability to “cook”.

I don’t mean that she lights up a stove, of course, but she very clearly seems to know exactly which foods cache well, or store well, and which should be eaten right away. She will cache fat, meat or protein, dried kibble, or nuts. But she won’t cache tofu, or wet bread, fruit, or cooked grains, usually.

I recently started giving Fig a bit of a Japanese food called natto which are fermented soy beans. She loves them, and though it is the stickiest, and smelliest food on the planet, she manages to eat them very daintily without making any mess. I only give her a little from time to time, because it is new for her, and there is some debate over cultured foods for birds, so I was watching, and listening carefully (TMI?)for any adverse effects. Anyway, she decided that she was not the biggest fan of natto in the end, as it is very slimy (hence her dainty nibbling). But instead of giving up on it, she cleverly set out all the beans in a row on her perch, and waited for them to simply dry out a bit, to the point that they remained soft and chewable, but lost the sticky slime on the outsides. I thought that was a pretty clever trick. It clearly demonstrates her abilities to suppress the impulse to eat, and to think into the future anyway.  I mean, it’s got to be a rare dog or cat that puts its kibble into water, and thinks, “Eh, I’ll come back in a little while when it nice and soft, just the way I really like it.”

 

It is also worth noting that Fig very carefully samples, and tastes things that are unfamiliar, or new. She’ll have a tiny nibble, chewing it up, and tasting it carefully with her tongue. It is a behavior I will never lose my sense of awe over. You just don’t see cats and dogs, or most people for that matter, sampling food like they’re expert blooming wine tasters, eyeballs rolling around under their discerning brows, and the whole nine yards. It is all very ET.