Of Cats, Tuna and Cheese

I often wonder how certain stereotypes begin. For instance, not all Brits talk with heavy accents and use words like "lorry" to describe automobiles.

I know this because several hundred thousand Brits died in World War II, so none of them are saying much of anything now.

But more to the point...how on earth did it get decided that cats like tuna fish?

I can kind of buy into cats liking fish. It is not just the Warner Bros. cartoons where random cats always want to eat Cleo the Goldfish...I have seen it myself. Cats love to chase fish in bowls, ponds, and small streams.

But lets look a little closer at that last word..."streams". One thing that the average person could tell you about streams is so obvious I am almost embarrassed to mention it. Then I remember the opening joke of this post and realize that yeah, pretty much nothing embarrasses me so I am going to go ahead and mention it.

Cats pretty much never go to sea. Streams are fresh water. There is a lesson here somewhere.

Tuna fish, the preferred food of cats...or so the cat food manufacturers would have you believe...is NOT, in fact, a fresh water fish.

So why then would a cats favorite fish be from the sea, a place where cats are seldom seen frolicking? This simply does not add up.

There is a really funny joke there somewhere. However, I probably wrecked any chance at getting a laugh out of it with my WWII cheese ball reference, so I leave it to you, gentle reader, to explain to us why fresh water food lovers like cats would prefer a salt water denizen.