Pip and his noodles
These days, there aren’t too many things we Americans can all agree on. Noodles may be one such “thing.”
What’s not to love about noodles? Their taste is consistent, they store well, they’re easy to prepare, relatively inexpensive and easy to find. Both kids and adults like the versatile food. Served with just butter or a delicate wine-infused sauce, most Americans can name one noodle dish they would eat any day of the week.
When asked about favorite noodle dishes, chicken noodle soup is on many Americans’ favorite noodle dish lists. “Both chicken soup and noodle soup have been around for centuries, but it was Campbell’s who really brought the two together, culminating in the now-famous chicken noodle soup,” writes Erin Nudi on her food blog, erinnudi.com.
My family also loves noodles. We use noodles mostly for Italian dishes, but in the fall and winter months we will always have egg noodles on hand for homemade chicken noodle soup.
The nondescript bag is usually nestled in with our other noodles in our pantry or, if we’re at Lake Michigan, in a basket on the kitchen counter with other dry foods.
It was at the lake last winter when we discovered that another member of our family also love noodles.
I was rolling down the hallway to the kitchen when my momentum was stopped by something blocking my
chair’s wheels. I looked down and the bag of egg noodles we had just purchased was on the floor.
“Hey, Ed, did you know anything about the bag of egg noodles in the hallway?” “What?”
“Never mind, wrong guy.” I said picking up the bag filled with small holes. I had one and only one suspect. The Pipster, our 3-yearold cat. The little puncture holes all over the bag were definitely his handy work. But egg noodles?
Three more times that week we found the bag on the floor. Once we caught him dragging the bag into the bathroom.
He was clearly trying to eat the noodles. We didn’t give him any because we couldn’t find any information online on whether cats could or couldn’t eat them.
About a month later, back in Bellbrook, I was starting to fix dinner and I heard rustling in the pantry. Pip found the bag behind a box of spaghetti noodles, a canister of elbow macaroni and a large box of Minute Rice, never mind climbing up to the third level was quite the surprise.
Before I could say anything, he had maneuvered the bag to the floor and was using his claws to get to the noodles.
Clearly the little guy had a “thing” for the noodles.
A few weeks later, I made
chicken noodle soup. I gave Pip a “cooked” noodle. The feline sniffed it, licked it, smacked his lips together several times, turned and walked away. Okay, so he likes them uncooked.
“I think we’ll need to ask his vet when we see her in May for his yearly checkup if the dude can have a small piece.”
Ed agreed.
And that’s what we did the first week last month. I showed her a photo I had taken of Pip and his bag of noodles. She laughed, okaying the noodle treat as long as it was very small so not to cause a blockage and only occasionally.
Now we have to figure out how to give him a very small piece and hide the rest where he can’t find them.
Easy chicken noodle soup recipes:
■ Quick & Easy Chicken Noodle Soup — allrecipes. com
■ Easy chicken noodle Soup — bettycrocker.com
■ Easy Chicken Noodle Soup — pillsbury.com
Karin Spicer is a member of The Dog Writers Association of America. She lives with her family and two furry pets who inspire her. She can be reached at spicerkarin@ gmail.com.