Out of their gourds without catnip
May 11, 2009 6:05 PM   Subscribe

Tigers and leopards and pumpkins, oh my! (Metacafe video, will autoplay on page load). So your little kittycat loves cantaloupe, eh? Then you should see how these rescued big cats descend upon the leftover Halloween pumpkins and assorted gourds distributed to them each year. (via)
posted by maudlin (42 comments total) 31 users marked this as a favorite
 
Big cat says: "Hey, this is almost exactly the size and shape of a human head. Oh, this is going to be fun. Keeps those skullbiting skills sharp." *chomp* "Yeah, you like that, monkey? Take that!" *chomp chomp* "Opposable thumbs my fat, stripy butt." *chomp* "One of these days we'll learn to pick locks" *chomp* "and then you're fucked, pal." *chomp-kick-chomp*
posted by loquacious at 6:23 PM on May 11, 2009 [8 favorites]


Awwww... they think they're heads.
posted by TG_Plackenfatz at 6:24 PM on May 11, 2009 [16 favorites]


The taste cats carve!
posted by hal9k at 6:38 PM on May 11, 2009 [5 favorites]


I particularly liked the brief soccer game that erupted around 1:50.
posted by not_on_display at 6:42 PM on May 11, 2009 [1 favorite]


They do this at the National Zoo in DC every year, except they stuff the pumpkins with meat, tasty, tasty meat.
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:05 PM on May 11, 2009 [1 favorite]


I think we can all acknowledge that we are very and extremely grateful that these beasties don't have eight legs.
posted by WolfDaddy at 7:10 PM on May 11, 2009 [2 favorites]


...because then they'd be thoats.
posted by The Tensor at 7:17 PM on May 11, 2009 [2 favorites]


I think we can all acknowledge that we are very and extremely grateful that these beasties don't have eight legs.

I'll have to dissent on that point, WolfDaddy. I think it would make life just a bit more interesting, although it could quickly become a liability when it came time to trim their nails.
posted by metagnathous at 7:32 PM on May 11, 2009


Now that's all I want to do- maul a pumpkin
posted by Viomeda at 7:33 PM on May 11, 2009


I bet they would have tasted a lot better if that creep hadn't been laying on them in the beginning.
posted by digsrus at 8:03 PM on May 11, 2009


Dammit. There goes my plan for sneaking into the tiger cage in a pumpkin costume...
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 8:35 PM on May 11, 2009 [2 favorites]


Cats like melons and gourds? I had no idea. Wow.
posted by Divine_Wino at 8:38 PM on May 11, 2009


Cantaloupe has always had an overtone of the taste of meat to me, and so has pumpkin.

Maybe big and small cats have the same experience.

Cantaloupe
and pumpkins are members of the family "Cucurbitaceae (a family which includes nearly all melons and squashes)", and contain citrulline, an amino acid associated with meat as it begins to decay.

I'd guess that's what's driving all this pussycat passion, and that the Cucurbitaceae evolved concentrations of it to stimulate interest from carnivores.
posted by jamjam at 9:11 PM on May 11, 2009 [8 favorites]


I totally want to give my kitty a small pumpkin now and see what she does with it.
posted by OolooKitty at 9:18 PM on May 11, 2009 [4 favorites]


TIGERS LEOPARDS Vs Pumpkins!

In fairness, nobody really expects the Pumpkins to win. In the grand scheme of things, the pumpkins are like the Washington Generals to the Tiger's Harlem Globetrotters. It's not outside the realm of possibility that they might pull out an underdog win, but no one is really betting on it.

As evidenced by the tiger casually dunking the squash about three minutes in, it's more of a joke to the cats than an actual competition.

That said, the lynx based soccer I was watching seemed pretty promising as a future sport. Someone should probably look into picking that up.
posted by quin at 9:22 PM on May 11, 2009 [3 favorites]


My "special" kitty once made friends with a piece of produce. He played soccer with it. Nuzzled it, took naps with it. It was his best friend for a while.

It was a potato.

We joked that it was the only thing that moved slower than him.
posted by fontophilic at 9:55 PM on May 11, 2009 [9 favorites]


Awwww... they think they're heads.

Hey, man! That was my joke!

less is more, less is more, less is more
posted by loquacious at 10:19 PM on May 11, 2009 [1 favorite]


Ok so admittedly I am running on little sleep and was in a pretty good mood after watching the video, but quin, you just made me snort and then squeak before I actually managed to laugh, which while not a first, has never happened while reading bland white text on the internet. So I guess that would be something like 'sslol'.
posted by six-or-six-thirty at 10:30 PM on May 11, 2009


We had a cat we called "Cantaloupe" because, when she was a kitten, we opened the refrigerator one day and she was sitting there, calmly chowing down on a cantaloupe. Never did know how she got in, or how long she'd been there. Don't remember what happened to her, it was a long time ago.
posted by carping demon at 10:49 PM on May 11, 2009 [2 favorites]


We had a cat we called "Cantaloupe" because, when she was a kitten, we opened the refrigerator one day and she was sitting there, calmly chowing down on a cantaloupe. Never did know how she got in, or how long she'd been there.

Schroedinger's icebox.
posted by loquacious at 11:20 PM on May 11, 2009 [13 favorites]


We have a cat that goes apeshit if we open a can of pumpkin pie filling. We give him a spoonful in return for him not waking us up at 3 am with the constant thumping sounds that accompany his attempts to get into the cabinet to steal a pie.
posted by azpenguin at 11:33 PM on May 11, 2009


We have a cat that goes apeshit if we open a can of pumpkin pie filling.

We had a rescued cat with a deranged appetite-- he wanted to eat pretty much constantly. The vet recommended that we give him canned pumpkin in-between meals because many cats like it and it's basically just fiber to fill them without many usable calories.
posted by Mayor Curley at 12:18 AM on May 12, 2009




Of course, sophisticats don't claw them and kick them round the paddock. They dice them, lightly drizzle them with olive oil and put them in a hot oven for 25 minutes. That's why you don't see footage of a Siamese cat playing with pumpkins.

Oh, and I once had a cat who liked nothing more than to steal broad beans off your plate while you were eating. He also developed a thing for banana toffee. Lovely animal. Not the brightest, though.
posted by MuffinMan at 1:18 AM on May 12, 2009


Dammit, animals that are capable of disembowling me should not look so darn cute.
posted by JHarris at 3:11 AM on May 12, 2009 [1 favorite]


I can't make a grilled cheese without my insane cat trying to run off with the whole brick of old cheddar.
posted by sixswitch at 4:01 AM on May 12, 2009


Look, Charlie Brown! It's the Great Pumpk-- AAAAUUUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!!
posted by not_on_display at 4:25 AM on May 12, 2009 [6 favorites]


They do this at the National Zoo in DC every year, except they stuff the pumpkins with meat, tasty, tasty meat.

do you know specifically when? That is awesome, and I need to go.
posted by little e at 4:59 AM on May 12, 2009


Cats like melons and gourds? I had no idea. Wow.


Me too - until my cats started "rescuing" pumpkin, melon and corn cobs from the scraps bin and growling when we tried to take it off them. Catnip? Had no effect. Pumpkin? Ambrosia of the gods to them.
posted by outlier at 5:21 AM on May 12, 2009 [2 favorites]


This only happens because they're using cataloupes and pumpkits.

Please don't hit me.
posted by Drexen at 5:31 AM on May 12, 2009 [2 favorites]


Look what you've done! Now, in addition to my ever-present desire to find a fuzzy kitty and snuggle it, I am starting to crave pumpkin pie. Thanks a lot.
posted by lolichka at 6:10 AM on May 12, 2009


This entire thread is like the Greatest Hits of Comments. It is also why I can no longer send Simba out with the children at Halloween.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 6:35 AM on May 12, 2009


I'm weirded out by how many moves and bits of body language the big cats share with my house cat... it makes me uncomfortably conscious of how he's really only about 50 pounds away from being a serious threat.
posted by COBRA! at 6:50 AM on May 12, 2009 [2 favorites]


it makes me uncomfortably conscious of how he's really only about 50 pounds away from being a serious threat.

The similarities that all cats have illustrates the difference in domestication between cats and dogs. You couldn't have the same relationship with your cat that you do now if he was the size of a Newfoundland-- you'd probably already be in his stool.
posted by Mayor Curley at 7:28 AM on May 12, 2009 [4 favorites]


We were once at a big cat preserve in AZ. One of the keepers demonstrated what a grown tiger can do by throwing a big plastic barrel (about the size of a whiskey barrel) into a swimming pool. A Bengal male took a flying leap into the pool and with one paw submerged the barrel down to the floor of the pool. Nothing but raw power in those big boys.
posted by Ber at 9:40 AM on May 12, 2009


Cats like melons and gourds? I had no idea. Wow.

Yep... my cat will mug people for watermelon.
posted by Foosnark at 9:52 AM on May 12, 2009


little e, it's at the annual Boo at the Zoo event. I warn you, though--it's the hottest ticket in town. You need to sign up for the zoo's newsletter, so you can buy a ticket as soon as they go on sale, in August.
posted by MrMoonPie at 10:01 AM on May 12, 2009 [2 favorites]


I've been to Big Cat Rescue while on a trip to Florida. I highly recommend it. You can get stunningly close to the cats because they're used to being around humans. Most of them are relatively "tame" because they are retired circus animals or were kept as pets. It's much more fun than a traditional zoo, and it's for such a good purpose.
posted by desjardins at 10:26 AM on May 12, 2009


'm weirded out by how many moves and bits of body language the big cats share with my house cat... it makes me uncomfortably conscious of how he's really only about 50 pounds away from being a serious threat.

Especially the whole grab-and-kick thing.

I had a chance to play with baby tigers at the Indiana big cat rescue once. 20 lbs of rolly-polly fun, with feet that were comically big until they decided they really wanted to chew on your leather-gloved hand.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 11:10 AM on May 12, 2009


grab and kick

Yeah that's cute when Fluffy does it until you realise that he's EVISCERATING HIS PREY.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 12:38 PM on May 12, 2009 [3 favorites]


And I thought Spike was weird for eating salad.

This is me trying to fool him into posing with a pumpkin for Halloween when he was a baby -- no dice.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 12:42 PM on May 12, 2009


Thanks MrMoonPie!
posted by little e at 8:19 PM on May 12, 2009


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