To recap: Monika was my cat for the first three years of her life, then when I moved away to an apartment that didn't allow pets, Mom sort of inherited her (along with a dog, another cat and Pinback, a weird visitor from the planet Zontar who was posing as an earthly cat while formulating plans for invasion...but that's another story.)
When I originally owned her (yes, I kow, no one really "owns" a cat), Monika was perfectly sweet, affectionate and polite. And she ate whatever I fed her, which, since I'm a cheap bastard, was usually Alley Cat, the budget-priced cat food manufactured by the same folks who make Meow Mix. (Somehow, I think just typing the words "Meow Mix" strips a person of some dignity, but maybe that's just me. Incidentally, am I hitting the parenthetical asides even more than usual? I'll try to stop, I promise.)
In all the time Monika was in Mom's care, she was fed whatever the hell Mom felt like feeding her. Usually Friskies, which, stupid name aside, is presumably a step up the quality scale from Alley Cat. So Monika developed a more rarefied palette, and decided the plebian life was no longer for her, and nothing but the best would do from now on. (You and I know the quality difference between Alley Cat and Friskies can't possibly be that great, but to Monika it's the difference between eating out of a tin can with hobos or dining with the swells at The Ritz. She has a tiny brain, so give her a break. And I know, I know...more parentheses!)
When Mom died and I took Monika back, I'd already had Delmar for over three years. And Alley Cat was just fine for Del. He was pretty much raised on it. But when I first tried feeding it to Monika, she literally stuck her nose up in the air. And wouldn't eat, and wouldn't eat, until finally I broke down and bought her something else.
Which became the usual pattern, until recently. Finally I decided, no, I'm not backing down this time. I'm feeding her Alley Cat, and when she gets hungry enough, she'll eat it. Bit by bit, the food went down. Now, when I pour this stuff into her dish, she comes running and starts to eat.
Yes, like Strother Martin in Cool Hand Luke, I've broken her spirit, and I should probably feel terrible about that. But I say, if she wants the good stuff, let her grow opposable thumbs, go out and get a job and buy it herself. Besides, Strother Martin was one of the coolest actors ever.
