The saying "That smells good enough to eat!" takes on a whole new (and sometimes distressing) meaning when one considers that it can often be applied to a handful of things that are decidedly nonedible.
Always looking for new and improved products to keep the fur sleek and shiny, the Prowler was browsing in the hair-care products aisle of a local drugstore last week and encountered a mouthwatering array of items that, alas, are for external use only. Good thing lunchtime had already occurred, or this cat might have done something that would prove regrettable later!
Shampoos and conditioners bearing tropically colored labels line the shelves and boast ingredients such as orange blossom extract, infusion of passion fruit, papaya essence, cherry bark, milk protein and almond oil. Makes a cat want to stow away on board a plane bound for Hawaii!
Tempting as these are, they are not the only products with deliciously edible aromas. Snooping around another aisle where a parent and child were having an obvious difference of opinion, the Prowler saw a little girl sticking her fingers in flavored lipstick or lipgloss samples the way she might help her mother clean out a bowl full of cookie batter. Can't really blame the kid, can you?
Speaking of kids, the Prowler isn't sure whether "scratch-and-sniff" stickers are the rage with the lunchbox set anymore, but what this cat calls "spray-and-sniff" items certainly seem popular. Moving along to the housewares and cleaning products aisle, the Prowler debated whether to transform the litter box into a peach orchard, a kettle of mulled cider or a pile of vanilla cookies.
It doesn't take much for the Prowler to get hungry anyway, so this proved to be a sensory overload. After selecting a generic-sounding "Country Fields" deodorizer, this cat quickly made the purchase and headed off to have some ice cream!
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, April 16, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.