Amazingly enough, I opened the can and squeezed out the juice into three little plastic dishes without anyone in the kitchen but me. I actually had to go into the living room and call Colby and Thimble before they came in the kitchen.
I have a feeling that's never going to be the case again.
I put the two dishes down. There was sudden sniffing of the air and then both kittens dived into the same dish. I picked Colby up and moved him over five inches to the other dish. This was deemed acceptable and they both polished off their dishes with great studiousness.
While they were busy, I took the third dish out to Apricot in the hallway to the kitchen. He stays there a lot to watch me in the kitchen as this keeps him out from underfoot and away from the impacts of excited kittens not watching where they are going. I put the dish under his nose. He's never showed interest in actually eating people-food.
He has this weird thing where he wants me to put a little of what I'm having on my finger and let him sniff, but he only wants to see what I'm having, he doesn't want to eat it. So I didn't know if he'd eat the tuna juice or not.
(By the way, I only get the tuna in water. I wouldn't actually give them the oil from tuna in oil, even if I got that version ... which sounds disgusting to me but then I've never had it, so maybe it's not disgusting after all.)
Apricot's nose twitched. His head came up. The nose twitched a few more times as he leaned over the dish. A tentative lick of the contents. Then with great approval he dived right in.
Everybody licked their dishes clean and dry. Apparently, tuna water is a hit with the CAT.
Now they are allowed on the table but if I'm eating at the table, they have to stay an arm's length away. My arm, not theirs, dearly though they'd love to interpret the rule that way. Mostly the kittens have decided to simply stay off the table entirely since it's too much temptation to stay on it and watch me eat. Apricot's never been on the table while I was eating, so it never came up with him.
That changed the night I ate my first tuna salad sandwich. Of all people, it was Apricot who jumped up on the table and tried to put his face into my food. I had anticipated something of the sort (just not from him) and I had the water squirter ready.
Apricot's been squirted once. It was for scratching the carpet when he knew very well that he shouldn't. I don't like to squirt him because he mostly behaves if you just give him a chance. The kittens are actually slowly falling into that category too.
So all I had to do was lift the bottle and give Apricot a significant look and he backed off and left the table, but not without a longing, backwards glance as he jumped down. Colby and Thimble didn't even try after that.
However, each night I've had tuna salad sandwiches (I made enough for several nights) I still have the water squirter with me.
Just in case.
(The second night Thimble thought they should be getting tuna water again, and was disappointed to find out that wasn't the case.)
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