Rex Tries Foreign Cuisine

For the third day in a row I was perplexed to discover that Rex hadn't been eating all of the food in his dish. I normally fed him once in the morning and once at night. He would snack on his Meow Mix throughout the day until it was finished and he was ready for me to pour some more food in his dish again.

"Why isn't he eating?" I wondered, concerned. Enough of the food was missing that I wasn't worried he had lost his appetite for some reason and was slowly going to starve to death, but it was weird. He hadn't been bothering me for his breakfast or dinner at the usual times, either. I decided I would keep an eye on him to see if he started losing a lot of weight or seemed sick before I freaked out. He seemed perfectly healthy, and at 17 lbs., it wouldn't kill him to shave off an inch from his cuddly waistline. Still, it was weird. Aidan had been eating the same as usual, although I noticed his food was disappearing faster. This made me happy. My mother-in-law had given Davey a bag of Pedigree with smaller kibbles for Aidan, who has weak teeth and a small mouth unsuited for the giant nuggets he had been eating. I was glad to see that the smaller dog food was easier for him.

When I got home from work that night, I sat down on the couch to have nice snuggle with the pets. It had been a disappointing day, and I needed some cheering up. Aidan was into relaxing with me but Rex seemed miffed that I hadn't greeted him warmly enough. He stayed on the floor, despite my urgings otherwise. For once, Aidan considerately sat a modest distance from me so that Rex wouldn't feel too jealous to come join us.

"Eh, he's happy where he is," I said after a few minutes, reaching out invitingly to the pug. He promptly draped himself across my thigh with a wag of his tail.

Rex stood up disinterestedly and wandered over to where Aidan's food bowl and water dish were. They were good about sharing their water, I mused, looking down at Aidan. I distractedly played with his ear as I tried not to think about my day. Suddenly, I was snapped out of my reverie by a crunching sound. I looked up at Rex.

"What the hell are you doing?" I said, even though I knew full well.

"Eating," he mumbled through a bite of Pedigree.

"What are you thinking eating dog food?" I demanded.

He ignored me.

"Rex!"

He took another dainty bite out of the bowl.

"Rex!" I snapped.

He continued on with his meal. I thought about getting up to stop him, but realized it was pointless. He would always be able to get at Aidan's food, no matter where we put it.

"What do you think of that, Aidan?" I asked, looking down at the dog. He looked up at me.

"I don't know," he said. "I think it tastes good, too."

"Fair point," I said, leaning back on the couch to watch Rex eat some more dog food.

"Rex," I called out. "After all the dog food you've had access to in your silly little life, why start eating it now?"

"These ones are small enough to fit in my mouth," he mumbled, his face buried in the bowl. I blinked. Of course. Those smaller kibbles were the perfect size, not only for a royal pug king, like Aidan, but also for a cultured gentleman cat with an interest in fine dining, like Rex. 

What a dork.