It was just after 5 p.m. on New Year’s Day when Beth Allen of Fresno, California, went to her kitchen cabinet to retrieve a can of Cat’s Choice Chicken Grill for her cat, which she had done every day for the past 13 years.
There was only one problem: There were no more cans of Cat’s Choice Chicken Grill.
“I freaked,” said Allen later. “The stores were closed. And Mr. Marbles was sitting there, watching me.”
Mr. Marbles, a Maine Coon who likes to eat 75 percent of his Cat’s Choice Chicken Grill right after it is served and finish the rest exactly 23 minutes later, had just woken up from his nap. He did not enter the kitchen like usual, but remained across the room.
“It was terrifying” said Allen later. “I know it sounds crazy, but he knew. He knew.”
Allen said she then retreated to the garage under the guise of checking the oil in her car, and after two hours — “by the grace of God,” she said, crossing herself — she located a can of free cat food the vet had given her last month, which had fallen behind the dryer and wedged against a shoe.
It was not Mr. Marbles’ favorite brand. It was not his favorite protein. It had no gravy. It was healthy. Nonetheless, she slipped the can of Eden Paw’s Seafood Stew into her pocket and slinked back into the kitchen.
“I was desperate,” she said. “It was either Eden Paw’s Seafood Stew or another bowl of her morning kibble, but God help me if I try to serve Mr. Marbles a bowl of her Chef Cat Chicken Dry Mix at the time of her Cat’s Choice Chicken Grill.”
“I learned that lesson 11 years ago,” she added.
Setting down the bowl and calling to her cat, Allen feared the worst — a sleepless, horror-filled night — so it came as quite a surprise when Mr. Marbles did not stop five feet from the bowl, blink, and stare at her like she had committed murder. She was similarly dumbfounded when Mr. Marbles continued right up to the bowl instead of going directly to the bedroom and clawing her pillow to shreds.
When Mr. Marbles began to eat, Beth Allen gasped, and she nearly fainted. She sat down on the kitchen floor and watched her cat eat.
And three minutes later, right on cue, Mr. Marbles had eaten 75 percent of Eden Paw Seafood Stew and began his customary mid-dinner tour of the house. Like nothing at all was wrong. Nothing was amiss.
“I felt like I was seeing God or something,” recalled Allen.
While heading back to the bowl, Mr. Marbles took a brief detour into Allen’s bedroom and vomited most of the food onto her pillow.
“But he kept some down!” said Allen.
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