Ever since Nellie’s parents adopted her, they’ve noticed that she really, really likes food. Because of how food-motivated she is, they have always thought of her as being much more dog-like than cat-like, and they have even been able to exploit her love of goodies to teach her a few skills.
Allison Riebel, Nellie’s mother, told The Dodo that her daughter “lives to eat instead of eating to live.” “She loves her cat food and she loves her cat treats. We use her love of snacks to practice learning tricks. She’s become good at sit, high five and loves to play fetch.”
Nellie frequently finds herself in awkward situations while searching for food. Even when her parents believe something is secure from her pranks, Nellie is never slow to disprove them.
Riebel, a veterinary student, recently made some cookies for the other volunteers at the University of Illinois’ Wildlife Medical Clinic. She thought some of the cookies would be secure in a sealed Tupperware container, but sadly, they weren’t at all safe.
“Nellie somehow opened the container and took all the cookies out and onto the floor,” Riebel said. “The funny thing is I know she took them all out separately because if she had just knocked them out of the container, the cookies would have broken. But they were spread out across our dining room floor with little bites out of each. So she took them all out separately and chopped them all separately and did it quietly enough to not get noticed.”
When Nellie accidentally knocked something over, Riebel took a break from studying and went downstairs to investigate. She discovered all of her cookies had been eaten, and they were all on the floor. Nellie didn’t even make the effort to disguise her presence; instead, she appeared rather happy with herself for having discovered such delectable treats.
She didn’t appear guilty, according to Riebel. She handles it quite well. It’s both annoying and funny. She is really pleased with herself.
It seems that Nellie’s parents are going to have to find Tupperware that’s a little more cat-proof as Nellie continues on her lifelong quest for food.