Is there something in beer that attracts cats?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by jwheeler87, Nov 8, 2012.

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  1. jwheeler87

    jwheeler87 Initiate (0) Oct 27, 2011 Massachusetts

    This is 100% a serious question. So here's the deal. I have had a total of three cats since I was a baby. My cat pumpkin who died in 2002, Sam who died in 2011 and Misty who is holding it down. They are not from the same litter either. Pumpkin died before we got Sam and Misty. All three of these cats seemed/seem attracted to beer. Whenever my dad or grandpa would open a beer when I was a kid pumpkin came running out, and would smell and nuzzle the empty bottles. Same thing with Sam and Misty. Whenever my dad, brother or myself has a beer around they hovered around until we let them smell the bottles.

    So my 100% serious question is has anyone else experienced this?
     
  2. ColdPoncho

    ColdPoncho Initiate (0) Jan 9, 2009 Ohio

    I have heard "cat piss" as a descriptor for the aroma of simcoe hops...maybe you're drinking beers that put your cats in heat.
     
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  3. jwheeler87

    jwheeler87 Initiate (0) Oct 27, 2011 Massachusetts

    2/3 have been male and all three have been spayed/neutered.
     
  4. ColdPoncho

    ColdPoncho Initiate (0) Jan 9, 2009 Ohio

    Well, I don't know a lot about cats, but maybe there is just something about hop aromas that intrigue them anyway
     
  5. mikeburd1128

    mikeburd1128 Maven (1,397) Oct 28, 2011 New Jersey

    i've seen it all...
     
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  6. Lordquackingstic

    Lordquackingstic Initiate (0) Jun 14, 2011 New York
    Trader

    My cats do this as well, I think they're just curious to be honest. If they hear anything that sounds like a bag or a bottle opening, they come to inspect it in hopes of getting a treat.

    Either that or my cats are alcoholics.
     
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  7. jwheeler87

    jwheeler87 Initiate (0) Oct 27, 2011 Massachusetts

    yeah that's a good point. i just thought my cats were weird.
     
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  8. HeyJim

    HeyJim Initiate (0) Sep 22, 2012 Pennsylvania

    My cats definitely go out of their way smell my beer. They never try to drink it, not that I'd let them anyway, because I'm sure it's bad for them and they're not 21.

    Seriously, I've come back into a room to find one of them with their face damn near in my glass, sniffing away.
     
  9. Rekrule

    Rekrule Initiate (0) Nov 11, 2011 Massachusetts

    I blame Bob Barker for that.
     
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  10. FlakyBiscuit

    FlakyBiscuit Initiate (0) Sep 11, 2012 Pennsylvania

    I don't know about cats but I had about 3 ounces of a Souther Tier 2xIPA in a pint glass on my deck about 2 weeks ago. Went inside for 3-4 minutes and when I cam back, I had 4 fruit flies drowned in my tasty ale. So I guess if you have a fruit fly problem, try some IPA.
     
  11. Lordquackingstic

    Lordquackingstic Initiate (0) Jun 14, 2011 New York
    Trader

    Nope! They're as normal as normal cats can be, which means they're really weird.

    On a side note, now that I think of it, some of my snakes are super interested in trying to drink my whiskey...
     
  12. Kerrie

    Kerrie Initiate (0) Aug 24, 2012 Michigan

    My cats have never done that, but if you're opening a canned beer, maybe it sounds to them like their canned food is being opened? I always feed my cat canned food and she knows that sound all too well. I drink bottled beer, though, so she never comes running for that. However, when I lived at home with my mom, she drank beer from a can and my cat usually hovered around.
     
  13. stupac2

    stupac2 Initiate (0) Feb 22, 2011 California

    I doubt there is, but cats are curious.
     
  14. Retail1LO

    Retail1LO Initiate (0) May 4, 2011 Pennsylvania

    I have 3 snowshoes...and the one female is constantly in my face when I have a beer poured. She'll like the glass where beer has run over it...but won't actually drink beer. Half the time she seems content to just have her face in the glass to smell it. Her two brothers couldn't care less about beer, however.
     
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  15. Giovannilucano

    Giovannilucano Maven (1,424) Feb 24, 2011 New Jersey

    Surprised no one said this: sugar! Actually, cats can not easily digest foods or liquids with a major sugar substance, but one cat LOVES sweets like chocolate cake frosting!
     
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  16. canjeeps

    canjeeps Initiate (0) Jul 18, 2007 Pennsylvania

    I have two cats now and they have no interest in my brew. Although when in college my roomy had a cat that lived with us. That cat loved beer. I know it was not really good for him. He really liked lancaster brew company hop hog and amish 4 grain. He was a sucker for hops haha.
     
  17. Ranbot

    Ranbot Pooh-Bah (2,327) Nov 27, 2006 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    If you feed your cats canned food, maybe they think the opening beer bottle or can sounds like a can of cat food being opened. If they eat dry food then your cats are weird, but most cats are weird, so nothing out of the ordinary there!

    My two cats [and dog] could care less about my beer. My cats might sniff my beer if it happens to be in front of them, but they have no interest after the first whiff.
     
  18. BedetheVenerable

    BedetheVenerable Initiate (0) Sep 5, 2008 Missouri

    Quentin went after only one brew I've ever had...(crummy) home-brewed imperial stout...did his best to wedge his face into the glass...any other beer I've ever had, he shows no interest in...

    now, chocolate frosting, bacon, ketchup, chips, anything in a crinkly bag, cottage cheese, etc etc etc are all up for grabs...

    And Fuggles, oddly enough (considering her name) couldn't be more 'over' beer....as long as she's got a place to sit in your general vicinity, she's good.
     
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  19. IceAce

    IceAce Pooh-Bah (2,158) Jan 8, 2004 California
    Pooh-Bah

    Is there something in beer that attracts cats?


    My not-so serious answer:
    • Real cats? Yes
    • The slang term for cats? Not so much
    Just sayin'
     
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  20. yamar68

    yamar68 Initiate (0) Apr 1, 2011 Minnesota

    Dogs rule, cats drool.
     
  21. Greywulfken

    Greywulfken Grand Pooh-Bah (5,669) Aug 25, 2010 New York
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    My cats are always interested in my beer - no doubt - but, they will not drink it (cats don't like bitter things) - so I always let 'em sniff freely - hell, I offer it up to them (to satisfy their curiosity) - knowing they will not drink it or do anything to it that would make me not wanna drink it - lol - hey, they're cats, right? Curiosity and all, eh?

    To cats! And dogs, too (but dogs'll drink it, so be careful, or you'll lose your beer :wink: )!

    Cheers!
     
  22. squirrely2005

    squirrely2005 Initiate (0) Aug 26, 2011 Texas

    I wish I had a cat.

    But anyway maybe there's something about it that smells like cat nip.
     
  23. drgonzo2k2

    drgonzo2k2 Initiate (0) Aug 24, 2012 California

    Little Lady and I have 3 cats. 2 of them could care less about our beer or anything to do with it. Our youngest, JetJaguar Jones, however, is nuts about the entire hobby. From the moment I come home with a beer haul, he meets me at the door, hovers around my legs while I carry it to the table, and then jumps up to inspect what I brought home. At first, I just assumed it was because he learned that beer haul = new box or bag for him to play in, but then it started to seem like he was interested in the bottles, as he'd go around and sniff them all.

    Anytime I open the beer cellar he comes over and checks it out, and if there's room on the bottom shelf, he climbs in and starts sniffing. He jumps up on the table every time I get one out to open and sniffs to give his approval or not. Some he likes more than others, and occasionally I have to remove him from the table over and over and over.

    Yesterday when I got home I decided to pour a pint of Velvet Merlin from my growler, which he absolutely loved. I set the growler on the table while I waited for the head to go down a bit and top off my pint. I turned around for a minute, and when I looked back, he was licking the little droplets running down the side of the growler. Humorous, yes, good for JetJaguar, no, so I made him stop.
     
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  24. powpig2002

    powpig2002 Initiate (0) Jan 26, 2012 Florida

    beer in red solo cups attracts p@##y. sorry, but i couldn't resist. hope i don't get in trouble
     
  25. Hanzo

    Hanzo Initiate (0) Feb 27, 2012 Virginia

    My cats hate the smell of the beer. If I point the glass to their nose they sniff and run off.
     
  26. 5thOhio

    5thOhio Initiate (0) May 13, 2007 South Carolina

    I blame George Bush.
     
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  27. Archemedies

    Archemedies Initiate (0) Dec 8, 2011 Massachusetts

    I think catnip and hops are from a similar plant family. They hops smell from some beers and think its probably something they can get high on.
     
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  28. fredmugs

    fredmugs Initiate (0) Aug 11, 2012 Indiana
    Deactivated

    I guess cats are smarter than dogs.
     
  29. sarcastro

    sarcastro Savant (1,097) Sep 20, 2006 Michigan

    50% of my cats like beer. 1 does and 1 doesnt.
     
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  30. FosterJM

    FosterJM Initiate (0) Nov 16, 2009 California

  31. smutty33

    smutty33 Pooh-Bah (2,026) Jun 12, 2009 Connecticut
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Cat Lover/owner here!

    I think your cats are just being curious and are associating the sound w/ poss. receiving a treat of some sort.

    lol....I always let my cats smell the beer I'm drinking,but they always just give a quick whiff and their out.

    Just the other night,I had a really fresh Ithaca Flower Power.I got huge tropical fruit notes in the aroma.Then I put the glass up to one of my cat's noses to see if she noticed something "different" in this one, and got the usual response.

    And I don't care who calls me crazy........:stuck_out_tongue:

    Cheers
     
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  32. abecall98

    abecall98 Initiate (0) Aug 11, 2007 California
    Trader

    I hate cats and I hate beer.
     
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  33. Greywulfken

    Greywulfken Grand Pooh-Bah (5,669) Aug 25, 2010 New York
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Cannabis, too - Eureka! :wink: (get it?) Something for everybody!
     
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  34. Greywulfken

    Greywulfken Grand Pooh-Bah (5,669) Aug 25, 2010 New York
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Uh, you can't say that here... *clicks to report post*

    j/k

    *clicks "report" anyway*

    :wink:
     
  35. Bonis

    Bonis Initiate (0) Jul 28, 2010 Ohio

    I am surrounded by cats in my life and I have never experienced a cat that likes beer. Like someone else said, if I point my beer glass towards their nose, they sniff and just run off. Now dogs on the other hand, I have a dog that would drink anything with booze in it.
     
  36. abecall98

    abecall98 Initiate (0) Aug 11, 2007 California
    Trader

    I thought my avatar was a clear giveaway. I love my cat, and I love my beer.

    My cat doesn't really like beer, she will just come up to it, sniff it, then stare at me with her mouth open and tongue out. I don't know she does that. She hangs out with all of us during the tastings, just in the middle of it all sometimes.

    I have given her a dab of a few great beers. King Henry, DDG, Veritas 007, Black Tuesday, Fou Foune, different Eclipses, Westy 12. I just have a dab on my finger, and she comes up to it, and licks it.
     
  37. Greywulfken

    Greywulfken Grand Pooh-Bah (5,669) Aug 25, 2010 New York
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    lol - that's awesome - great lookin' cat, too. I'm just screwing around today because they cancelled work again (nor'easter).

    BTW, the open mouth thing is called the Flehmen response - cats (and horses, among other animals) do it to utilize their vomeronasal organ, which is like, in their mouth somewhere (?) and it allows them to detect chemical odors like pheromones - I think of it as being like, they're really smelling something new and compelling, like, "holy fuck, what is that?" so they use all their powers of olfaction to really soak it all in... cats are so funny.

    Cheers!
     
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  38. Hands22

    Hands22 Initiate (0) Oct 14, 2011 Florida

    My cats will try and sniff anything I eat or drink. They definitely don't like hoppy beers though. If I put a glass of IPA near them they back away and run off.
     
  39. smutty33

    smutty33 Pooh-Bah (2,026) Jun 12, 2009 Connecticut
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Always loved your avatar btw.

    Your cat drinks better than me...lol.
    1 of my 2 cats always hangs out at the table during tastings......:slight_smile:

    Cheers
     
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  40. seplo

    seplo Initiate (0) Sep 8, 2009 Connecticut

    Gotta love Goobie
     
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