Ok, so I know I have a cat that loves carbs. Actually I have 2 of them. Several months ago I made a cake, the 2nd one because the first one came out and looked like an earthquake hit. I didn't have room on the counter to let it cool it was a half sheet cake so I left it on the dining table to cool. I came in and saw a heart shape carved into the corner. I thought my husband was being cute since he knews I cut off the top of the cake anyway. Turns out he didn't do it which only left a cat getting on the table and creatively eating 2 bits that looked like a heart. The cake was salvageable as I had to cut it off anyway.

Ever since that cake I've been very careful not to leave edible cake things on the table. Until tonight! I made a cake, it was perfect. 9" round and gorgeous. I sat on the couch while it cooled and kept the more likely of the 2 suspects close at hand while the cake was cooling. When I got up to to check the check no less than 1 cup of cake was gone from my beautiful round cake. =( Now I know it wasn't my small trouble maker since I kept her with me in the living room. It was my big fat round tubby cat. She quietly snuck up on the table and had time to eat a lot of cake. I never even heard her. My husband said, now you know why she's so tubby.

Moral of the story, get more counter space or cover the cakes when they are cooling.

The culprit is below.



And now I have to make another 9" round layer along with 2 12" layers. It's too late tonight I was hoping to be icing the 9" cake while the 12" was baking. It's a good thing she's cute.

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one with a curious (and hungry) cat. I always keep everything covered since it's impossible to confine the cat, since she thinks she owns the house. And I say the same exact thing...."It's a good thing she's cute."

That's why pets are generally not allowed in homes with licensed bakeries.

oh my......
look at that innocent face!!!! ?
how can you blame her
good luck
good night oh it is so funny

Our baked goods are safe enough in the middle of the dining room table or the kitchen counters. God help you if you put it close enough to the edge for them to get at without putting paws on the table, though!

I had a cat like that. She loved cake AND buttercream. No uncovered cake was safe, whether on the counter or kitchen table. She got to take a plane trip to live out her golden years with my mom.

I completely understand the rules for licensed bakeries and homes and such. That's why I don't sell my cakes or run a business selling cakes. there is no way I could keep my pets out of my space, even if I had a separate locked room with commercial appliances and a license. If and when I get the opportunity to bake and sell cakes, I will have to find space away from home.

Innocent.... *laugh* nothing innocent about Sassy, that's for sure.

Teee hee hee....

If the cat ate part of the cake wouldnt you just throw the whole thing away? What if it licked other parts or there was a hair on it that you couldnt see.......sorry Im not a pet person so Im kinda paranoid

I have pets and I realize stuff happens, but if my cat ate part of my cake, I wouldn't just cut that part off and still serve it....yuck!

To each their own....

i had a cat years ago that would know if you had a donut or a piece of cake.. didn't matter what part of the house you were in and she was in lol.. she Knew.. and you Had to share a little bit of it with her- then she'd leave you And the pastry safely alone lol.. she'd leave fish bones on the kitchen counter alone.. didn't eat chicken.. but gosh darn it if you had a donut - that was hers (hehe)


few years before that- was my kids's great grandma's bday (which falls on christmas eve Also our anniversary) etc.. so i thought- what to give grandma who has everything and doesn't need anything (her words lol)

so i colored up four shades of icing in bag, took a 10 inch two layer cake and made an X on the cake dividing its surface in to four sections.. each one of the great grandkids (there were four there lol) got a bag of frosting and decorated it in front of GreatGrandma.. also we videotaped it as a gift.

well later on the cake was put on the counter and one of my sister inlaw's cats got up and licked the Yellow frosting...


i think it happend again some years later.. so we have this running joke in the family not to use yellow frosting lol..

My daughter did it before...I had left the cake on the turntable and she climbed up and stuck her tongue out and spun the turntable until she wore a groove in the icing. It was her birthday cake and we still served it We just made sure that only family got an outside piece...our guests got the non-licked pieces.

When I had cats, they never ate cake...but they did eat some strange things. I had one who ate refried beans (had to put him outside afterwards!!!), another who ate tinsel which comes out looking the same, and one who would pick up his can of cat food with his mouth and jump on top of the kitchen table so he could eat dinner with us. (he also thought he would breastfeed when we had our daughter, and he had to go live with some friends on a ranch because he wouldn't take no for an answer).

It's funny how we get so used to our pets but things sound gross to other people...for example I have a parakeet who takes showers with me and I bet that sounds disgusting to a lot of people.

Man that would absolutly eeeerkk me if my cat did that. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't bake another cake. Fortunately for me my cat doesn't like cake. He is 14 yrs old and unable to jump on anything except the sofa. He really doesn't like eating anything except his food, pounce treats and tuna...I wonder how he got so fat He weighs 19 lbs.

Gefion, I understand what you mean ... many friends and family have pets and I'm sharing meals with those folks frequently. But I also know that they don't let their pets lick the food before they serve it to me.

I'm not anti-pet. I'm anti "I'm not licensed so it's ok to let them lick the food" thinking.

Indydebi,
I agree with you 100%.
I know that any way that I word this is going to upset the pet lovers we have here, but the whole situation of allowing them free rein of the kitchen while food is anywhere around is unsanitary.
We used to be friends with a family that had 4 dogs and 1 cat that were in the house the majority of the time. We ate 1 meal at their home and WILL NOT do it again. The animals were allowed wherever they wanted to go, she would even wash the animal dishes in the same sink and water as their dishes. Soooo nasty. I will not eat cake (or any food for that matter) free or paid from someone who allows that to go on.

I would never serve a cake or any other food for that matter that my cat had licked, sat on, covered with fur, etc... I go to great lengths to make sure that all my food and baked goods are covered so that she can't get to them. Like many of the others who have posted, I only do my cakes for free for family and friends, all of which know that I own a cat. I guess I just assume that if they had a problem with a cat being in my kitchen, they wouldn't bother to ask me for a cake. There's always a trade-off for getting something for free...

I'm definately not aniti-pet. I have a dog and a cat. They are not allowed in the kitchen...they know this. They are properly trained.

I lock them both in the room when I'm baking. Lots of my cakes are done for free, but never would I expect them to trade-off a cake previously eaten by cat because it was free.

All my friends have pets, when my family eats there, I have an expectation of fur-free food.

Let me start by saying I love animals. However . . .

My husband has made two trips to the ER in the past three years due to cat encounters. He's severely allergic to cats and avoids them whenever possible. He wears masks if he's working in a home that has cats. Last summer a client's cat scratched him on the hand. He lost 3 days of work because the swelling traveled up his wrist to his arm, and the swelling continued up to his elbow. This happened within a few hours of being scratched. By the time I met him at the ER, he looked like Popeye. He had to take steroids, antibiotics, and antihistamines to bring the swelling down. His doctor told him that cat's claws carry a lot of bacteria because they dig in litter boxes. A cat will then lick their paws clean, so their mouths aren't that fresh either.

So . . . there are those out there that would be more than just grossed out if they knew a cat had touched their cake. I'd find a way to keep them away from any food that you plan to serve to others.

I'm quite amused by this discussion.

No one said that since I'm not licensed it's "OK" to serve cake that my cat taste tested. It was a cake for my husband and I. I wasn't going to make a whole new cake for just the 2 of us. =P

For pet owners who lock their pets up when they are baking, you amuse me too. Cat fur and dog fur will cling to your clothes. You have just as much chance of dropping your own hair in your cake or icing as you do a pet hair. Do all home bakers use hair nets? How about 3 sink sanitizing stations? How about keeping your windows open in your home? Do you vacuum your duct work? Just because commercial bakeries have these sanitation efforts doesn't mean they don't drop hair in the batter or icing from time to time. Or pick a utensil that dropped on the floor and continue to use it.

C'mon if you're a home baker, and not a licensed bakery and your cakes are for family and close friends loosen up. The cake my cat tasted for me last night got remade.

I thought it was a funny and/or annoying disaster and wanted to share it with the CC community. I won't apologize if it grosses you out in way, shape or form. I truly appreciate you other pet owners commiserating with my plight. Going to the grocery store at midnight to get a new cake mix and more eggs wasn't my idea of a good time. =)

Texas-rose - Your daughter licking the cake on the turntable made my chuckle out loud. I used to have a Cockatoo that would shower occassionally with me. That is until she bit my ear. I don't have her anymore.

HerBoudoir - Love the 'tails out' popcorn rule.

Gross!
I've had both a cat and a dog, but I certainly wouldn't eat anything they had licked or been near enough to shed their hair on.

Im not a pet hater. I have a dog but he is an outside dog. I would let my dog lick my mouth so I definately wouldnt eat anything that he took a bite of.

I have a little 14 pound dog and a big fat 14 pound cat named Abigail. I only bake for funnsies and don't charge. I wipe my counters down with those Clorox wipes before I start baking and decorating. I then tell the people I did the best I could and I don't charge extra for Queen Abbey's hair if they find one.
I swear that cat will flick her black hair on the white b/c and her white hair on the black b/c from the office chair in the other room. Her hair is real soft and it floats in the air and I don't even see it.

I think it's funny how many people are rushing to get onto her for this. If I make a cake, in MY house, for ME, and a Hippo sits on it, if I want to eat it, I will. I don't need you telling me what you think about how gross it is.

...Of course, by then, I'd be more of a pancake, but, you get the picture.....


Cute story though...

Ok I do not hate animals but that story about serving the cake that the cake licked is disgusting, the one about the little girl is I guess ok if you are serving it to siblings after all kids do share stuff anyway, but guys give me a break CATS LICK THEIR BUTTS!!!! totally gross, I would of never served that cake, even if it was free, you are making it sound that because I am giving it to you , you should take whatever I give you, even if it has been licked or thrown on the floor, yuk I DON'T THINK SO>