Some of you might recall TV commercials for 9Lives cat food featuring Morris the cat. Labelled as ‘the world’s most finicky cat,’ Morris starred in 58 different commercials from 1968 to 1978.
It was one of the most successful advertising campaigns in TV history. Morris was finicky because he would only eat 9Lives cat food. This preference was made clear with humorously sardonic voice-over comments when Morris offered other brands.
The voice of the large orange tabby tomcat was provided by John Erwin. Morris won two PATSY Awards (an award for animal performers in film and television) in 1972 and 1973. Not bad for a finicky cat.
Finicky means extremely or excessively particular, exacting, or meticulous in taste or standards. Many families find that two-year-old children can develop into finicky eaters, which can last for years. Many students complain that their teachers are finicky about spelling.
Finicky can also be used to describe things requiring much care, precision, or attentive effort. Some food recipes can be so finicky that the dish will not turn out right if great attention is not given to the directions and ingredient sizes.
Finicky entered the English language in 1825. It comes from the word finical meaning choosy, demanding, or exacting. Finical dates from 1592 and derives from the middle English word fyne meaning choice quality or superior.
The Latin root word for finicky is finis meaning boundary or limit. When it comes to taste people put a boundary on what they will tolerate once they are finicky.
Pandas are very finicky eaters. 99 percent of the giant panda's daily diet consists of nothing but the leaves and stems of bamboo plants.
Bamboo has very little nutritional value, so a panda must consume up to 18 kilograms of bamboo a day to provide proper nutrition. Devouring bamboo is also no simple undertaking. The stalks of the plant are thick and hard, but the panda has large molar teeth and strong jaws for crushing and masticating the plant.
Pandas also get most of their water consumption from eating bamboo. Pandas are extremely dependent on bamboo and must live in areas where bamboo is abundant. They just won’t eat much else.
Another animal that is considered as one of the world's finicky eaters is the koala. The koala is a marsupial native to Australia. They feed exclusively on eucalyptus leaves.
Koalas spend most of the day sleeping and usually eat by night. Koalas chew the leaves very well and convert them in a pulp before swallowing.
Koalas can eat leaves of any species of eucalyptus but often they have their own preferences: Manna Gum, Blue Gum, or Swamp Gum. Thus, it might be said that there might even be a finicky eater among the finicky koalas.
Our three-year-old granddaughter has developed finicky eating patterns. When she was younger, she would consume just about anything. But now certain food items are pushed away with disdain.
On one visit she really enjoyed eating one of Patti’s turkey pies. So, we prepared to have them again on the next visit. That time she pushed it aside and responded positively to green grapes. Then, when she came to Moose Jaw again, we stocked up on green grapes, only to discover that those we thrust aside, and mangoes were the food of choice.
She can be finicky.
Our son was a finicky eater when young. We discovered that if you slathered lots of applesauce on top of anything, he would eat it. Although to this day he still won’t try mushrooms.
Are you finicky? Shake off your Morris the cat, panda, or koala tendencies and give something new a try. You never know - you might like it after all.
The views expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Moose Jaw Today, the Moose Jaw Express, its management, or its subsidiaries.
