My cat is crazy about carrotine

The main part of my dinner consists of grated carrots. Later I will add roasted mushrooms (sliced) through this, and sometimes a little Parmesan cheese (also grated.)

I'm not talking recipes here, nor talking lifestyles. What has intrigued me is that Nina out cat is crazy about the carrot peel, or other bits of raw carrot. She will be licking the peel or piece of carrot, and turn it, and herself, about and round & round on the table, and if I'm not on the case, she'll turn the whole lot of veggie peel onto the floor, just because she's so hot about carrots.
has any of you see a similar behaviour, or heard/read about this?

(Could it be that as a white cat she is yearning for a bit of carrotine, to give her white fur a little colouring? (the natural colouring of animals is (in) carrotine. As example: the carrotine in certain Caterpillars gives Blue Tits their yellow breast. If they fail to find these, the offspring will turn out a lot paler.)

OK, I know, this has nothingto do with Wildlife, conservation, etc. However I am really interested, even without the cat, in what is this chemical or in carrotine? Because I also wonder if it has a similar effect on other species of the Cat family.

nina has been doing this for awhile, it is not just a feline whim or something.

I'm open to suggestions.

Nina the cat in front of the camera

Sorry, this post and slide show, is not about any wildlife, or birds. still, I hope you like the slides.

Last year I often would take pictures of Nina, our white feline, once darkness had set in and my birds had moved off to their perch. In those days, Nina was still camping on my kitchen table, behind the laptop or trying to squeeze in between the laptop and me. This would make typing a little harder, so this would be allowed only for short periods. These days she has moved into the bedroom again, sleeping all day with only a few short breaks. Our camera sessions have become a rarity these days, which suits me. Still, I think that every pet owner likes to photograph their pet, trying to capture that special character which is what you fell in love with.

After my run to Eddy's, our village grocer, I went out again for a few pictures of spring flowers and left over berries in the hedgerows. (I am surprised that so many are still untouched. Have we been feeding them too much? Or are these left for a rainy day? As if we haven't had any of these!)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Swede Reaction.

Most of us, cat owners, are aware that our pets can show particular fondness for the smell, or the chemicals in plants such as Cat nip and Cat Mint.

Nina, our white feline, used to have strange taste anyway, and was never fooled by either of the above plants.
For example she used to be a lover of fruit. Well, fruit she was allowed to eat that is. Avacado, Kiwis, Melons, anything I'd be peeling on Sundays for our fruit salads, and when she started licking the inside of the peels, I would cut her slivers of the fruits she preferred, and she would love these.

Last Friday, I was peeling slices of Turnip, or Swedes, as the English call these root vegetables.
As usual I dropped the waste into the yellow microwave lids. Nina, looking for a snack or just attention, jumped onto the table and became very interested in the peel of the vegetable I was preparing. However not once did she look at the peeled cubes in the bowl- all her attention was on what was in the yellow lid.

It was hard to prevent her from tipping the thing off the table, but it was even harder to keep on going.
I have no idea which chemical is inside this skin. Perhaps someone can tell us this, who knows.
I can only guess that celeriac and Fennel have similar chemicals because celery stalks/leaf is the top of the roots, growing underground.
If anyone can tell me more, please do; this silly cat has roused my curiosity now.

It was hard to get any decent pictures as 'madame' was so incredibly High that she was not only unstoppable, but she was moving so fast too. And of course right underneath my nose, leaving me not much distance; All she wanted was to rub her nose right into the inside of the Turnip's skin.

Feline Paws & Tail in the composter?

I use those yellow, plastic "microwave lids" usually to collect my dinner's vegetable waste, which can then be moved outside to the composter.
The other day, after we had eaten, Nina, our cat, jumped onto the table and settled herself inside one of these lids, sat up, and curled the tail 'round her bum. Typically feline.

Only here and there a little bit of potato peel and that kind of stuff, was visible between her feet.


I am not sure if, but she might have stimulated the whole composting process?

And to close, also a glance through the window got me these images on my camera:
JJ.

One of the Goldcrests,

The two Robins are now arriving and feeding together. One in centre and the other between pots on the left.