I ate sardines as a kid and still do. They used to come with a key you had to twirl around the can to open it up. They were cheap and my 1918 mother knew all about good food "on the cheap" as a veteran through all her teen years with the Great Depression. You could drain them off, smash them up with mayonnaise and have a great fish sandwich on white bread with a glass of milk that would keep you going for days.

The 1954 wife does not like the sight of sardines and won't be in the kitchen with me when I open one up. The scent of sardines disgusts her and she wouldn't be caught dead bringing out any to the feral cats. The cats outside love sardines and they've been on sale at ShopRite for 75 cents a can.

The wife went to ShopRite today and brought back lots of cat food and a whole bunch of cans of sardines. She couldn't open one without gagging but she knows the ferals love them and that I'll serve them when she is not in the kitchen. Her heart is huge.

StarKist tuna in water is on super-sale for 69 cents now. The cats outside are eating very well. You take an enormous platter and dump in the tuna, sardines and all the fishy water. A couple of cans each. You dice up the sardines a bit and lay it outside. Big cats, little cats, boy cats, girl cats and all cats will come galloping for a great feed. I do it every morning.

So nice of the 1/4 pole family. The "outdoor cats" are "family" too!

Stubby the tiny white and orange kitten that the wife adores is finally learning that going underneath adult cats and through legs is a good way to get to some great food.

And every time I pull into the driveway with some great new "cat eats" Emily, Tuxedo and Garfield won't let me get inside my house without doling out pettings, ear rubs and belly rubs.