Cat loves to sit with peaches but have they been washed with chlorinated water?

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Ozzy and his favorite fruit. No, his favorite object.

There is a domestic cat, Ozzy, whose is receiving his 15 minutes of interment fame because he loves to sit with peaches, not to eat them but to simply be with them.

Actually he cuddles them 🙂 Cute. And he guards them. Cuter. Ozzy’s favourite hobby is sitting with peaches or lying on them. His tweets have gone viral. His owners are the parents of Lydia Coutré who calls him Ozzy the Peach Cat. What can we make of this? It must be the smell of the peaches. The fruit is giving off a scent which is approaching catnip in its effect on Ozzy. He’s not gone crazy around peaches but he is lying on them.

I have had a thought. If Lydia’s parents are washing the peaches with chlorinated water this would have the effect that we see. Chlorine bleach can have a similar effect to that created by catnip for some cats. This is why cats like to tear toilet paper to shreds. If I am right this phenomenon has nothing to do with peaches.

The foodsafetysite.com website states:

“Chlorine bleach at the dilution of 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of bleach per gallon of water is safe to use on fresh produce before eating. In fact, these concentrations of chlorine bleach are often used to wash food industry produce.”

So some people do wash their fruit with very dilute chlorinated water.

My parents’ cat inexplicably LOVES peaches, and it’s the most delightful thing. They send regular picture updates to the family group chat of this cat just chilling with the peaches. It’s the most important notification I get to my phone. pic.twitter.com/mPEQaRF8Mv

— Lydia Coutré (@LydiaCoutre) August 1, 2018

Happily. pic.twitter.com/WUPaCOYmVV

— Lydia Coutré (@LydiaCoutre) August 2, 2018