I didn't expect it, but I had outstanding success with my sweet corn crop
this year, in spite of the cats using the shady spaces between the plants as
a playground and nap hangout in the summer heat. The plants are 10' high and
bearing 3-4 ears per stalk!!!

The patch I planted is not very big, as I only used one small packet of
seeds (Silver Queen - a white variety), and yet the crop has almost been too
much for even a sweet corn lover like me. For the past week I have been
picking and eating a dozen ears a day, with no end in sight.

Seeing as how Abelard adores sweet corn, I've been letting him have a bit
now and then, and he always begs for more. So yesterday I gave him two whole
ears, cut into about 4 chunks each, to make it easier for him to handle. He
spent most of the afternoon pulling kernels off and chewing them.

Mind you, this is a cat who ordinarily is very submissive where food is
concerned. When all the other cats are eating heartily together, he sits on
the sidelines and waits until he can be alone at the dish and eat whatever
is left, alone and in peace, and will relinquish the bowl or plate to any
cat (or kitten) who approaches while he is eating, no matter how hungry he
is. That's part of why he's always been so thin. He even gives up shrimpies
rather than assert himself.

But when it comes to corn.... LOOK OUT!!! He'll be as aggressive as he needs
to get, to keep the corn to himself. Yesterday, this meant having to
interrupt his feasting numerous times to defend his right to the personal
treat, since Abelard is not the only cat around here that likes sweet corn.

His banquet finished, Abelard spent the rest of the day napping on the sofa,
where he still was when I went to bed. Just before dawn I was awakened by a
cat fight (again) and stumbled to the bathroom (I actually fell down twice
before reaching the toilet). Having locked the cats in for the night and
blocked the flap to keep out the prowler, on my way back to bed I opened the
door so the clowder could go to the outside potty. I was too groggy to
notice the three big gobs of churned up sweet corn kernels on the sofa.
Those I did not see until several hours later, when I nearly sat on them.

Oh well, at least he got the pleasure of eating the corn in the first place.
And I learned a lesson: Do not give Abelard a large quantity of corn at one
time.