The ubiquity of pilchards

Despite saying I’m a one-cat household with my hospice foster Moxie, we have recently been sharing our household with a new friend.

Moxie may be a geriatric lady, but this hasn’t stopped a large tom cat from following her through the cat flap. Billy, as he is now known, is a 6kg big-cheeked hunk, but very shy. As he announced his arrival with a massive tom cat spray of pee over my sofa, I felt he should be rewarded with being neutered and found a nice home.

Furry foundling

Fast forward two weeks and thanks to the local Cats Protection scheme he has been chipped and neutered. He’s developing into an amazingly cuddly cat and a local rescue is home checking a place for him this week.

But, obviously, as a vet nurse foundling, there came a bump in the road. He’s got a manky claw that’s a bit swollen and sore – so a trip to the vets ensued. A clip and clean and it’s a bit swollen but not infected, so some NSAIDS and home were prescribed.

This then led to a visit to my tiny local Co-op to buy something tasty for the NSAIDS to be taken with.

Smells a bit fishy

I first thought that some chicken chunks would be good, but I had clearly forgotten my nursing skills and about the magic of pilchards in tomato sauce.

I began my hunt in the tiny co-op and as it was so small I thought they were unlikely to have such a niche product in stock. Although my memories of pilchards are that they can be found in every corner shop in London, I had a mild panic that they might not be so readily available elsewhere. Well, I was wrong!

There, beside the tinned tuna, were the ubiquitous Glenryck pilchards in tomato sauce. At an amazing 75p, not only did I know Billy would eat it, but that we could afford to be quite generous with the NSAIDS pilchard chaser.

Who eats these?

The ready availability of this brand of tinned pilchards got me thinking about who the usual consumer was. Yes, the veterinary industry and sick cats must make up a reasonable part of the market, but for this one product to have such a strong retail presence who else is eating them?

I’m not a fan of the bony fish so I won’t be dining with Billy, but a quick Google search and the Glenryck website offers a few recipes that may entice others.

As this product has been instrumental in getting inappetent cats to eat for as long as I’ve been nursing, I feel there is a need to ensure Glenryck pilchards remain well-stocked across the country.