The reincarnation of Oolong.

It seems kind of random, really. Why bread? I mean, you could... Well, no, maybe not -- I guess there are only so many food substances with which to benignly torment cats. Spaghetti tiaras, for example, just wouldn't work.

Or you could use very tiny kittens and bagels...

Notice how only the cats really look pissed off? The dog seems fine with this. (Mine would love it. And it would take him about two seconds to get it into his mouth.)

Actually, one of our cats is a bread addict. We don't leave brown paper bags containing sandwiches on any counter any more, as he will drag the whole bag away, then chew a hole through it to reach the bread. He'd probably be fine with being a subject of this phenom too.

I used to want to do this when I was little, but knew that I would get in trouble if caught. Instead I would hold my cat's head in both hands and sing "hamburger head, hamburger head" and pretend to nom him until he bit me. It was a reassuring day when I discovered I was not the only one.

I would hold my cat's head in both hands and sing "hamburger head, hamburger head" and pretend to nom him until he bit me.

Phfffffft! I can totally imagine doing this as a child.

My parents were pretty clear with us as kids: if you're not gentle with the cats, you are going to get scratched or bitten and we won't give you much sympathy, either.

They were trying to teach us to be respectful of the cats' desire for freedom from fondling, and it mostly worked. But they were also unintentionally teaching me that once in a while I'd feel like the enforced cuddling was worth the scratches. Oh, those poor kitties.