I own rats, cats, ferrets, a dog, birds, fish, various reptiles and amphibians, a rabbit, and possibly even some animals I can't recall at this moment. As for them desiring certain foods as compared to others, I think almost all of them do. Those with food bowls will pick out the types of food they like the best before they eat the others. My birds pick out the sunflower seeds, my ferrets pick out the raisins (I give only a few if it's been a couple of days since they've had treats) and Marshall's over the Science Diet, my dog eats cat food instead of his food if he can get to cat food (he seems finally unable to locate it now that it's on top of the bathroom counter!), my cats prefer wet food to dry food and treats or kittymalt to everything, my fish prefer flakes to tubifex, etc. and so on. In some cases, I think it may just be the texture of the food. Perhaps fish just find it easier to eat flakes than blocks of worm-thingies. But Bailey and Tristan, the ferrets, will leave their food dish behind to go across the room and steal ice cream from my dish if I leave the room for, say, 3/10 of a second! My rats (anyone need pet rats? -- we have a huge litter of babies in the Indianapolis area -- great _free_ pets!!) will eat everything, including cardboard in some instances, to avoid eating their rat pellets (the only thing fortified specifically for them, of course). Except cauliflower -- of my two female mothers, Monica loves it, Phoebe throws it out the side of the cage! I'm a scientist (or at least in training) and I know the dangers of anthropomorphy, as I've worked with elephants and know that "But she wanted me to pet her..." often leads to broken this and that bones. "But he wanted me to pet him..." led me once to allow Ernie the giraffe to pull my hat from my head, eat it, after which he paid me no attention whatsoever!!! From then on, however, Ernie always greeted me when I went into the giraffe barn. We can only ignore so much of the fun cosmic entertainment of lower animals. I agree that we cannot allow "unscience" to rule our lives, we cannot assume everything an animal does can be described in terms of interpersonal feelings. Why, though, are we so quick to allow science to rule us. What's wrong with me knowing that Ernie just liked my hat, that my dog licks my face because he loves me sometimes, not always because he's trying to show me he's hungry, with a bowl full of food. I know when Tristan claws at the cage door, he wants out of the cage. I know when he follows me around the room, he's interested in some way in what I am doing. I know my parents love me when they tell me to be careful driving home, even though they don't expressly tell me that. I know science as an insider, I do strong research using the scientific method. I know science, though, is a wee bit full of itself from time to time. Most of all, I know I am babbling, and I think I've made my point. Thanks for listening, and feed your ferrets those treats. Science cannot deny the influence of the raisin. Tim and Bailey (I prefer Sun-Maid to generic, buddy) Tristan (Doesn't the dog notice that linatone tastes like oil!!!!!) and the rest of the gang [Posted in FML issue 1550]