MovieChat Forums > La nana (2011) Discussion > Lima the Cat

Lima the Cat

posted 14 years ago by Reader55
13 replies | jump to latest

Granted, this is a very small point, but I was bothered by how they fed the cat. The first maid from Peru claims to have lived with six cats but tries to give MILK (bad for cats) to the new kitten. Later, she tries to give Lima a piece of what appears to be raw fish. (Some animal lovers believe in a raw food diet, but it's debatable how good this is for dogs and cats.) Are cats not fed cat food in Chile? Serving the cat milk is understandable if there was nothing else on hand to feed a hungry animal on its first day home, but the family was so rich that they could have sent one of the maids (or other servants) out to buy cat food immediately.

Forgive me for my attention to this detail, but I love cats. And I'm curious about how pets are fed in South America.

[–] Stirchley 14 years ago

You're bothered by how they fed the kitten? But you're not bothered by the fact that Raquel more or less condemned the kitten to a short sad life on the streets when she pushed it over the fence?

[–] jacowium 14 years ago

You're making assumptions about a person without knowing the person.

Of course Reader55 would have been bothered by it - did you not read the "...I love cats" sentence? His/her post focused on something else, however. And good points were raised regarding the feeding of cats -- things that people who keep pets, really should know.

Just because of what Raquel did to the cat, are people now not allowed to discuss what Lucy & Camila did to the cat too?

Anyway, it's a movie, not a "Guide To Life", and it's only portraying what happens in the world. People do feed pets the wrong food, and worse (yes, I agree with you), condemn them to a harsh life on the streets.

[–] Reader55 14 years ago

Thanks for defending me, jacowium. One reason I seldom post to IMDB is that nearly every thread degenerates into ad hominem attacks on the writer. Isn't the point to discuss movies--plot points, themes, musical scores, etc.--rather than to fight?

Of course I was sorry that Raquel banished the cat but (though I'd never let my cat outdoors) realize that other cultures do affirm the freedom of cats. If I believed that the movie portrayed a real situation, I'd be rooting for Lima's street smarts. (Hey..having been raised on fish and milk, she'd probably be able to survive on a Dumpster diet.)

I'm still curious about pet food or the lack thereof in other countries. Guess I'll have to do some real research.

[–] jacowium 14 years ago

I understand your reluctance to post on threads, and though I've learnt to "switch off" a bit more, I should have just navigated away from certain threads too in the past. Still, it's kind of hard to let folks get away with the kind of comments that Stirchley left you. I'm not sure it's ever worth the effort to try and engage people more interested in being condescending or rude than constructive discussions, but anyway.

As a Drama & Film student at present I often browse through film forums looking for interesting thoughts & ideas on cinematic ventures - and I do find them - but I wish there was a way to avoid having to wade through so much crap first to get to posts of substance. Some of the things I've read on IMDB makes me believe that cats are indeed lucky not to know how primitively the so-called civilised human species behave on the internet.

I live in South Africa, and there is no excuse here for anybody with the financial means not to feed their cats proper cat food. It's a different story in many other African countries, and of course, any other third world corner. Like you, I adore pets, and taking care of an animal are amongst the things that make me grateful to be here on this planet. I've had a very nomadic lifestyle (until recently) though, making it hard to adopt pets for any substantial length of time. And now that I'm a student, I just don't have the cash to ensure good care. As soon as I earn a regular income again, with my own living quarters, that'll change.

I have had one dog though, and once looked after 2 cats that came with a cottage I leased for almost 5 years. (Might be more accurate to say that it were the 2 cats who "owned" the cottage!) Those cats were used to the great outdoors, with the cottage having been right next to a nature reserve, and they usually disappeared into the 'veld' during the day. I still fed them nutritional pellets which they loved, and I'm sure their sated bellies put them off hunting birds in the vicinity to some extent, but it's not possible to fully control their instincts either. Then the person who leased the cottage after me, had no choice but to adopt them too! Anyway, they managed to live a real charmed life here on African soil, with lots of freedom and yummy food, but they were the luckier ones. One of them is still alive, I heard recently.

Back to the books - or rather DVD's! Working on a genre-assignment due in next week...

[–] sanhuezaehijos-ltda 11 years ago

I'm chilean, a cat owner, and every cat owner I know feeds them the correct specialized food. Cat food, for that matter.

[–] michelle-halloway 11 years ago

I can never feel for Raquel the sympathy she may deserve because I see her as a bad person to do that to the cat. It was selfish and very cruel. Makes the love Lucy had for her seem all the more remarkable, to love and befriend such a cruel, hateful person. Lucy is like an angel, that loved where no one could.

[–] the sphynx 13 years ago

I seem to recall that while milk is generally bad for adult cats, it's OK for kittens. And a small amount of milk or raw fish as a treat would not be abusive, as long as they don't get a steady diet of it. (My first cat adored the few drops of milk at the bottom of a cereal bowl, and availed himself of it at every opportunity--sometimes not even wanting to wait till the human was done eating the cereal--and he lived to be nineteen.) So this didn't bug me.

[–] TheManInOil 13 years ago

Lots of people who have pets don't feed them right.

"I'll book you. I'll book you on something. I'll find something in the book to book you on."

[–] balandra_bcs-1 13 years ago

Lots of people who have kids neither

[–] tony_0106 13 years ago

Hehe.. Funny subject

but anyway Reader55 I actually have the real answer for that.

You see here in Latin America (no matter how your finantial situation is) the vast majority of the people feed their pets with human food. Some people would even mix the food (i.e. cat food with milk). Most of the people feed their pets with leftovers. It is a cultural thing.

I don't know much about cats I have never had one. I'm more of a dog person. My dog, for example, eats vegetables and fruits. I mean whatever I eat she would eat it as well.

There's people who would even cook for their dogs specially if they are big. Some supermarkers even sell leftover meat exclusively for dogs. So a normal food for a big-sized dog would be leftover meat with parboiled rice. Hehe

One more thing is that, just like us, most cats and dogs are also mestizos.

[–] MELlSANDRE 12 years ago

Wow. Hilarious.

I consider myself an animal lover (giving more to animal than any other charities) and grew up with like sixteen cats and four dogs. My sister and I would bring home any stray we found, my mom would at first say 'no', then would invariably give in to us, and finally our step-dad would give into my mom.

In any case, we ALWAYS gave our cats watered-down milk AND fish as regular treats without EVER losing any to, or as a result of, their diets.

Some people just go overboard I think with the whole domesticating animals and such. Any feline in nature would more than anjoy a fresh tasty fish and by over-domesticating animals people are doing them more harm than good, creating a finicky/weaker species.

Lastly, being of Colombian descent, and while not speaking for the entire Latin American continent, I can say with almost 100% certainty that there is little to no difference in pets' diets across the ocean. I am sure that there too, some people erroneously think that milk and fish should not be fed to cats.

[–] janezmd-245-816367 12 years ago

I figured they were just improvising with the kitten's diet, since it had just arrived--there just wasn't any cat food in the house yet.

[–] Mrs_Mills 12 years ago

I'm sure raw fish wouldn't harm a cat. You have to remember that feral cats in the wild will eat an assortment of food.

Nicole Kidman is heavier on eyeshadow than emotion - The Paperboy Review, Variety