Here’s a new internet meme that’s been sweeping the cat lovers nation – cat breading. To the unfamiliar, it’s not a typo of ‘breeding’ you’re seeing, it really is called cat breading. An act that involves quite literally putting a piece of bread over your cat’s head to give it a lion-like mane, cat breading seems to be the new Lolcats – at least until cats start realising what’s going on and make a run for it, or when we’ve run out of bread.

In light of this new furry trend, we’ve consulted a pastry chef to get some insight into the merging of bread with cats. A cat lover himself, Anwarul Hadi Adinan, 31, is a chef instructor specialising in pastry at Nilai University College.

As a chef, did you immediately think of cat breading as something to do with coating cats in bread crumbs and deep frying them?
[Laughs] No! Honestly I had no clue what it was when I first heard it. I had to Google it and check out the website to understand. I was shocked at first, but then after it sunk in I actually found it kind of cute. The breaded cats do look kind of depressed and startled though.

What do you think is the best kind of bread for cat breading?
I believe sandwich bread would be best because of its size – it won’t really confine your cat’s head too much and it gives them more freedom to move around after breading. From the pictures, people tend to use wholemeal sandwich bread because it gives the look a pop of colour; it gives the impression of a lion with a bushy mane.
 
Some have used baguettes too. What do you think about that?
For me, if you have a kitten then baguettes should be okay because kitten heads are quite small. But I’ve seen some people put jam on the bread just for the sake of looking interesting – I think that’s just plain cruelty. You have to have some pity for the cat. Sandwich bread is best because of its area.


Chef Hadi believes sandwich bread is best

In your opinion, should the bread used be fresh or stale?
If you look from an economical point of view, then it’s best to use stale. From a chef’s point of view, you’re better off using fresh bread for eating purposes. Stale bread would be better because it has a harder texture and it will give the cat that big, bushy look; fresh bread will just look flat because it’s too soft.  It really depends on what kind of look you’re going for though.

Here’s the golden question: Do you think cat breading hurts the cat?
To a certain extent, yes. I’m sure the owners had to run around looking for the cat, hold it down and put a piece of bread over its head. It probably doesn’t hurt that much; it’s just the process of putting it on that might hurt a little bit.

What’s the best method of cutting a hole into the bread?
I’ve never done it before, but I think you just need to tear away a chunk of the bread in the middle to fit the cat’s head. There’s really no specific method to do it; using your hands would suffice. If the bread is too hard to tear off with your hands, you shouldn’t even use it because it might hurt the cat. Stale bread that’s about two to three days old should be fine.

Would you recommend eating the bread afterwards?
No. Oh no. Cats lick themselves and eating bread that was put over a cat’s head is like eating something with your cat’s saliva – I highly recommend not to for hygienic purposes.  Even if you want to eat the bread afterwards there’s not much left to eat anyway.

So humans shouldn’t, but what about the cat?
It shouldn’t be a problem but it depends, because most cats won’t eat it, even though some do. I’m sure a vet won’t even recommend it.

You’re also a cat owner. Would you do it to your own cat soon?
Maybe tonight I’ll try. Yesterday I didn’t manage to. He didn’t want to cooperate.

Is it possible for you to customise a doughnut with a hole large enough to fit a cat’s head?
Oh definitely. You can either use a cutter in a size large enough, or you could roll the dough in a way that it follows the contours of your cat’s head. I think with doughnuts it’s most likely possible. You just have to be careful and make sure that the doughnut is well drained of excess oil before you bread your cat with it. Otherwise your cat’s head will be covered in oil, and that’s another trip to the vet just to clean it up.

Finding it hard to bread your cat? Breadit has released an iPhone app where you can digitally bread your cat without the risk of having your furry companion hate you for all its nine lives. The only downside to digital breading is that it looks obviously Photoshopped, and the individuals who worked hard on actually breading their cats may shun you for your half-hearted, lazy effort. (iPhone. $0.99.)

Cat image courtesy of www.breadedcats.com.