This tumultuous summer has been full of memories and lessons that I will never forget. Some of them are as small and simple as learning how to boil a pot of water, and others are as large and important as learning how to fold my laundry. However, there is one more key lesson I have added to my wide array of knowledge: cats do not like corn.

Why is this important, and how did you find this out, you may ask? Well, I'll tell you.

After arriving home from a long day of class and research in my lab I came across a small reserved cat sitting in the driveway. I chose to approach it with caution as I could tell it looked scared and slightly malnourished. The cat was afraid of my presence and it quickly darted away, hiding under one of the cars parked nearby. Alarmed by our surprise visitor, I went inside and told my roommates about our new friend.

After digesting the information, one of them, a brave soul, went outside to investigate for themselves. After a decent amount of time had passed and they had not returned, I peaked my head out the back window to make sure the cat had not eaten them, or vice versa. Sure enough, my roommate was sitting on the driveway petting the cat and softly speaking to it. He uttered that the cat was in desperate need of food and water.

Now, these sentiments caught my attention and I made a beeline for our fridge. I started scrummaging through the piles of untouched food we had lying around. Carrots, cheese sticks and copious other goods all seemed like nice treats, but it wasn't what our furry little friend was hungry for...or so I assumed.

As I continued to explore the depths of our fridge I came across a large package of corn that we had for over a week. A light bulb went off in my head and I knew this was the food our new pet would need, but, I needed to be sure. After a quick Google search I learned that corn was safe to feed to cats. However, I wasn't going to throw the entire corn husk at the poor animal, so instead I decided to shave the corn off the cob with a knife, the way a mother does for a small child.

After slicing off a hefty portion of corn, I placed it in a bowl and proceeded outside to feed our cat. Carefully approaching our friend, which was given the name "Sprinkles," I laid the bowl down beside her and eagerly watched as Sprinkles approached with great circumspect. The cat meandered up to the bowl, smelled the corn and shuddered a face of disgust. I was heartbroken. The cat did not like the corn. She despised it. She failed to even taste it.

I walked away in disappointment. I felt as if I was about to complete a heroic deed and my plans had been rear ended. As I made my way up the stairs of our back porch, I heard the neighbor call from across the way "is that my cat?" My friend responded that we had found her in our driveway and we were not sure. The neighbor came over and analyzed the cat, quick to find out that it was in fact her own pet. She picked her up and said that she was sorry and her cat, who was 17 years old and had a few tumors, often ran away from their house.

In a last chance effort, I tried to salvage my moment once again. I asked if she would like to take the corn I shaved for her cat as a parting gift. She smirked and said no thanks, and that her cat did not like corn.

Now what may seem like a small and unimpressive fact was one of the most valuable lessons I have learned this summer. Folks, cats do not like corn.