simple food question

Question
QUESTION: My husband loves green olives.  When he eats them out of the jar the cats come running.  It almost acts like catnip when they lick his fingers.  We were just wondering if the juice or green olives are good for cats.

ANSWER: Hi Heidi,

I have heard of some cats liking green olives and as far as I know its okay for them to eat.  I wouldn't give them too many, though, maybe one as a treat that they could chase around for a while before chewing it.  And don't be surprised if they don't eat the whole thing, once they've gotten their "high" they'll probably leave the rest.  I'm not so sure about the pimento, though, you might want to take that out first.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your previous answer.  I have another one that I have been looking for the answer for a long time.  When you walk towards a cat they will extend their paw.  What does that mean? I saw the movie "Flyboys" and they had a lion that did the very same thing.  That's when I wondered what it all meant.

Answer
Hi Heidi,

I think its a kind of greeting and a way of "feeling you out."  Its something that's only done by a cat who wants to be friendly with you, an aggressive or scared cat won't do it, so if your cat or someone else's cat does it you can see it as an invitation to go up to that cat and give it a pet.  I always extend my hand for the cat to sniff first, though, its a return gesture that says "I want to be friends, too" and then I always scratch the back; many cats don't like their heads petted even by people they know.