My cats munch on them all the time without any problem. I am thinking of coming up with a recipe for them since I have so many. Maybe muchos anoles with guacamole!

Did I ever tell you about my mother cooking an anole up with the burgers one night? Oh yeah, I'm totally serious. I came home from work and she, bless her heart, already had a couple burgers frying in a pan on the stove. At the time she was about 84, had questionable vision and was thoroughly enjoying the scotch she had started to sip around 4pm. While she was telling me a story about the cats running all over the kitchen all afternoon, I went to flip the burgers and there in the pan was a greenie. Sauteed to the point of translucence, like a nicely done onion slice. OMG! I don't remember exactly what I said but I'm sure it had something to do with paying more attention to her cooking and less attention to the scotch. I may have said it pretty loudly too. I declined to eat my sandwich but she insisted it was OK and offered to put a slice of cheese on mine "to cover up any odd taste"! She would have eaten hers if I hadn't dumped the whole pan out for the dogs. Guess we figured out why the cats were running around the kitchen! Chasing anoles is one of their favorite things to do and they probably herded it up to the stove. I've also wondered if the scent of frying gecko has the same impact on cats as catnip does... mmm... that may take a bit more research.

Oh Kate, that is so funny, especially putting some cheese on it to cover the odd taste. That is something my mother would say, my MIL too. I guess the depression age people didn't waste anything. I think that's were the expression, if it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger, or something like that, came from.

Fried anole is a funny story.
My plant related story comes from my grandmother who kept plants on her kitchen counter where we also ate. One afternoon she made rice pudding with raisins and gave me some. After a spoonful or so something went crunch and I knew there shouldn't be anything crunchy in rice pudding.
It was a slug that somehow got into the recipe and eventually into my mouth. Yuck. She was a great country-style cook but this was one of her off days.

And here I am trying to get dinner started, LOL and I read this!
My 4 maybe 5 lb Chihuahua loves to catch them but she doesn't eat them! They won't hurt your kitty's. It's the slinks, black with yellow stripes, you don't want them to get ahold of them for sure!

Kate,
When I read your story, I laugh so much. That is a special memory you have of your mom. I have many memories and still making them. My mom is 89, still living on her own. God bless our moms.

Felix

Ummm Kate,crunchy! LOL! Between the cuban tree frogs and the anoles we will all have plenty to eat!!!

When I was little my Mom has cooking stew in a pot on the stove. When she lifted the lid to stir it, the steam knocked down a little green frog right into the pot. She picked up the ladle and put the frog in the garbage. It was our "secret" and i snickered all the way thru supper !

I'm a girl scout leader.
I would've eaten the cheeseburger, Kate.

Wanda, the Skinks are harmless as well to Cats. There was a big study done on them when they were being blamed for neurological problems(sudden head tilts and ataxia) in Florida cats. But, cats in cold climates also had the problem, even though there were no lizards at all. There were no toxin found in Skinks, of any kind.

Probably was related to a commercial diet, like most other health issues in kitties.

My JRT and the chickens love to catch/eat lizards.

I used to feed my little sister flies, (I told her they were raisins!). Heeeheehee!!!!!!!

Lisa

OMGosh, Lisa, that is too funny. Does she know it today?

hmmmmmm, sounds like I need to get with my Cuban DIL to see how else we can serve los anoles Cubanos. White wine or red? nah, probably mojitos. cora

I was told by my vet that it is the GLASS SNAKE AKA Legless Lizard that causes the probs and head tilt.Happened to my cat ,she acted drunk!They said if the cat kept eating them then it could permanently harm them,she got over it about the time I paid the vet bill.

Goldenpond, nope, they are harmless. But vets used to think there was a toxin in lizards. Cats in Canada (no lizards at all!) get the same head tilt and ataxia. It is not from eating tropical lizards or snakes.

An old wives tale- not true. But lots of folks still believe it.

Lisa

Cora - my mother and I laughed about the cooked anole all the time after it happened. We decided that definitely white wine was the right choice for lizard - just too close to seafood for anything else to be appropriate!

Thanks Lisa for the heads up! I worked for a couple of vets in 79 so that's where I learned that. Glad to hear it ain't so!

This reminds me of when my family lived on the island of Okinawa. For pest control we would catch geckos and let them loose in the house. They were great at killing palmetto bugs. The down side was that we would occasionally find dead geckos in things like the dry cereal and potatoe chips!

ok . .this is gross, but I used to work at a restaurant, and a patron called me over to show me the HEAD of a lizard on his ribs! BBQ sauce and all! I, being a snarky girl, kinda chuckled and said something about "You found our daily prize!". He did not laugh.

Another time, a lady flagged me down and pointed at her salad plate, I did not see anything at first, and then there was the cutest little green inchworm (cat)standing up and staring at me!! I said" Oh he's so cute!", again, she did not think the same! I tried to explain it was like a ladybug landing on your shoulder, she didn't buy it! I guess she was not a gardener!