Dalhousie’s huge cat food purchase has locals questioning purpose

The appearance of 372 large cans of No Name brand cat food on a pallet labeled “Dalhousie” at Halifax’s Young St. Atlantic Superstore location has some members of the Dalhousie community wondering, “What is Dalhousie doing with so much cat food?”

News of the mysterious cat food first broke Sunday evening when Halifax local Allison Sparling shared photos of her discovery on Twitter.

lol this large cart of no name brand beef cat food is marked “Dalhousie” enjoy your meal plan Dal students pic.twitter.com/RWWMqB0kcw

— Allison Sparling (@Allisomething) August 16, 2015

    Reactions to the pallet quickly ranged from sheer confusion to ruminations on whether the food may be intended for the Dal Tiger.    

@Allisomething that..is..very..curious — scaren kills (@karenmillsss) August 17, 2015

@Allisomething @sdpuddicombe For the cafeteria…shepherd’s pie.

— peter cruise (@cruise_peter) August 16, 2015

@Allisomething Should have gone to McGill where you get Fancy Feast.

— Gordon Thomson (@CashGordon) August 16, 2015

@Allisomething it’s for the dalhousie tiger — Sul-E (@soellenkaater) August 16, 2015

A grocery clerk at the Superstore who spoke with the Gazette said the pallet arrived early Sunday afternoon.

A manager on duty confirmed the cat food is scheduled to be picked up by Dalhousie University on Monday, dispelling the possibility the shipment was intended for Dalhousie, NB.

The manager was not aware which university department(s) will be receiving the food which could comfortably feed a regular-sized adult cat for a decade.

BREAKING: Manager confirms 230kg of cat food scheduled for Dalhousie pickup tomorrow, unsure what food is for. pic.twitter.com/6Pj6D9Sflh

— Dalhousie Gazette (@DalGazette) August 17, 2015

Now following @DalGazette because I really want to see where this goes. https://t.co/mshmdneVfj

— Julian Uzielli (@JulianUzielli) August 17, 2015

The pallet holds just over 232 kilograms of cat chow in the flavours of Beef Dinner and Seafood Dinner, indicating the shipment may possibly be intended for actual cats who could become fussy upon always being served the same flavour of cat food.

If the cans have been procured by Dalhousie at a standard price, it’s costing the university over $500.

Dalhousie’s website indicates the university’s Agricultural Campus in Truro includes a kennel where Veterinary Technology students practice basic animal husbandry skills on cats and dogs, which could lead one to believe the cat food is intended for the Truro kennel kits.

However, Truro has its own Atlantic Superstore location, while the Dalhousie pallet appeared in Halifax’s North End.

MAP: Compare the distances between the Truro and Young St. Atlantic Superstore locations to Dalhousie’s Agricultural Campus, where cats live.

It is possible similar shipments of cat food intended for Dalhousie are being sourced from multiple grocery stores.

The Gazette has reached out to Dalhousie with a request for comment. This story will be updated as more information is available.