I think my cat may be broken........!

I've been a cat owner (servant) for over 50 years and have never seen a cat do what my 7 month old kitten did last night. Following a cupboard clear out we'd unearthed a box of indate Xmas dates and put them in sitting room to keep us off the chocs. The cat then jumped on table and started to frantically paw at and sniff the box. Next thing she had the lid off and made off with a date (fortunately stoned) which she then ate! Not content with that she went back for a second helping and became quite upset when dh took them away. I've never seen/owned or heard of a cat eating fruit like this - anyone on Gransnet know of any?