# Anyone ever eaten a predatory mammal? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 28, 2011, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eaten-a-predatory-mammal/590574 "2011-07-28T01:51:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mewl\_Dear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Mewl\_Dear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mewl_Dear)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eaten-a-predatory-mammal/590574/1 "2011-07-28T01:51:59Z")
My step-son and I are thinking about killing the feral cat running around. I am pretty sure that I will harvest the meat. Has anyone here ever had cat? No snickering teen jokes please ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eaten-a-predatory-mammal/590574/2 "2011-07-28T02:10:53Z")
EWWWWWWWWWWw…no. At least not on purpose, though there was this Chinese restaurant in our town and there were suspicions… I’ve had bear meat. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eaten-a-predatory-mammal/590574/3 "2011-07-28T02:17:28Z")
I’ve been told that bears that have been eating a lot of fruit and honey are delicious, bears that have been eating fish are an acquired taste, and bears that have been scavenging are awful. From that I imagine that feral cat is pretty bad. ---
**Author:** ![Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speak_to_me_Maddie)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eaten-a-predatory-mammal/590574/4 "2011-07-28T02:21:10Z")
[insert joke about ex-wife] ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eaten-a-predatory-mammal/590574/5 "2011-07-28T02:22:41Z")
Shark is pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eaten-a-predatory-mammal/590574/6 "2011-07-28T02:25:26Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > I’ve been told that bears that have been eating a lot of fruit and honey are delicious, bears that have been eating fish are an acquired taste, and bears that have been scavenging are awful. > > From that I imagine that feral cat is pretty bad. I think you’re right. I’d always heard that spring bears were awful and fall bears were good. (Spring bears of course have been hibernating, have no fat, and what is available in early spring for them to eat makes for bitter meat). And if they’ve been eating berries and stuff in preparation for hibernating they’re supposed to be better. To be fair, I was a teen when I tasted the bear, and to also be fair, I’ve never really cared for any sort of game meat. And I don’t like fish all that much either. I flunked that part of the Alaska state resident requirement test. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eaten-a-predatory-mammal/590574/7 "2011-07-28T02:29:36Z")
Does pork count? ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eaten-a-predatory-mammal/590574/8 "2011-07-28T02:31:13Z")
Rattlesnake. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eaten-a-predatory-mammal/590574/9 "2011-07-28T02:34:36Z")
There’s a reason we don’t eat them. Tastes nasty. Even omnivorous animals who gave been eating a lot of flesh are pretty unbearable. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eaten-a-predatory-mammal/590574/10 "2011-07-28T02:35:12Z")
Chickens prey on bugs. Does that count? I don’t think a feral cat would taste good. You’d think it would be pretty tough and wiry, and they don’t have much meat on them to start out with. I’d be pretty concerned about ingesting more parasite than actual cat, but hey, to each his own. ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eaten-a-predatory-mammal/590574/11 "2011-07-28T02:36:23Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Shark is pretty good. But not a predatory _mammal_. I’ve had bear and dog. Neither was something I would go out of my way to have again. But neither was particularly bad either. ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eaten-a-predatory-mammal/590574/12 "2011-07-28T02:58:17Z")
I ate a dandelion. Once. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eaten-a-predatory-mammal/590574/13 "2011-07-28T04:41:24Z")
Cougar is supposed to be pretty good. I’ve heard it compared to lean pork. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eaten-a-predatory-mammal/590574/14 "2011-07-28T06:10:24Z")
Shark and alligator. Never cat. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eaten-a-predatory-mammal/590574/15 "2011-07-28T16:31:42Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > Cougar is supposed to be pretty good. Is this where we’re supposed to insert the ex-wife joke? > [@appleciders](#): > > I’ve heard it compared to lean pork. Or is it here? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eaten-a-predatory-mammal/590574/16 "2011-07-28T16:41:53Z")
I hope Chris Hansen doesn’t come in with a story. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eaten-a-predatory-mammal/590574/17 "2011-07-28T18:47:09Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > Is this where we’re supposed to insert the ex-wife joke? Or is it here? No, I don’t think it was a joke set-up, I have heard the same thing and cougars are begining to be harvested here more since bans on hunting with dogs have caused a population explosion. But I am a little skeptical. Duck hunters know that a good tasting duck is one that feeds mostly on grain. “Fish ducks” taste lousy and are only for sport shooting. I really doubt that any primarily meat eating animal tastes good. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eaten-a-predatory-mammal/590574/18 "2011-07-28T19:01:06Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > Chickens prey on bugs. Does that count?. No, because chickens aren’t mammals. ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eaten-a-predatory-mammal/590574/19 "2011-07-28T19:08:30Z")
What will the kitty do right before you kill it? It will mewl, dear. ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eaten-a-predatory-mammal/590574/20 "2011-07-28T20:11:24Z")
I’ve had smoked bear. It had a very rich, full flavor - excellent with šljivovica on the side. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-ever-eaten-a-predatory-mammal/590574.md?page=2)