# At what point of being incapacitated do your pets begin to eat you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 30, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-of-being-incapacitated-do-your-pets-begin-to-eat-you/354869 "2006-04-30T20:25:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-of-being-incapacitated-do-your-pets-begin-to-eat-you/354869/1 "2006-04-30T20:25:17Z")
[This lady had her face eaten off by her dog](http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060430/D8HACDG82.html) when she took an overdose of drugs and conked out. You also occasionally hear tales of older owners who die in closed houses & apartments, and their pets (dogs & cats) begin to snack on them. How far gone do you have to be before Barky or Mr. Whiskers considers you to be lunch? ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-of-being-incapacitated-do-your-pets-begin-to-eat-you/354869/2 "2006-04-30T21:02:50Z")
I read somewhere (the Archives, I think) that Fido will generally wait about 7 days before deciding that “Master” has become “Kibble”. Puss will only wait for about 2 days… ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-of-being-incapacitated-do-your-pets-begin-to-eat-you/354869/3 "2006-04-30T21:20:43Z")
Yeah, I was sure Cecil covered this one, but my searches are not bearing fruit. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-of-being-incapacitated-do-your-pets-begin-to-eat-you/354869/4 "2006-04-30T23:32:25Z")
It was a Staff Report by Hawk: [Will cats eat their owners?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mdepradation.html) > [@](#): > > “Sometimes, when an individual living alone dies unexpectedly, several days may pass before anyone takes notice. Some of these individuals may own a dog or a cat, which will go unfed. In my experience, a dog may go for several days before finally resorting to eating the owner’s body. A cat, on the other hand, will only wait a day or two. Just goes to show you which is more loyal. So, the next time you’re falling asleep on the couch with the football game on, take a look at your cat. He’s not watching you because he’s enamored of you; he’s checking to see if your chest is still moving.” ---
**Author:** ![AnabolicDoberman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@AnabolicDoberman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnabolicDoberman)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-of-being-incapacitated-do-your-pets-begin-to-eat-you/354869/5 "2006-05-01T01:28:26Z")
> [@astro](#): > > [This lady had her face eaten off by her dog](http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060430/D8HACDG82.html) when she took an overdose of drugs and conked out. You also occasionally hear tales of older owners who die in closed houses & apartments, and their pets (dogs & cats) begin to snack on them. > > How far gone do you have to be before Barky or Mr. Whiskers considers you to be lunch? What happened to the dog? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-of-being-incapacitated-do-your-pets-begin-to-eat-you/354869/6 "2006-05-01T03:34:05Z")
> [@AnabolicDoberman](#): > > What happened to the dog? It was euthanized. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-of-being-incapacitated-do-your-pets-begin-to-eat-you/354869/7 "2006-05-01T10:27:10Z")
> [@](#): > > What happened to the dog? - - - I was told once by a relative in the medical profession that anytime a pet eats BIG pieces of a person, they automatically put the pet down. The reason is not that it’s particularly dangerous, but that they quickly cut its digestive tract open completely to look for pieces of the person that might be re-attachable. ~ ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2006, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-point-of-being-incapacitated-do-your-pets-begin-to-eat-you/354869/8 "2006-05-01T11:05:35Z")
I only have one hamster extant, but she is demonstrating what I would call ‘light biting behaviour’. This has been going on for several months. I tried to pick her up the other day - I’d had a hard day at work and was looking for some quality time with Camilla - and she dug her teeth into my right index finger - not with the kind of force that a hamster will use if you are stupid enough to try and separate them manually when they are fighting (yes, I was stupid enough once, but learned my lesson after that particular skirmish in the war on ignorance had been fought), but with a gentle, almost playful, clench of the jaws, whcih gave me almost an ecstatic sensation. Although hamsters are omnivores, I don’t believe this behaviour to indicate incipient sarcophagy, but, still, it’s something well worth nipping in the bud. Pax R.O.T.