I must agree with you there, my sister once had a pair of hamsters and one day she came screaming hysterically into my room that she saw blood on one of the hamsters (a male, female pair). I go to take a look at them, and one of the hamsters is dead, missing about a pingpong-ball sized area of its neck.
The other friggin hamster when Hannibal Lecter on it, with the tell tale blood stains on its chops. The cage was supplied with ample food & water, and both hamsters had been roommates for quite a long time.
Needless to say, my sister didn’t want the cannibal hamster any more. But she didn’t want to let it go, and she didn’t want to kill it, so we devised a plan…
To make a long story short, we watched as someone walked past and picked up the shoebox that was next to the sidewalk on the other side of the street. The box was tied with string, had holes punched in it, and had a crudely written sign saying “FREE hamster, take one” (I guess I was sort of witty at the age of 12, hence the “take one”)
Soon after the hamster incident, my sister switched to hermit crabs as her pet of choice. I’ll never forget when one of them left its shell to shed its skin and she came crying hysterically then too. I’ve been doing my sister’s dirty work ever since.