# If you were hungry enough, would you eat your own pets? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 12, 2005, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705 "2005-08-12T07:59:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![I\_is\_smart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/6de8d8/32.png) [@I\_is\_smart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_is_smart)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705/41 "2005-08-12T16:10:12Z")
I don’t think I could bring myself to eat the dog, but my I’ve contemplated what a lovely roast Fat Boy the cat would make if spitted on a grill. I often prod his fat tummy or plump thighs and croon to him “Cat, the other white meat.” Seriously he’s 20ish pounds of useless tub. His fur would make wonderful slippers. His sister though can stay. She’s scrawny and doesn’t have enough fur for the other slipper. Not really I suppose. I’d release the kitties and drive them away hoping that they could take care of themselves. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705/42 "2005-08-12T16:48:41Z")
> [@I is smart](#): > > I don’t think I could bring myself to eat the dog, but my I’ve contemplated what a lovely roast Fat Boy the cat would make if spitted on a grill. I often prod his fat tummy or plump thighs and croon to him “Cat, the other white meat.” Thanks for the laugh - and may I borrow that line? I have a “Fat Boy” myself - although his given name is “Mr Spock”. talk about misnamed felines…a cat who sits up and begs - often directed to the ceiling fan or the hockey jersey on my office wall. I have told him I am running away from home if either of the beforementioned inanimate objects does in fact come down to play… ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705/43 "2005-08-12T16:55:33Z")
If the choise is between me dying and the animals being eaten, I’m eating the damn animals and not feeling a bit of guilt about it. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705/44 "2005-08-12T17:07:07Z")
No. First, I’m a vegetarian and a gardener. I might get really skinny, but I can find a LOT of things to eat that don’t have eyelids. And then, still, I wouldn’t eat my own pets. The neighbor’s cats, however, are literally, free game. ---
**Author:** ![Alias](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Alias](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alias)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705/45 "2005-08-12T17:20:39Z")
I honestly can’t say what I’d do under extreme circumstances. I’d like to think I couldn’t kill and eat my cat or dog, but I’m pretty sure they’d chow down on me in a heartbeat if I died first, so who’s to say? As for letting my cat hunt and bring me presents! Ha! I used to let him outside at night for a few hours, and I know he was hunting and killing things, but he never brought me so much as a feather. Jerk. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705/46 "2005-08-12T17:22:28Z")
I would. Although I’d try the hunting thing first (“I’m sorry, Sasha, with only two mice and a sparrow today, you’re just not making the cut. I’m going to have to let you go.”) I imagine my cat would be a pretty good hunter. She’s an indoor cat, but she routinely catches bugs, and once she caught a bird. Yeah, a bird. I got home, and it looked like a pillow had exploded in my living room. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705/47 "2005-08-12T17:40:26Z")
I could eat them if they died first, but I don’t think I could kill them. Anyway, if they were to survive me, I’d last a lot longer (as a meal) for them than vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705/48 "2005-08-12T17:52:14Z")
I scared myself about a yaer ago. A kitten had gotten himself in the floor joists under the kitchen. I finally tracked down is mews for help. I managed to squeeze between the stairs and a wall to get to him. Almost. I wedged myself pretty good. It took a while to calm myself down and relax enough to wiggle my way out. I was wondering at one point how long before anybody noticed I wasn’t coming to work and would send somebody to the house to look for me. I remember this all now because another thought was how long it would take before the two kittens would start in on eating my soft tender bits. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705/49 "2005-08-12T19:22:54Z")
I don’t think I could actually kill them. If I was really hungry then maybe I’d amputate a couple of their limbs, but never kill. I mean cats can learn how to hop, right? ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705/50 "2005-08-12T19:54:41Z")
Um, the fish, maybe. Wouldn’t do much good, as they’re all tiny, but, hey, if for some reason I was starving to death, trapped in my own house. My dog? Only if she’d already died. I have utter confidence that I’d let myself starve to death before intentionally hurting my sweetie, who’s been my closest companion for over eleven years. I first read the subject line of this post as "…would you eat your own _posts_. heh. ---
**Author:** ![I\_is\_smart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/6de8d8/32.png) [@I\_is\_smart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_is_smart)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705/51 "2005-08-12T20:11:33Z")
Thanks **Snakescatelady** but it’s not mine so use it all you want! I saw it on a bumper sticker years ago. My Fat Boy is really Frosty, but he’s just so big it’s hard not to call him something other than Fat Boy. For the record it’s not my fault he’s fat–he’s a rescue as is his sister and he came that way from the shelter. He is not a self regulated feeder bless his atrophied heart. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705/52 "2005-08-12T20:42:51Z")
It’s just about impossible to say what I’d do in an extreme situation, but truth be told, I’d probably go on and starve to death. I can’t say why. Of course, the second I keeled over, one of the dogs would be firing up the grill while the cats set the table. I have long suspected that their whole lives have been spent waiting for that moment, anyway. They’re far more rational creatures than I am. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705/53 "2005-08-12T21:26:42Z")
I’m proud of you people. 52 posts, and no-one yet has made a joke about eating pussy. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705/54 "2005-08-12T22:56:27Z")
No way. I’m too much of a softy when it comes to the four-legged. Maybe once they died, but then…I dunno. ---
**Author:** ![MaddyStrut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@MaddyStrut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaddyStrut)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705/55 "2005-08-12T23:09:29Z")
I probably would. I’d rationalize that they’d die soon anyway. I know the dogs would definitely eat me were I to die first (Og knows they eat all kinds of discusting stuff). My old cat? Hell, she wouldn’t even wait till I was dead. A sound sleep would do. ---
**Author:** ![dre2xl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/34f0e0/32.png) [@dre2xl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dre2xl)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705/56 "2005-08-12T23:18:00Z")
Like many other posters, I can’t think of a real-world situation where I would have a choice to eat my cats or die. However, should the impossible happen, I’d definitely eat them. If I were small enough, they’d do the same to me. Just returning the love they have for me. _pets the gorgeous Jabez curled up next to her_ ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705/57 "2005-08-12T23:58:30Z")
I don’t think I’d be able to eat the cat. The pet Hot Pockets, though, those guys are toast. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705/58 "2005-08-13T00:17:41Z")
Not enough meat on my ferrets to make more than a small meal, plus I can’t digest meat any longer anyway, so no. ---
**Author:** ![Giant\_Spongess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@Giant\_Spongess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giant_Spongess)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705/59 "2005-08-13T00:49:11Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > I suppose my will to survive would surpass my horror at the thought of eating the softies, but geeeez…can we nominate this thread for the “Darkest Thought of the Week” award? Hehee…I’m flattered. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705/60 "2005-08-13T00:51:42Z")
I have no pets, but if I had a dog or cat I would be sorely tried by this dilemma. Unless they were no good at bringing back prey. Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition cooked and ate their sled dogs when iced in; Hungarians ate cats in the last days of WWII. (I’m assuming either that Hungarian cats were too pampered to hunt, or that kittymeat is particularly yummy with paprika.) Guinea pigs, OTOH, I would happily devour. Rabbits? I’m not sure I’d wait for starvation; I _love_ a nicely cooked rabbit. They make a wonderful Greek stifado, for one thing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-hungry-enough-would-you-eat-your-own-pets/316705.md?page=4)