Eating pets

[BegintheBeguine]

I have taken in homeless people and animals. Kept the animals.

How right you are, Paisley. Pets also grieve someone who has died, whether another animal or a person. This is not news to those of us who know animals.

 

[Senator Jack]

Thank you, Paisley. Well stated. I couldn't even address some of the comments I've read because I've been shaking my head in disbelief.


Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[LadyDeWinter]

I've read because I've been shaking my head in disbelief.


Regards,

Senator Jack[/QUOTE]


Senator Jack, so have I :rage:

 

[scotrace]

As have I.

Dogs in particular. We're only beginning to understand the relationship we have with them. Recent German studies strongly suggest that our two species have evolved in a very interdependent way. Dogs have spent the centuries learning to read the tiniest nuance of human behavior, and have become amazingly attuned to us. They protect our children, guard the premises, stay close when we are low, take great joy in a walk with us. They have shared royal beds and warmed the freezing poor. With so little ability to defend ourselves, one wonders if homo sapiens would have gotten off the ground without another, toothier species as bodyguard.
Each breed of dog has been selecively developed for a specific job. Hunting lions, catching rats, providing body heat, herding sheep, pinning and holding poachers, killing bulls, racing, etc. Now theu guide the blind, sniff for danger, and are being used successfully in the early detection of cancer. Just to contradict my own point, a breed of dog has been raised in Korea that is specifically for eating.
I think it is a great violation of trust and near cannibalism to eat a dog. But we're a dog family...

 

[jamespowers]

Dogs in particular. We're only beginning to understand the relationship we have with them. Recent German studies strongly suggest that our two species have evolved in a very interdependent way. Dogs have spent the centuries learning to read the tiniest nuance of human behavior, and have become amazingly attuned to us. They protect our children, guard the premises, stay close when we are low, take great joy in a walk with us. They have shared royal beds and warmed the freezing poor. With so little ability to defend ourselves, one wonders if homo sapiens would have gotten off the ground without another, toothier species as bodyguard.
Each breed of dog has been selecively developed for a specific job. Hunting lions, catching rats, providing body heat, herding sheep, pinning and holding poachers, killing bulls, racing, etc. Now theu guide the blind, sniff for danger, and are being used successfully in the early detection of cancer. Just to contradict my own point, a breed of dog has been raised in Korea that is specifically for eating.
I think it is a great violation of trust and near cannibalism to eat a dog. But we're a dog family...

Quite true. We are a dog family as well.
Ever since the first wild dog and caveman made the unspoken deal that the dog would be provided food and water for guarding the cave entrance at night with their superior vision, the deal seems to have spread to all aspects of our lives. We generally get the best part of the deal.

Regards,

J

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Wonder if I could get the name of that Chinese eatery in NYC. Our neighbors have a cat that just loves to destroy my wife's flower beds. Oh,no!...I don't want to send the feline...just the owners who feel that we should all accommodate miss kitty...
HD

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

Paisley and Scotrace hit it dead on the money concerning that noble beast, the dog.

However, in my opinion, you can do whatever you like with cats - mince 'em, broil 'em, put 'em in a stew, run 'em through a crimping machine, use their guts for guitar strings - whatever. One of the vilest legacies bestowed upon us by the ancient Egyptians - more a Pharaonic curse than a domestic blessing - they're disloyal, deceitful, sneaky, preening, arrogant, self-centered, vindictive animals who consistently bite the hand that feeds them and then expect to be feted like royalty for their betrayals. The narcissists of the animal kingdom, they're the choice of negligent, absentee pet owners the world over.

But dogs have and always will hold a sacred place in my heart. Eating them is tantamount to feasting upon the bones of one of your own beloved family members - an unforgivable betrayal.

 

[John in Covina]

From umm to ewww!

I guess that what I am willing to eat is on a sliding scale as to what is available. There are times and items am not happy to eat amd it comes up a little more often at the sushi bar. Texture is a big component and then there are connotation hurdles to get over. I have had rattlesnake that I believe was roasted and then sevred with a spicy sauce like an enchilada sauce. And yes to me it tasted like chicken. I had chocolate covered ants a zillion years ago. I have had elk, ostrech, deer, kangaroo, wild boar, javelina and a few others i can't recall, mostly at a fundraiser for a hunting group.

i think the key is, waste, I don't like the idea of catching sharks strictly for their fins! Isn't there some way to use the rest of this fish??? Good stewardship is a key, use but not misuse or overuse is how I'd put it.

As to eating pets, cats and dogs no! Except under disaster situations of life and death, maybe. Farm animals yes, but only sadly, I tend to anthropomorphize animals already, it would be bad because i know I would tend to "name" them.

Anybody remember Homer crying as he ate his pet lobster on the Simpsons?

 

[jake_fink]

As have I.

Dogs in particular. We're only beginning to understand the relationship we have with them. Recent German studies strongly suggest that our two species have evolved in a very interdependent way. Dogs have spent the centuries learning to read the tiniest nuance of human behavior, and have become amazingly attuned to us. They protect our children, guard the premises, stay close when we are low, take great joy in a walk with us. They have shared royal beds and warmed the freezing poor. With so little ability to defend ourselves, one wonders if homo sapiens would have gotten off the ground without another, toothier species as bodyguard.
Each breed of dog has been selecively developed for a specific job. Hunting lions, catching rats, providing body heat, herding sheep, pinning and holding poachers, killing bulls, racing, etc. Now theu guide the blind, sniff for danger, and are being used successfully in the early detection of cancer. Just to contradict my own point, a breed of dog has been raised in Korea that is specifically for eating.
I think it is a great violation of trust and near cannibalism to eat a dog. But we're a dog family...

But what about cats?

I don't eat meat at all but I'm willing to make an exception for cats. I don't like them. They look at me funny.

 

[Viola]

I dunno what yuhz guys are doing to your cats to make them act like that. Mine come when called by name, sit for treats, and run to answer the door when you come home. In fact, my one "kitten" (she's a year and a few months now so she's really a cat) is a better guard dog than either of the dogs.

Arrogant? Maybe its because I always rescued strays, but they always overcame "standoffishness" by their first meal. Now they just demand laps.

I like dogs too (I may even have a bit more "dog-person" in me than cat-person) but I've never had an aloof or snobby cat.

Viola
P.S. I have two dogs and three cats. I'd sooner eat long-pork.

 

[carebear]

Domestic cat might be okay taste-wise, but it's my understanding that wild cats tend to taste terrible. Unlike dogs, cats are "obligate carnivores", they have to get all their nutrition from meat and meat alone. No meat, no cat.

At any rate, I wouldn't eat "housepet" unless it was required to survive. The Seige of Leningrad or an equivalent modern situation. I'd definitely eat all the rats and such before turning on Sparky. Once I cross that line though, I'm eyeing the neighbors next.

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

I dunno what yuhz guys are doing to your cats to make them act like that. Mine come when called by name, sit for treats, and run to answer the door when you come home. In fact, my one "kitten" (she's a year and a few months now so she's really a cat) is a better guard dog than either of the dogs.

Arrogant? Maybe its because I always rescued strays, but they always overcame "standoffishness" by their first meal. Now they just demand laps.

I like dogs too (I may even have a bit more "dog-person" in me than cat-person) but I've never had an aloof or snobby cat.

Viola
P.S. I have two dogs and three cats. I'd sooner eat long-pork.

I suspect that this misbehaviour is a direct result of negligent and abusive owners. Anyone who's versed in animal behaviour patterns will tell you that they act like they're feral.

To attenuate somewhat my prior diatribe I will admit that not all kitties are like this - many, but not all. My former girlfriend has a cat named "Catzilla" that is an outstanding companion - as friendly and wonderful in as many ways as you can possibly imagine. But, unfortunately, I find her to be an exception, not the rule.

And the "rule" can be pretty unsavory and consistent from my experience: biting my hand after they get their friendly stroke from me, caterwauling outside my bedroom window and loudly running across my roof during the wee hours of the night, defecating in my flower beds, urinating on and choking up hairballs on my porch railing, sneaking inside my home when I open the door and spraying my furniture, leaving dirty paw prints all over my Mercedes-Benz right after I gave it a good cleaning . . . . the list goes on and on. Until this happened, I felt neutral towards the beasts. And I have a reputation for being very kind towards all animals. I even have a kind of charisma around them - they seem drawn to me. In the case of cats, I wish I could grow a force field around myself that would repell them and their negative energy.

Essentially, as I perceive it, this behaviour is one long drawn-out temper tantrum thrown over the intervening 5 years because I refuse to allow myself to be used, abused and then dispensed with until needed again by these vile creatures.

If your cats don't fit this profile, please accept my sincerest apologies. For all others, please note that I'm looking into the purchase of a Thompson submachine gun with a 100 round drum . . . .

 

[Viola]

Heh. Sorry if it seemed like I was coming down on you, Curt, I wasn't. And feral cats ARE like that. And I don't let mine outside and don't like the neighbors who let theirs out, either. Its only fair to keep them away from people who didn't sign on for cats, just like dogs.

Viola

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

Heh. Sorry if it seemed like I was coming down on you, Curt, I wasn't. And feral cats ARE like that. And I don't let mine outside and don't like the neighbors who let theirs out, either. Its only fair to keep them away from people who didn't sign on for cats, just like dogs.

Viola

That's okay Violet, no offense taken. I realize some folks love cats, but detest dogs. In the interest of fairness I thought I'd share my experiences and reasons for my aversion. Personally, I think that instead of euthanizing stray pets we should euthanize abusive owners

 

[carebear]

If your cats don't fit this profile, please accept my sincerest apologies. For all others, please note that I'm looking into the purchase of a Thompson submachine gun with a 100 round drum . . . .

You'll be into the Tommygun for over 10 grand once all the fees are paid and a 50 round drum will be around 200 clams. Throw in 15 bucks for a box of ammo and you'd be better off with a Daisy Red Rider.

(I do not support the killing or harming of pets for property violations)

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

You'll be into the Tommygun for over 10 grand once all the fees are paid and a 50 round drum will be around 200 clams. Throw in 15 bucks for a box of ammo and you'd be better off with a Daisy Red Rider.

(I do not support the killing or harming of pets for property violations)

Hi Matthew:

True, true, all too true. But that Thompson has such a classic profile . . . .

 

[Senator Jack]

Still shaking my head in disbelief at these comments.

Wonder if I could get the name of that Chinese eatery in NYC. Our neighbors have a cat that just loves to destroy my wife's flower beds. Oh,no!...I don't want to send the feline...just the owners who feel that we should all accommodate miss kitty...

Funny, I feel the same way about parents of snot-nosed brats.

However, in my opinion, you can do whatever you like with cats - mince 'em, broil 'em, put 'em in a stew, run 'em through a crimping machine, use their guts for guitar strings - whatever. One of the vilest legacies bestowed upon us by the ancient Egyptians - more a Pharaonic curse than a domestic blessing - they're disloyal, deceitful, sneaky, preening, arrogant, self-centered, vindictive animals who consistently bite the hand that feeds them and then expect to be feted like royalty for their betrayals. The narcissists of the animal kingdom, they're the choice of negligent, absentee pet owners the world over.

Ummm....No. Forget it.


Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[Elaina]

You know I may pop off about my cats, but I'm the first person in line to shoot you if you hurt my pet. I won't own a dog simply because the one dog I worked for, bought and kept as an adult was poisoned by a neighbor (he was a peke. Did nothing more then be a mop) and not because I let him out of my yard.

I got my cat only because I couldn't stand for him to be abused. I got my kitten because a kitten is cheaper then the psychiatric drugs my cat was prescribed.

Although I've ate cat (and dog), truth be told, it's all tongue in cheek with me. I didn't know what they were when I ate them, and when I found out, I didn't eat them again. (Cat is pretty tasty. I don't go out of my way to eat it, or really any exotic meat.)

I make sure I buy humanely killed meat, I spay and neuter my pets, but if it came down to my kid starving, or us having roast cat, roast dog or whatever else I happen to have, my pet would serve a better purpose then my kid starving. I don't hunt, I don't advocate hunting for sport (I don't like the majority of animals hunted, so I won't eat them. You want to bring me a duck or bring me wild pig, we'll talk. I love those meats, but I won't hunt them myself.) I do feel that if they're raised, not as a pet but as a farm animal TO EAT, then that's different. You're not going to make a pet out of a farmed cat. Of course, you're also not likely to have many people buying them either. Thing is, most animals that are up for discussion, people aren't going to buy them here in the States simply because we have the room and money to spend on larger animals, and we largely view these kinds of animals as friends. You also can't really pass judgment on other cultures that do because if you're not of that culture, then you can't fully understand their points of view.

Cats aren't as "human" as dogs, but I'd be willing to put my cat up against any one of y'all's dog any day. Show me a dog that will sit in a bag willingly, go fabric shopping, pet the fabric and give it's approval over the feel (because the cat doesn't like to be left alone. Another dog trait. Also has a special bag he sits in, something else only dogs seem to do is have "their" things). Show me a dog that feels that it has to go pick your kid up from school, go to Pet Smart on a leash and generally act like a dog, and that's my cat. My cat attacks when I am threatened, suffers silently the administrations of my seven year old and has morning coffee with me (because if I don't get him his own, he's going to drink mine.) My cat comes to "Hey Ernie", "cat", whistles and "pretty baby" just like dogs do. I am not a lazy pet owner, an absentee one, and I spent a lot of time getting my cat to adjust after being cruelly given away at 2 years old. I've spent a lot of money on fixing my cat's damage that he incurred at the hands of a 2 year old before I ever got him. I invested a lot of time, effort and energy into my cat's well being and he reciprocates in kind. He's a good cat: loving, sweet, attentive and as needing of company as any dog. Heck, I'm only sure he IS a cat because he does meow.

I grew up on a farm. We weren't allowed to name the farm animals we were going to butcher, we kept a pig because he was smart enough to make himself a pet, and every animal had a purpose. Still true today, even tho I live in a city. I expect my pets to have a job and preform it. My cat keeps my apartment rodent free, and because you can't always rely on neighbors to be clean, keeps it bug free. He warns me of intruders, or people knocking on the door, he guards me from the world when I answer it and he wakes my husband when I've had an epileptic seizure. It's his job. The kitten is learning, and she is expected to try to make the house pest free (Okay I don't have bugs, at all, but things do get in. Beetles, crickets, moths.) I expect all my animals to be leash trained. We all have jobs and functions to preform.

Sometimes, though, that animal's job is to be dinner. It doesn't, however, mean that I'm going to go gut my cat and roast him. Pet ownership is supposed to be about responsibility, and part of that as an owner is to be able to support the animals without having to eat them (unless, of course, that was the intent all along). If I was Chinese I may think differently.

 

[Viola]

I applaud your whole post, Elaina. I've never farmed (never been out of a city, but want to) and I still haven't figured out if I'm going to be okay with eating chickens I've raised. And its not as if I think chickens are the epitomy of intelligence.

I won't own a dog simply because the one dog I worked for, bought and kept as an adult was poisoned by a neighbor

I'm so sorry to hear about this, sweetie. When I was 12, our next-door neighbor broke into our house to poison our cat. I can understand having a kind of "hole in your heart" where that dog was (...and Pekineses are freaking adorable, by the way...) but I hope in time you come to heal.

Viola

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Good question; one right answer.

As in all things - let the market decide!

You know there is a perfect business that is yet to be founded. It's called the Cat-Rat Business. You get two cats - one male, one female. You get two rats - one male, one female. You start breeding.

You feed the rats to the cats. You skin the cats and feed their remains to the rats. You continue to raise rats that feed on cats and raise cats that feed on rats. Your inventory of cat pelts increases exponentially.

The only problem with this simple and efficient business is - there is NO market for cat pelts! (Yet!)

Whether it's Emu or Nutria - or Cow's and Horses, it's the "Invisible Hand" of the market that decides success or failure.

As in all things in a Free society - let the market decide what's for dinner.

-dixon cannon