Some Indians are involved in the cat meat trade just like some Chinese. They are selling cat meat to roadside eateries who sell the dishes as mutton meals or lamb biriyani. Is eating cat an Asian thing? No, not quite. A very small percentage of Swiss eat cats.
In Chennai, India, gypsy colonies are catching cats who live near railway stations and bus depots. They catch the cats in nets. They drug them and carry them away in bags. They are then butchered and sold in 3 kg plastic bags at about 100 rupees a time.
It has been a financial success. I suppose it would be as the ‘livestock’ is free and requires no maintenance. It is just like harvesting apples from a tree.
Sadly, some Indians have the same beliefs as a segment of the Chinese. They believe that cat meat is an aphrodisiac and it is prescribed by unqualified ‘doctors’ as a remedy for impotency. Cat meat also cures asthma and arthritis. It is a magic product. It cures all ills.
The gypsies themselves consider cat meat a delicacy. At a gypsy wedding, 20 cats were butchered for cat biriyani.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSA) says that cat meat is unfit for human consumption. That is wrong technically. Perhaps what they mean is that it is unacceptable to eat cat meat in India.
About 6 years ago I wrote about some Indians eating cat meat. I was heavily criticised by some Indians. They said I was lying. I shouldn’t be criticised. It is true.
Some cats destined for the eateries have been rescued by volunteers. The general feeling amongst mainstream India is that cat meat is unacceptable. That is the impression I have. But it is eaten by a small minority and they have misguided beliefs about its magical medical qualities.
If cat meat has magical properties, just think what a live cat can do for you! Cats make everything better!
Sweet comment 🙂
Surprised although i am familiar to Chennai having been in the city for months during my employment in the “Shipping Industry” in the 1980;s/1990’s.Came to know about this fact of cat and dog meat consumption in India through the media.Stray dogs and cats are numerous on the streets of Mumbai but might definitely not be the case in Chennai and parts of North -East India.Don’t the Swiss from a first world Country eat cats ?Seems even among us Indians various communities have their own culinary non-vegetarian dishes !
Yes, you’re right Rudolph. Some Swiss farmers eat their own cats or something like that. It seems to be isolated in India and as yo say with a lot of stray cats it is tempting.
Sadly many there do not look at dogs and cats as pets but as many do cows, pigs ,etc. Sickening to think about those what those poor precious cats and dogs go through. I hope those who do have cats and or dogs keep their cats in the house and walk their dogs and that the people there who do love them start to change this horror that is happening with laws against it.
Agreed. Quite a lot of people in the West see eating cat meat as acceptable – no different to eating pig for instance. However, in general, there is a big culture difference affecting the relationship between cat and people. Also economics are a factor. In the West many people are relatively well off so ‘free range cat’ is not on an option. That sounds crude but it can come down to that almost.
I’ve seen pictures of dogs and cats piled in trucks in Thailand, and other Asian countries being sold for food. They are skinned alive. It’s sickening and cruel.
Our petfood is also pretty gross with dead/euthanized dogs and cats, among other things. There are some YouTube videos that show euthanized pets being dumped into bags, then taking to be ground up before being cooked at high temps.
I realize that this is a “difficult truth”, but all the more reason to educate ourselves about pet food ingredients.
Most pet guardians love and care about their pets, and end up spending thousands to save their lives from the effects of pet food. Although a vet wouldn’t say it was from the food they may have even prescribed!
The list of “worst pet food ingredients” is available here. If you don’t have time to check it, please have someone do it for you. It could mean your pet’s life.
Whatever you’re feeding now, look it up online, so you can enlarge the words, then read the ingredient list, and check it with the “worst pet food ingredients list”.
There’s a way to transition your pet to healthy food, but it does take some time and patience. Is your pet worth it?
You’re last paragraph makes a very good point. It does take a bit of effort to do the best for our cats because we are misled by the pet food manufacturers and even vets sometimes. In some ways cat food is like human food – prepared human food. Human prepared food (ready meals) contains ingredients that are not particularly good for us – too much salt etc.. Ultimately it is better to prepare your own cat food because only then can we know exactly what is in it.