Kittens For Food?

[zina10]

Of course they have survival instincts, who doesn't ?

Dogs have been known to eat their dead owners as well, does it make dogs bad or ok to run a loose dog over when on the street? I find the statement incredibly ignorant (not yours, the cops)

Does it make it ok to purposely run snakes over ? Because they hunt, eat and kill ?

As a matter of fact, even humans ate humans when it came to survival. One only has to remember the case of the airplane that went down over the snowy Andes mountains. (they ate friends and family members..) So, should we run over people too?

I think feral cats are a huge problem, that is for sure. It starts with the irresponsibility of people. I don't even let my pet cat roam outside. As a matter of fact I think it is absolutely shameful how people think its perfectly ok to let their pet cats roam outside to poop into other peoples flowerbeds, to mark on their homes, to jump around on their cars and to kill countless songbirds. Yet, look at most cat owners. They will argue to the death how its perfectly normal and absolutely necessary for a cat to roam outside. No, it is not. It is laziness on the owners part. Its easier to let them out then to clean litter boxes or TRAIN your cat not to destroy your furniture or actually ENTERTAIN your cat some so it isn't so bored.

I don't let my dogs or horse roam, and they wouldn't mind a stroll outside, either.

It all comes down to people. Yes, the problem of feral and released cat needs to be addressed. IMHO it starts with making people responsible for their animals. Spay and neuter programs in the meanwhile.

For all the before mentioned problems I don't see feeding them off to snakes a good or even possible solution. It wouldn't do our hobby or snakes any good whatsoever.

As is, many euthanized pets DO end up in petfood. And pets have died because of it (euth. drugs in food).

[Godzilla78]

Cat populations need to be controlled by all means. Spaying and neutering just isn’t being done sufficiently by irresponsible cat owners, and feral cats running wild.

Overpopulation of Housecats has caused the extinction of multiple species on the planet.
Predators eating cats are a good thing for the ecosystem. I wouldn’t feed cats to my snakes, unless my snakes where giant species, then... possibly yes.

[Bogertophis]

The original question was about 'kittens" rather than cats. Is it likely that kittens would present a problem with parasites? And wouldn't they also be
free of medications (vaccinations & such)?

[Springtails&Isopods]

If people knew what we were talking about there would be a lot more programs set in place to spay and neuter.
The idea is sound in my opinion. Repurpose a pest to be used as nutrition.
Problem is that the industry would breed laboratory cats to use as feeders as opposed to wild cats. Never heard of a reputable feeder distributor that sells wild caught feeders.
That's why the idea is sound, but not possible in our society.
I personally do not feed wild caught because of disease, poison, pesticides, antibiotics ect.
I also think if my snake missed the first strike it would likely get killed or mamed by something that has dealt with predators before as I only feed live.
Survival of the fittest exists in the real world : )
I know the live feeders I get are clueless to predators for the most part making my snake the alpha in the tank. Wild animals would likely change that.

That said I heard of people feeding feral cats to hogs! Reminds me or silence of the lambs pffpffpffpffpffpffpfg

[Springtails&Isopods]

Or snatch! You know the one where Brad Pitt is an underground gypsy boxing champion.
They reference hogs being able to eat 200 lbs of flesh within an hour or so. Great movie.

[zina10]

The original question was about 'kittens" rather than cats. Is it likely that kittens would present a problem with parasites? And wouldn't they also be
free of medications (vaccinations & such)?

Feral kittens already have parasites as well as diseases.

I know, because I've rescued a few near death.

[redshepherd]

OP's thoughts with comparing feeding kittens vs feeding f/t mice and rats isn't accurate, because OP is talking about cat overpopulation aka feral kittens and newborn housepets. That isn't equivalent to f/t rodents, because our f/t rodents are specifically produced and bred for food. They're clean and free of parasites and free of meds or poisons, and most importantly that they're bred and sold from the get-go in order to be reptile food.

So an accurate comparison to using kitten overpopulation as food is more like: would you feed feral rat pinks to your snakes?

That's really it, there isn't much to talk about.

But if one was asking if one day, people somehow run out of rabbits (lol) and start businesses of breeding kittens as large reptile feeders... That would be more ethically accurate to your rats/mice/hamsters comparison.

[55fingers]

There's no way I could feed a cat to a snake.. and in my opinion I would call it wrong for anyone to. Although that's only my view. It is a good question, what makes a cat's life any more valuable that a rodent's? I don't know. But I believe that things like cats and dogs are meant as companions. I understand that people have rodents as pets and sometimes bond with them more than they would a dog or cat, but it's still just different. I feel omnivorous prey items like rats are supposed to be targeted and eaten by predators, but feeding an obligate carnivore to an obligate carnivore sounds wrong to me..

[Sauzo]

OP's thoughts with comparing feeding kittens vs feeding f/t mice and rats isn't accurate, because OP is talking about cat overpopulation aka feral kittens and newborn housepets. That isn't equivalent to f/t rodents, because our f/t rodents are specifically produced and bred for food. They're clean and free of parasites and free of meds or poisons, and most importantly that they're bred and sold from the get-go in order to be reptile food.

So an accurate comparison to using kitten overpopulation as food is more like: would you feed feral rat pinks to your snakes?

That's really it, there isn't much to talk about.

But if one was asking if one day, people somehow run out of rabbits (lol) and start businesses of breeding kittens as large reptile feeders... That would be more ethically accurate to your rats/mice/hamsters comparison.

Yeah, I more took it as FT kittens/cats that are bred for that purpose like FT mice and rats at pet shops and suppliers.

If we are talking feral or even house pet cats, no i wouldnt feed them as it has already been stated, they are sure to have some form of parasite just like a wild rodent.

Heck if they want to control cat populations, just pass a law where you cant sell cats that arent spayed or neutered. If a private party is caught, its a hefty fine. Only allow show cats or licensed breeders to have fully functioning cats.

[zina10]

I wouldn't even punish responsible breeders. They already require the pet to be fixed.

It's time people are held accountable for their pets. Unless they are barn cats (which usually stay on the large rural property and have a job) it should be against the law to let your cats be outside to become a nuisance to others. It should also be punished to abandon animals.

I know...Not easy and what a outcry it would be from cat owners.

But people created this problem and high time they face some of the responsibility. If they want to keep a unfixed cat in their house...well...on them.

In my opinion.


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