kitties for lunch?

[jmkhets]

ok here goes this story...my mother plans on bringing her cats down to the vet to get fixed tomorrow and get one of the cats an abortion( i didnt know they did that) well come to find out shes a day late and a dollar short.Well my mother asked me if i would feed the day borns to my boas...bad idea good idea?I feel bad but if my parents are just gonna dump em somewhere anyway they already have 4 cats and i have 2 should i or shouldnt i any opinions on the matter?

[CDN-Cresties]

I say thats a bad idea, why dont you bring them to the Humane society?

[Cruciform]

Honestly I don't consider it any different than feeding rats, as long as they don't suffer.

If I wasn't attached to one of my own cats he'd be lunch already too. No matter how clean the littlerbox is, he won't use it. Getting really tired of cleaning up after him.

[wyz]

I'd erase the thread if I were you.

You're gonna start a stupid emotional debate.. that's allready been discussed in the past.

You don't need to ask anybody if you should or not do it.

I think you're only asking to stir some sh*t, you allready know what most people will answer.

WYZ

[Katt]

Hey, to us, feeder kitties may not be different from feeder rats, aside from the fact that cat meat isn't really all the great.

But keep in mind, we are under the scrutiny of the public at all times. We must conduct ourselves professionally. Feeding kittens to boas, is not going to sit well with John Q. Public.

Please keep this in mind when posting.

[dank7oo]

I personally find that (feeder cats) a little sick and disturbing ...

Jason

[Cruciform]

I personally find feeder cows disturbing.

And eggs! What's with people eating eggs!

And OMG! FISH!!!! I saw a guy eating tuna today! I almost lost it!

--over-reaction phase completed--

Really, as long as the animals don't suffer, and are being used to feed other animals, it is neither sick nor unethical.

Legalities on the other hand, you might want to look into, because now someone is going to report you as a murderer and abuser of kittens. Talk to a vet as opposed to a shelter. If you get a volunteer on the phone at a shelter, you may find they will only raise the bar on how high the excitability of people can go.

[jmkhets]

im not sure i can even do it like i said i have cats and i do have a hard time feeding my boas live rat pups but i do for the fact that my snakes well being is important to me.I usually feed my snakes f/t but heard that with feeding f/t all the time that your snake can become dehydrated so i do feed my snakes live once in a while.As for the kitties they are less than a few hours old i think if my mother wants to play god and use my snakes she can come to my house and do it but i dont think i can be there just seems weird........

[Samba]

Personally, I think if you have hesitations about it, don't do it. Raise the kitties and find them homes. If this is something that will make you feel guilty and haunt you for the rest of your life don't do it; if not then do what you feel is best.

In my opinion, feeding the kitties off is better than having feral cats running around reproducing and being menaces. They'll just end up living short, harsh lives anyways. Your parents should be more sensitive to this issue, seeing that they care enough about their animals to get them spayed/neutered. How can anyone consider 'dumping' an animal to be a viable option? How can they live with themselves?? Some people just don't seem 'human' anymore.

( P.S. A cat abortion is just a spay with fetuses inside the uterus).

[capsicum]

Personally I wouldn't feed cats or dogs to my snakes.

Edited --> didn't like my own response :(

TK

[RepTylE]

WHAT!?!?!?!?!?! If you don't use them to feed to your snakes, your parents will dump them off somewhere????? I sure as hell hope that I misread something here. Maybe if you got the cats spayed in the first place you wouldn't have this problem. Sounds like an episode of Trailer Park Boys or something sheesh!!!
Un friggin believable.

[Vengeance]

Originally posted by jmkhets
.I usually feed my snakes f/t but heard that with feeding f/t all the time that your snake can become dehydrated so i do feed my snakes live once in a while.

I'm pretty sure that is completly untrue. If your worried about your boa becoming dehydrated, use a syringe after the rat is thawed and inject water into the body, or just soak the rat in water and get it soaking wet. Also if your providing a water bowl, then the boa will drink when it needs water.

[jmkhets]

like i said not my cats to get fixed i mean its not like i have the extra money to go and fix every cat thats not mine besides i own cats and everyone of mine ARE fixed thank you very much

[jmkhets]

and the pound wont take the kitties or the mom they said they are over populated at the moment so now what?????????

[Vengeance]

www.petfinder.com

There are tons of rescues, and shelters on there that can help you. Go to that site and I'm sure you will find someone willing to take the kittens off your hands.

[JD@reptiles]

jmkhets.... man you got to read some books or something. I have been reading your posts you sound like an absolute moron. If you start feeding cats to your snakes and the word gets out, your going to F*** up the hobby for everyone around you.

If you can’t afford to do the right thing with your cats, than YOU SHOULD NOT OWN THEM. If they are stray, give them to the humane society.

[jmkhets]

not my cats slick

[JD@reptiles]

okay slick than spread the word slick

[Samba]

If the pounds are full it's your mother's responsibility to make sure the kitties have homes. It's not right to dump them, and I can't believe she would even consider it. It's also against the law. You'd better believe if my own mother did that I'd report her in a second. I'm sorry you had to be put in this uncomfortable situation, but there are alternatives... ACAT, for instance, will takes in cats, pay for medical costs (including surgery) and adopt out kitties. They don't euthanize, either.

If she doesn't have the money to spay or neuter her cats, tell her that there are places that will do it at little or NO cost. I have two male cats that were neutered absolutely 100% free. I never paid a penny for it.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

[Vanan]

Bring your "kitties" to the humane society and get them put down. Don't bother finding homes and don't feed em to your snakes. Don't cheap out by giving your boas a free meal. Oh wait, I forgot. You live in the "land of the free". :P

*sigh* Damn was it such an effort trying to be nice. ;) :D

[Kimo]

Time to grow up people... and keep the thread clean
My opinion is to NOT feed the cats off...heres a fantastic idea...why not SELL them to people whom are willing to care for them? and the people here are right...just talking about feeding Kittens off is asking for serious trouble, and does and will damage the reptile hobby for the rest of us

Josh

[Vanan]

For the sake of the future of herpetoculture in Canada, I do hope the mods delete this thread as the very title is enough for activist to use as fuel. God only knows we have enough trouble with the legality of snake keeping already.

[jmkhets]

well for all you animal lovers( me included) my girlfriend called just now and a coupe of her regulars at her resturant said theyd take the whole kit cat and cabudal...so to everyone that cares thats whats happening thanks for the opinions like i said they werent my cats kittens and i wasnt going to take responsibility for my parents slackin its not my job to take care of them...they asked me to destroy the babies by feeding them to my snakes i never said i would do it just didnt feel right to me but like i said not my cats and if my mother wanted to do it i might have let her, as long as i wasnt there.Anyways they are all going to a new family end of story

[jmkhets]

maybe it may damage it in canada...and im sorry for that...but i live in U.S.A not that it would make it right ... but in my state were allowed to have anything thats not either illegle or protected

[Artemis]

oh good lord. I think aside from all the emotional stuff, which if you happened to notice one of MY recent threads about kittens, I wont need to explain my perspective on it, it is a bad idea to let your snakes associate the smell of housepets with food, yes.

Artemis

[RepTylE]

I agree totally with JD, word gets out and there will be grannies writing to their local politicians and the hobby gets yet another black eye. Hard enough fighting moronic local bylaws without starting a bonfire with something like this. I would like to see this thread disappear and forget I ever saw it. (if that's possible)

[Samba]

Art - Very good point! I hadn't thought of that!!

As for the legality... why does it make a difference whether it's a kitten or a rat? Both are commonly kept as pets, and both are food for other animals in the wild.

I really don't see what people are creating a stink about... if the "mammal keepers" kept their cats under control we "snake-keepers" wouldn't even be considering this. I know it looks bad for the herp community (even though it really shouldn't) so I'll shut up now... =)

[damzookeeper]

I can't even feed a rabbit out to a snake, so I guess you know where I'd stand. lol. I can handle mice and rats but I can't have anything that would eat anything larger than a full grown rat because I can't see myself feeding a rabbit out. I love rabbits. Not crazy over cats, but still wouldn't feed one out. YUK! I hope this thread disapears soo

edited: Oh, and also I actually have 3 rats I hold as dear pets. I would never consider feeding them out. I'm alright with f/t though, I guess cuz they aren't mine. lol. And I breed out my own mice and feed but non of them are concidered pets, I guess it's like a meet farm with their cattle.
Everyone has their own oppinion on this and that will never change. I think questions like this should not even be brought up on the forum, they just get everyone fired up.

[marisa]

Are we SERIOUSLY talking about this again? Guys, guys come on, let's pick and choose what we waste our energies on a little better.

Marisa

[BoAddict]

there is nothing wrong with it but just dont advertise what you are doing.

Mike

[CamHanna]

Originally posted by jmkhets
but in my state were allowed to have anything thats not either illegle or protected

LMAF,
We have the same arrangement here; we can do whatever we want as long as it's not illegal. I suppose it's a universal thing.

[Matt.B]

hehehe I guess where I live isnt the only place you have to obide by the law.
Matt

[C.m.pyrrhus]

... ACAT, for instance, will takes in cats, pay for medical costs (including surgery) and adopt out kitties. They don't euthanize, either.........If the pounds are full it's your mother's responsibility to make sure the kitties have homes. It's not right to dump them, and I can't believe she would even consider it. It's also against the law.

Both of these options are part of the problem. Although they [ACAT and many other institutions] are doing a good service of providing an unwanted animal a home, it lets the problem continue to escalate by allowing the problem species to continue to exist. Letting them free and dumping them because a person is at a loss of responsibility is not only horrible, it also allows the problem to continue as well.

It is understandable how this thread and general topic can hurt those in herpetoculture, but the "cat and doggie" world ain’t any better. It is pretty sad to think that it is just fine and dandy to keep allowing a species that has gone as far as it has in the world to keep being the resulting issue in these and many other kinds of problems. It would be nice to have mandatory euthanization in cases like this. There are literally enough animals as is for the public to take in, and if folks were truly animal lovers maybe they would see this as true. Instead, folks do not wanna deal with this reality, and pretend it does not concern them.

I really don't see what people are creating a stink about... if the "mammal keepers" kept their cats under control we "snake-keepers" wouldn't even be considering this. I know it looks bad for the herp community (even though it really shouldn't) so I'll shut up now... =)

I agree. :)

[Matt.B]

So when an orphaned child is found on the street we should euthanize it? I mean there are WAY more humans then there are domesticated cats and to tell you the truth we are much more of a problem than cats are. the piss people off but we destroy hundreds of thousands of acres a year for agriculture and comercial use so I would have to say that we are the bigger problem. I myself try to use my bike and/or walk whenever I can but thats just my 2 cents.
matt

[ib_inked]

Hey, I think we should just start feeding orphaned children, heck how about homeless people too to our pet snakes. I should start a stupid thread about that to get everyone riled up.
Or how about we feed our snakes to the homeless and hungry? Is that a good one?

[Cruciform]

Okay, since people are getting rude and stupid, enough with the double standards.

You own reptiles. You feed them animals that other people consider pets. Yet when someone mentions feeding off the offspring of a more "popular" type of pet a number of you jump down his throat and start spouting holier-than-thou statements about how they can adopt them out, etc. etc.

Animal control services are *overflowing* with abandoned animals. If you're so concerned about the welfare of some unwanted kittens, get your lazy, mouthy, righteous asses down there to volunteer or bring in their overflow animals to care for in your own home.

As it should be so obvious to people, this is a reptile site. When someone who doesn't keep snakes freaks out about people feeding rats to them, people are quick to defend it.

Why? Are rats not cute enough for you? Does an animal have to fit within a scale of fuzzy-cuteness to justify it's value as pet or feed item?

It was damn hard for me to kill the first few mice and rats for my snakes, but I did it. Because I wanted to minimize the suffering of the animals as much as possible.

I find Beau's stance to be completely reasonable. Cats are a species second only to man in their destructive impact on the environment, due in part to our domestication and neglect of them. It doesn't mean they should all be killed, but neither should they continue to flood the streets and shelters simply because some bleeding hearts say it's "wrong" to use the offspring as feed animals, or euthanize them to be used in feeding products.

We are animals who use other animals selfishly. Whether it is for food, companionship, or entertainment. Few people are genuinely altruistic in this sense. Moral selectivity does not grant anyone moral high ground.

[Matt.B]

Which is exactly what I was saying cat may do damage but they do damage to the stuff that we put up that CAUSES damage
just a thought
mATT

[heebie_geebies]

Well put!! Originally posted by Cruciform
We are animals who use other animals selfishly. Whether it is for food, companionship, or entertainment. Few people are genuinely altruistic in this sense. Moral selectivity does not grant anyone moral high ground.

So the morals we North Americans grew up with say that eating cat, dog, or even snake is taboo. Due to that it is not part of the norm of our society. But invite a Hindu to a BBQ and try to serve them some fresh steaks or big juicy hamburger. I don’t think they would appreciate it that much. Cows are sacred in their religion. But beef is part of the average North American diet. Canada raised and slaughtered over 2.9 million cattle in 2003 alone. But offer us dog meat, as is served in some South Korean restaurants, most would people would be sick at the thought eating dog. I was told by an immigrant to Canada that dog meat is a bit tough, but pretty tasty. Yes I would try it if it were offered to me. And yes I have had pet dogs growing up.

I have read a few articles about odd (to us) Asian cuisine. Not the San Francisco deep fried stuff that we all know of, authentic Asian dishes. They do serve up cats, rats, and among many other things, a very unique snake soup. Essentially, the only part of the snake used in the soup was the bile from the gall bladder. I personally don’t find that appetizing, but I may try it. Why wouldn’t I?

Here is an interesting article that will boil the blood in a lot of you. (http://www.canoe.ca/AllAboutCanoesNewsMay01/14_snakes-ap.html)

My point is you can’t determine one type of animal is not a source of food for another, just because it goes against norm in our culture. Every living organism is fuel for many other living organisms. The old adage is a bit wrong. It should be “Eat, until you are eaten.” and we are no exception.

[jungleguy]

and with that said all of you can EAT ME lol just joking seemed like the right ful place for that.....maybe?.....sorta?......was funny right?.....ummmm i gotta go.............lol

[heebie_geebies]

I seen documentary on incarcerated cannibals. One such inmate admitted that that roasted human flesh tasted a lot like roast pork. I had roast pork two nights ago and sure loved it.

It is something to keep in mind when you and someone else are stranded with not food, and you happen to have an oven handy.