Will My Cat Eat Me?
Your little fluffy feline company keeps you company, curling up on your lap on a cold winter’s night and purring appreciatively as you stroke his soft fur. He wraps his silky body around you as you dish up his favorite tuna-flavored cat food and stares lovingly at you as you fill up his dish with creamy milk.
You offer him everything a pampered pussy could ever need and in return he will love you for ever. Well, at least until you die – then your little kitty will pull out those claws and sit down to dine – on you!
It’s gruesome, it’s shocking, but at the end of the day it comes down to one thing – the law of nature. The domestic cat descends from wilder ancestors and the smell of blood and meat is just as alluring to your kitty as it is to a lioness. Your cat may be tame, but somewhere within that purring fur ball lies a predator that gonna eat you when you die!
If you were to collapse at home and have no-one at hand to help your cat could become quite agitated, they could attempt to lick and nip your face in an attempt to get you up. Excessive licking and nipping can cause damage to the skin and if your cat gets a hint of blood his primal instincts could kick in.
Post-mortem Predation – Or Feeding Kitty When You’re Dead.
Now we don’t want to scare you witless, but if you were to pass away and remain undiscovered for a few days Kitty will undoubtedly get hungry. The term post-mortem predation relates to an unfed pet getting too hungry and then tucking into his or her dead owner. It’s not nice but is all down to self-preservation and cats are known for their great survival instincts.
Felines have an uncanny ability to land on their feet and what other living creature do you know of that can boast of having nine lives? It’s this survival instinct that kicks in and encourages your cat to find food. Your feline friend has to eat after all and if no-one is available to pour the kibble, you will just have to be the kibble. It could be time to invest in an automatic cat feeder just to be on the safe side!
Don’t kid yourself that your moggy will shed a tear should you face an untimely death, we hate to tell you this, but if you die, then your body will be at the mercy of your hungry cat (and chances are they will start by munching on your face)!
There have been occurrences where pets have started to feast on their owner relatively quickly after they pass away, but in most cases, it takes a few days and it’s a very thirsty or hungry cat that turns to its dead owner for sustenance.
The American Journal of Forensic Medicine & Pathology study, carried an attention-grabbing story about a young man who sadly decided to take an overdose and end his life. His body was found three days later, and unfortunately his face and neck had been savaged. The man was surrounded by ten cats and his feline companions were all dead too! A sad and ill-fated ending for all involved, the poison from the overdose had not only killed the young man, but also the cats, who had ingested it during their feast.
Cats have form when it comes to consuming living (and dead things), they have unique taste receptors which means they aren’t able to taste sweet things. But they are able to taste adenosine triphosphate (which gives energy to cells) and do have a penchant for red meat, including mice, birds and voles. The chase is definitely part of the thrill for a cat and they spend hours each day trying to kill off little creatures who are just going about their daily business.
Next time your cat brings you a little gift, don’t kid yourself that they are presenting the dead mouse as an offering to their almighty master, they are merely just demonstrating what fabulous hunters they are.
So, is your cat going to eat you? Well, we are sure he would much rather dine on cat food, a tasty fillet of salmon, a deliciously tasty piece of lean chicken or a plump mouse. But that said, if you were to die suddenly and were to lay undiscovered for days we can’t guarantee Tiddles won’t lick his lips, sharpen his claws and fill his fluffy little face.
