:
For meat eaten by cats, see cat food.
Cat meat or
cat flesh, meat prepared from
domestic cats for human consumption (versus a British usage referring to meat sold to cat owners in the days before packaged
pet foods), is varied in its acceptability as a food source in different parts of the world. Some countries have resorted to the consumption of cat meat in desperation during wartime or poverty, while others believe eating it will bring good luck or health and have longstanding methods of preparation. A number of cultures, as well as various religions, consider the consumption of cat meat to be taboo, for hygienic or humane reasons .
Consumption of cat meat
In most cultures, eating cat meat is considered taboo, and it is condemned by many religions. Because cats are
carnivorous, consumption of cat meat is
not permissible under
Jewish or
Islamic dietary laws.
In Asia
In some parts of
China, especially in the North, eating cats is considered taboo. Cats are seen as having souls, and thus the consumption of cat meat is sacrilegious. In southern
China some people consider cat flesh a good warming food during winter months. The cat's stomach and intestines are eaten, as well as meat from the thighs, which are turned into meatballs served with
soup. The head and the rest of the animal are thrown away. Organized cat-collectors in
Nanjing's north-western suburb of Niti regularly ship cats to be used as food to the southern province of
Guangdong. On 26 January 2010 China launched its first draft proposal to protect the country's animals from maltreatment including a measure to jail people who eat cat or
dog meat for up to 15 days.
In Japan, cat meat was consumed until the end of Tokugawa period in the 19th century.
In Korea, cat meat used to be boiled and made into a tonic as a folk remedy for neuralgia and arthritis, though the meat by itself is not customarily eaten.
South America
Cat is not a regular menu item in
Peru, but is used in such dishes as
fricassee and stews most abundant in two specific sites in the country: the southern town of
Chincha Alta (
Ica Region,
Afro-Peruvian mostly) and the north-central
Andean town of
Huari (
Ancash Region). Primarily used by
Afro-Peruvians. Cat cooking techniques are demonstrated every September during the festival of
Saint Efigenia in a town of
La Quebrada. In Huari, cat is consumed as replacement for
guinea pig, most used through all Peruvian Highlands. Huari born people are often known as
mishicancas (from
Ancash Quechua mishi kanka, grilled cat).
In Brazil, specifically in Rio de Janeiro, there are urban legends saying that some street-made barbecue is made of cat meat, which is called "churrasquinho de gato" (literally, cat barbecue). Such urban legends, referring to pie filling, kebabs, hamburgers, gyros, etc., are commonplace, with varying degrees of truth or ironic scorn at street vendors' quality to them. For example, the Moscow, Russia version of old called hot cakes "kitten pies", and has recently been modified to a sarcastic "buy 3 shawarma (Turkic gyros), collect 1 kitten" as Middle Eastern cuisine has displaced cakes to dominate fast food stalls.
Cat meat has been consumed in the city of Rosario (Argentina) in the middle of the economic crisis in 1996. As citizens of Rosario argued to the media, "It's not denigrating to eat cat, it keeps a child's stomach full."
Europe
Cats are eaten in certain rural
Swiss cultures; the traditional recipe on farms in some regions involved cooking the cat with sprigs of thyme. In January 2004, Reuters reported that, "Swiss culinary traditions include puppies and kittens. Private consumption of cat and dog is permissible. Swiss animal welfare groups say it is hard to estimate how many pets are eaten in Switzerland every year."
Researchers have found recipes for "cat stew" and "cat in sauce" in the Basque Country in the Spanish province of Alava.
Cats were sometimes eaten as a famine food during harsh winters, poor harvests, and wartime. Cat gained notoriety as "roof rabbit" in Central Europe's hard times during and between World War I and World War II.
In 18th-century Britain, geeks were known to eat cats as a part of a grotesque form of live entertainment.
Elsewhere
Indigenous Australians in the area of
Alice Springs roast feral cats on an open fire. They have also developed recipes for cat stew. Some other inhabitants of the area have also taken up this custom, justified on the grounds that felines are "a serious threat to Australia's native
fauna". Scientists warned that eating wild cats could expose humans to harmful
bacteria and
toxins.
In some cultures of Cameroon, there is a special ceremony featuring cat-eating that is thought to bring good luck.
Opposition to use of cats as food
With the increase of cats as pets in China, opposition towards the traditional use of cats for food has grown. In June 2006, approximately 40 activists stormed the Fangji Cat Meatball Restaurant, a restaurant specializing in cat meat in
Shenzhen, China. They managed to force the restaurant to shut down and discontinue selling of cat meat. Those changes began about two years after the formation of the Chinese Companion Animal Protection Network, a networking project of
Chinese Animal Protection Network. Expanded to more than 40 member societies, CCAPN in January 2006 began organizing well-publicized protests against dog and cat eating, starting in
Guangzhou, following up in more than ten other cities "with very optimal response from public." In 2008
a series of incidents have been broadcasted by the media on the increased consumption of cat and dog meat in
Guangdong areas.
See also
Dog meat
Cantonese cuisine
Horse meat
List of meat animals
Taboo food and drink
References
External links
Website on cat meat in southern China
Chinese Companion Animal Protection Network
Chinese Animal Protection Network: Our work against consumption of cat dog meat (Microsoft Word document)
Category:Meat
Category:Cantonese cuisine
Category:Chinese ingredients
Category:Korean ingredients
Category:Peruvian cuisine
