Man feeds kitten to burmese python in UK

[Focal]

I would probably never feed a kitten to a snake, but come on, this is no reason to freak out. Millions of PEOPLE are eating kittens and puppies as we speak (err type).

 

[Mike Schultz]

This is not a moral issue, its an common sense issue. There is a HUGE fucking difference between rats and cats. Cats are one of the most affectionate creatures in the world. They make excellent companion animals, and You DO NOT feed companion animals to ANYTHING.

Rats are responsible for the transmission of over 70 diseases. Their feeding habits are destructive and their nesting behaviors can compromise the structure of infested buildings. It was they (not cats) that carried the fleas that spread the bubonic plague in the 17th century. Rats are nasty creatures and deserve to end up as snake shit.

Lol rats are way more affectionate than cats... my cat was awesome as a kitten but now he ignores me until he wants food.

 

[AbsoluteApril]

I've been avoiding reading this thread as a huge cat lover (I do like rodents as well, my first pets were mice and rats) but finally made myself take a look.

My main outrage was why and how he did it... "At the end of the seven-minute footage there is a chillingly threat of more 'feeding videos'." he knows doing this would elicit an emotional outcry from people, he put the kitten in a santa hat... he distracted it so it was not aware there was a predator nearby. He was IMO doing it only to be cruel.

I have heard about wild pythons taking dogs (and chickens) from people's property, makes sense cats may be taken as well (heck, coyotes and racoons will kill/eat cats here in CA). It's this person's motives that irk me. Do I think snakes should be fed dogs or cats? No, I do not. Just my opinion, my very biased cat loving opinion. Yes, I know that makes me a bit of a hypocrite since I have fed mice, rats and rabbits to my snakes, all of which can also make good pets. The main difference in my eyes is that those animals I fed were specifically raised for food and were killed in a humane manner with as little suffering as possible (it can take a long time for a big snake to kill a jumbo rat, the rat suffers). Plus, feeding any kind of live animal, especially another predator, to a snake is always a danger.

Feeding live vs dead is a separate issue. I personally feel (for what should be obvious reasons morally) that live prey should never be offered unless necessary.

 

[Slashmaster]

Your post is pretty much how I feel about this, April. It wasn't a clear cut situation where someone is simply feeding "feeder kittens" (though that would disturb me, having a cat bias myself) ... it's obvious he did this to stir people up and to be cruel.

 

[Pinkypie]

Unfortunately cats seem to be a target for abuse and such..I had a really nice cat I found on the side of the road with a broken leg.We took him home and raised him up and someone shot him, poor guy bled to death on my porch, sweetest cat ever too.I love cats(have three) but IDK it really doesnt bother me all that much if someone fed a cat to a snake,protein is protein..Maybe Ive desensitized myself too much after years of putting down rats, mice, rabbits and quail..Feeding it live and filming it is just sick and twisted though and I hope this guy is caught and his animal confiscated..

 

[rcarichter]

Does anyone know if snakes are susceptible to the same bacterial dangers from cats that humans are? I had a friend that was hospitalized with a terrible infection (from a cat bite) that became systemic. I know reptiles aren't bothered by most of what gets us, just curious.
Being purposely cruel makes me sick!

Noelle

 

[Shadera]

I think I'd be bothered by any animal being treated that way.

 

[Mike Schultz]

Does anyone know if snakes are susceptible to the same bacterial dangers from cats that humans are? I had a friend that was hospitalized with a terrible infection (from a cat bite) that became systemic. I know reptiles aren't bothered by most of what gets us, just curious.
Being purposely cruel makes me sick!

Noelle

Most of the time bacteria tend to be very picky about the environment they live in... i.e. a bacteria that lives in a cat's mouth (99-101 degrees or so) isn't going to survive very well in a snake's 80-90 degree blood.

Sometimes bacteria can be hardy enough to survive in other conditions long enough to be transferred to a host where they can thrive but I don't think there are any that can actually infect both cold and warm blooded animals (if i'm wrong somebody please correct me)

 

[John Apple]

I would probably never feed a kitten to a snake, but come on, this is no reason to freak out. Millions of PEOPLE are eating kittens and puppies as we speak (err type).

....yup they taste kinda like bald eagle or manatee....really what is all the fuss....a lot of folk 'snap' the neck of a cute lil easter bunny before feeding them off

 

[JColt]

I love all animals pretty much but I'm no tree hugging hippie about it. I would how ever probably beat the living snot out of some one doing that if I knew them. It's uncalled for. To me it is no more than torturing a pet only instead of beating or burning it, You use a large snake. To do that to a domesticated, trusting and loving pet shows a careless punk who needs to be treated in the same manner.

 

[Mike Schultz]

To do that to a domesticated, trusting and loving pet shows a careless punk who needs to be treated in the same manner.

rats, guinea pigs, and rabbits are domesticated, trusting, and loving

Ironically enough, I have been treated in the same manner for being such a careless punk... I've been constricted by lots of snakes while feeding out rats usually little snakes at least hehe.

 

[JColt]

Mike, No one that I know of raises cats as feeder food. I have never fed a rabbit, gp , mouse or rat that I made a pet out of either. Not only do such actions devastate reptile keepers ability to have such animals, It also shows a lack of empathy towards pets in general. Just like you don't need to feed your cat or dog live animals.

 

[Mike Schultz]

My cat hunts live animals all the time actually... I'm not saying that feeding live cats to snakes and putting it on youtube is a healthy practice for the hobby in general, but everybody saying it is some kind of outrageous immoral act to feed one live prey animal over another is kind of being a hypocrite.

Just because it's cute doesn't make it any different...

 

[JColt]

That is why you should keep cat indoors. It's not hypocrisy. Cat's have been domesticated for over 9,000 years. Mice, rats, rabbits and guinea pigs have always been lab and food animals. There is absolutely no reason to feed a cat to a snake or any other animal other than to show your an uncaring moron who needs his rear end beat. Period.

 

[Mike Schultz]

So what would you do if you ran into a native korean who has eaten cat or dog meat?

 

[Focal]

So what would you do if you ran into a native korean who has eaten cat or dog meat?

Nothing because they ate animals that were purposefully bred for food, not as a pet.

 

[JColt]

So what would you do if you ran into a native korean who has eaten cat or dog meat?

I have. Most Koreans under 50 have not engaged in that btw. That was common years ago and now frowned upon by the majority of Koreans. Even when common they did not eat pets, rather buying from a market. Old time Korea cannot be compared with modern US and UK anyway or 3rd world countries. Also a starving human is much different than a captive reptile.

 

[BigBoyzBoids]

what it all comes down to though if you go door to door and look guarantee 90% of he homes have some little fuzzball cat that lives either in or outdoors or they have previously owned and like cats. when stuff like this happens and it goes up infront of a judge or any type of law not just for this guys sentencing but a ban. a lot of the voters on this will probably own or have owned a cute little cat and be offened that an animal they know absolutely nothing except its legless, eats animals, and isnt from this area will considering them dangerous and mean due to this video. This guy is a disgrace to our community let alone general society for doing that and posting the video. he obviously does not care about his python or he wouldnt have posted the video to give exotics a bad name and even more reason to be banned. This will definitely cause another big battle in our hobby

 

[Mike Schultz]

I have. Most Koreans under 50 have not engaged in that btw. That was common years ago and now frowned upon by the majority of Koreans. Even when common they did not eat pets, rather buying from a market. Old time Korea cannot be compared with modern US and UK anyway or 3rd world countries. Also a starving human is much different than a captive reptile.

I know, I know a few of my friends' parents who have...

Many of the rats being fed o snakes came from the same breeders who supply pet stores with their rats

The only reason there is a difference between the two is because of your own opinions and the stigma placed on "pet" animals by society..

 

[FosterHerpetological]

To anyone saying feeding rats is different then feeding cats

http://www.livescience.com/17378-rats-show-empathy.html