Has anyone here ever eaten cat food?

[avaistheone1]

How does it taste? Just getting prepared.

[TheMastersNemesis]

1. Get Ready For Mice - They Are Cheap If You Can Catch Them.

My cousin visited China a number of years ago. When she asked about the meat on menus it was always chicken. One day she was on a sampan touring the Yangtze River. There was a restaurant on board and the menu had an item called "civic". When she act the waiter what it was he replied, "rat soup". She did not eat any more meat the rest of the 3 weeks she was there.

But she did have a McDonalds hamburger when she got to Bangkok, Thailand. Though I wonder where their beef came from there.

[avaistheone1]

9. My stomach turns thinking about that. Ewwww.

Besides even if we can trap mice {{{or worse}}}, don't they carry a bunch of diseases?

Perhaps it is better to slowly starve, than to die of some type of god unknown mice or rat disease.

Anyone have tips of starving painlessly to death?

[Jamastiene]

29. Haven't you heard?

Cooking something to 160 degrees (Fahrenheit) is supposed to kill most of the germs. That is what they keep telling us. I've never cooked any meat at a temperature that low. But, the CDC swears up and down by it. So, as long as you cook it, you will be eating dead germs instead of live ones. Trying to hold back as I type this.

Potatoes and rice and beans. Those would be better options than dog food, cat food, or mice/rats. Cat food is outrageously expensive nowadays. Potatoes go a long way, as do beans and rice. Still, you shouldn't have to resort to this. What is happening is just plain wrong.

Also, there are videos on YouTube of depression era cooking. It tells how to do more with less and make some halfway decent food with very little.

I really hate this. I did not vote for a Democrat so that seniors and handicapped people would have to go through this. This is horrible. This is something you would think a Republican would do, not a Democrat.

[dawg]

2. Too damn expensive.

Ramen is cheaper.

[avaistheone1]

11. Ramen kills.

http://www.mainstreet.com/article/lifestyle/food-drink/ramen-noodles-may-lead-chronic-illness

[LittleBlue]

3. I'll find out

in about 40 years the way things are going.

[HubertHeaver]

4. Not yet...

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. It's bland and greasy. Needs a lot of salt.

[avaistheone1]

12. I am salt sensitive.

Maybe I can rinse the salt and gooey grease off.

[hrmjustin]

6. When I was a kid we had a neighbor who ate it for some time until my mother and some ladies of the

block got wind of it. She never ate cat food again. It was not until after her death that I found out about the cat food. It broke my heart.

[avaistheone1]

14. Sad.

Sweet of your mom and the ladies stepping up.

I remember many stories from the 1960s and 1970's particularly of seniors having to resort to cat food in order to make ends meet. Often it came to a choice for seniors of having their medications or having food. Problem is as one of the posters just mentioned even cat food is not a cheap alternative to human food nowadays.

[hrmjustin]

16. That is true. I have 5 cats and i spend about 200 a month on food and litter

Edit for 200 not 2000

[WorseBeforeBetter]

7. Never, but there are some big, fat squirrels in my neighborhood.

I'll just have to learn how to skin 'em like Jennifer Lawrence's character in "Winter's Bone."

[avaistheone1]

19. Here's a primer from Granny

Granny's Beverly Hillbillies Cookbook.

Granny's top 20 vittles (Meals) included Catfish and apricot-gumbo soup; Possum shanks; Pickled hog jowls, Gizzards smothered in gristle, Smoked crawdads, Southern-fried muskrat, Goat tripe, Stewed squirrel and Ham hocks and Turnip greens.

"Ewwww Doggies," now that's eatin'.

http://www.tvacres.com/cooks_granny.htm

[WorseBeforeBetter]

22. Yee-haw! I've seen possums in my yard, too...

Possum Dip!

[RantinRavin]

68. Squirrel stew

Is some damn fine eating!

[WorseBeforeBetter]

70. Hmong Squirrel Stew

This actually sounds pretty good (although I've never had squirrel):

•2 squirrels, cut into serving pieces
•3 tablespoons vegetable oil
•4 cloves garlic, minced
•1 stalk of lemongrass, minced (white part only)
•3 to 5 red chiles, chopped
•1 tablespoon minced galangal (optional)
•2 tablespoon minced ginger, peeled
•1 quart chicken stock
•6 lime leaves, or 1 tablespoon lime juice
•1 tablespoon fish sauce or soy sauce
•1 pound bok choy or chard, chopped
•1/4 pound snow peas
•1 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns (optional)
•Salt

GARNISH
•1/2 cup chopped cilantro
•1/2 cup chopped green onion
•1/2 cup chopped mint

http://honest-food.net/2012/11/08/hmong-squirrel-stew-recipe/

But if I'm *reduced* to eating squirrel, I'm pretty sure Sichuan peppercorns won't be in my Chained CPI basket... Kroger Value Brand Black Pepper will be.

[LeftInTX]

8. A friend of a friend used to eat canned dog food

He was Armenian and couldn't read or write English. He invited his other friend over for delicious bargain rate beef stew.

During the Armenian genocide when my grandparents were exiled into the Syrian desert, they scraped through horse/camel manure for the edible parts and they ate them.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. Many cats bring their dead prey home to their humans as a gift.

We might actually have to start using cats to hunt for our food.

[Cleita]

35. Mine brings home gophers. No thanks. I'll go vegan before I eat one. n/t

[tabbycat31]

13. I played a joke on my sister's friend and made her eat a cat treat

I told her it was a new kind of candy. Her claim was that it tasted like fish.

I was probably 10 at the time.

[reflection]

15. It's better than dog food.

And they're both better than those little pellets I drop in my betta fish tank.

Times have been tough lately.

[Armstead]

17. Yup....When I was being initiated into my college fraternity we had a pedge banquet...

One of the delicacies at this disgusting scene was cat food on crackers -- or as it was called "Catviar."

[Cleita]

37. Sounds less disgusting that the real thing, fish eggs. n/t

[VanillaRhapsody]

78. I'll second that!

[TexasTowelie]

18. Here is the menu for Fancy Feast:

http://www.fancyfeast.com/all-products/

It looks like we'll have many options to partake when it comes time for government assistance. There are even pâtés, veggies, eggs, cheese, savory sauces and gravy in some of the varieties. Damn it, my cat eats better than I do!

Hopefully, we'll have medical marijuana by then so that we can have a hearty appetite.

Oops, that is for the 1% crowd. The rest of us will get dried kibble.

[LeftInTX]

54. I'll pass on the pot. It will cost $$ and just make me hungry anyway.

[TexasTowelie]

60. A somewhat twisted and morbid joke.

Reduced food consumption is usually a sign that the elderly are about to pass away in the near future. It happened with both of my parents.

If they ever legalized marijuana the government might provide a free hemp program to appease the masses that will get screwed with the other cuts in social services. We might even be able to call Liberty Medical to have it delivered directly to our homes cardboard boxes.

[LeftInTX]

80. LOL - Texas Towelie.

Guess we better get some spots reserved under the freeways. Maybe someone will splice some electric lines so we can have electricity to run some fans and hot pots. (The homeless do this in NYC subways)

[cthulu2016]

20. Dry dog-food is edible... or was when I was a child

[Buns_of_Fire]

21. As I recall, Milk Bone Dog Biscuits were pretty good. A little tough, but they kept my teeth clean.

Which helped, since I also ate a lot of worms and dirt back then. I was a prepubescent Andrew Zimmern.

But my coat was always nice and shiny.

[HereSince1628]

25. Yes Milkbone was ok tasting...hard to eat and

I'm not so sure a person with dentures could do that without seriously softening them in some fluid.

[Buns_of_Fire]

34. Del Monte needs to introduce "Milk-Bone Senior"

When you add water to it, it would create a softening broth for us oldsters (much like Gravy Train, which, by the way, is a HORRIBLE diet for dogs!).

Like my grandmother used to really enjoy cornbread soaked in buttermilk.

So far as cat food goes, I can't imagine a way to make the wet type palatable. I might try deep-fat-frying some cat food fritters, but I'll have to feel extremely masochistic at the time...

[HereSince1628]

36. At the time in my life when I ate Milkbone, I would have softened in Diet Dr Pepper.

Sad but true.

[VanillaRhapsody]

79. Cat Food Fritters...

I could only imagine these flat silver dollar deep fried corn bread things my dad made we called "Fritter Ditters" (but he just called Fritters) made of catfood....ewwww bleh!

[Cleita]

40. Surprising how many of us had sampled the dog biscuits when we were kids. n/t

[Freddie]

45. I ate Milk Bones too!

Neighbors paid us to walk their dog and my brother and I would help ourselves to a few dog treats. Not bad really.

[MadrasT]

59. LOL - I ate them too

[Jamastiene]

27. Dry cat food wasn't bad.

I ate some dry cat food when I was a child. It was very greasy though.

[cherokeeprogressive]

61. Gravy Train wasn't so bad... n/t

[BlueJazz]

23. I tried some Meow-Mix once just for the hell-of-it.

Better than eating cardboard....but not much.

[Jamastiene]

24. As far as nutrition goes, dog food would be better suited for humans than cat food.

Dog food often has vegetables such as carrots and peas in it. Humans need vegetables for proper nutrition. Cat food doesn't have any vegetables.

Rice would be better than both of the above though. Billions of people in the world live on rice. Of course, rice doesn't have any vegetables in it either.

It is a freaking shame a Democratic president is proposing to cut Social Security this way. I did not vote for that, but, apparently, I did, and did not know it.

[siligut]

26. We used to have tea parties using dog kibble

I think the dry dog kibble would be better than the cat food, it smells better and is cheaper. IIRC, the dog kibble I ate as a kid tasted like salty, sweet cornmeal.

[Cleita]

28. Not cat food, but I used to eat the dog's biscuits when I was a kid.

I thought they were cookies like animal crackers. They actually tasted pretty good.

[JVS]

30. There was a point in my childhood where a couple friends and I seemed to be...

heading down a path that would lead to eating dog food.

We had gotten our hands on few milkbones and nibbled on them, finding them reasonable fare.

And This commercial did lead us to speculate that dog food would be delicious.

Then one day one of us had noticed what the price of a can of King Kutz was and I pointed out that since we knew candy bars were cheaper and that we already knew that candy bars were delicious, that we'd be better served spending that kind of money on candy bars.

[eridani]

31. Yes. Kibbles are better than the wet stuff

I know cheapskate body builders who eat it as a snack for the protein.

[MrScorpio]

32. No, but I might have had a dog biscuit when I was a kid.

I believe that it was tasty.

[dipsydoodle]

41. I used to eat our spaniel's charcoal biscuits.

[Cleita]

33. I think we need to invent an underground economy.

I was talking to the ladies at the gym today. Since where I live is semi-rural, people have little kitchen gardens, keep chickens and/or goats and have fruit trees. Usually, farming for yourself creates a limited crop and too much of one kind of a good thing sometimes. My family's chickens lay more eggs than we can eat for instance. I have a plum tree that is very productive and produces more plums than I or any of my neighbors would ever want to eat. I thought, what if we set up a system, where what excess we grew we could take to someone's pasture once a week as a sort of farmers' market without all the licenses and permits it involves. You would "sell" your crop for some script then you could use that script to buy other food items from the other growers that you can't or don't grow. I would also suggest donating about 10% to the food bank or homeless shelter, as a way of giving back.

I know it's kind of cheating, but we can't go on like we are with the haves taking everything and leaving very little for the have nots. The ladies at the gym thought it was a pretty good idea. We also thought of a clothes swap thing as well. We all have clothes we don't wear that ordinarily we would sell at a yard sale or donate to the Good Will. We could swap clothes for others, and household items.

It's just an idea and not really planned out, but what if?

[Hekate]

53. At various times there have been productive conversations here about that very thing

"Reduced to eating cat food" is a meme. 'Nuff said.

You are on the right track, Cleita.

Unless a DUer is living on the streets, said DUer has access to ways to produce a bit of food for personal use at home (even in an apartment) and to develop ways to purchase food cheaply. Being a DUer means ipso facto having access to the internet, which is just chock-full of do-it-yourself ideas for living on the cheap.

Let's start a thread about that -- should be fun.

For instance: My mom was so broke and so thrifty that she could (as a good-ol'-boy boss of mine would say) squeeze a nickel till the buffalo crapped. I grew up knowing full well that a pound of hamburger was designed to feed six people. I grew up mixing liquid milk with equal parts reconstituted powdered milk -- doesn't taste half bad and is nutritious.

These days my husband and I have 4 elderly hens who produce more eggs than we can use, and we give a lot of them away. They don't take up much space, take hardly any care, and are sweet-natured.

See you!

[Cleita]

56. It's just a brain fart right now. Needs some work, but I think if everyone works

to get people on board in their communities, it might make a difference.

[Hekate]

57. It would make a difference in the community, but also in the souls of individuals

There's nothing like having a plan to take away the feeling of helplessness.

I'm working on that thread I spoke of, but won't be able to hang around very long after I post it as I will be away from the keyboard for several hours. Hopefully you can drop by with a comment.

[Cleita]

58. Let me know when you put it up and I will help you keep it going. n/t

[Hekate]

64. It's up now

[Lady Freedom Returns]

38. Truth? Yes.

I have. Truth be told again, dog food tastes much better.

[AsahinaKimi]

39. No but my cat eats my Turkey Jerky....

and since I eat it.. does that count?

[Warpy]

42. Alpo might be better

About the only cat food I could get past my nose was tuna. It could be made into a fair tuna salad/egg salad hybrid and I think that's what most people talk about when they talk about eating cat food. I would imagine it does fair tuna croquettes, also. Premium brands of poultry plus liver and giblets might be used to make a decent pate to spread on crackers. The rest of it smells pretty awful, although the cat seems to like it.

I do know a woman who fed her STBX Alpo on her way out the door. He told her it was the best thing she'd ever cooked for him and then she was gone. I imagine, based on that, that Alpo is likeky more palatable.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

74. Alpo is good.

A little more expensive than some, but it gives you plenty of calories and can stomach the taste way better.

[dipsydoodle]

43. If as happens on occasions

the cats turn there noses up at the food I'm blowed if I'm going to try it.

[aandegoons]

44. There should be another forum added.

Cat food recipes forum.

[Warpy]

51. The Cooking & Baking Group will rise to the occasion

when the need for recipes arises. I'm sure we'll also get recipes for it that will fool kids. It's not just old folks they want to eat cat food, you know.

[Glitterati]

46. Eaten plenty of canned corned beef hash from the food bank

Same thing.

[Cleita]

50. When I was in boarding school, we got hash once a week.

We called it Pard, which was the big brand of dog food back then. Ugh! Awful stuff. I wish you could get something else.

[Glitterati]

52. Sometimes we get an itty, bitty can of Vienna Sausage

Right up there with canned corned beef hash.

At least the can of hash is bigger, so you can get more than 1 meal out of it.

[Cleita]

55. Is it because it's donated?

Hey, this is a call out to the people who donate to the food bank, throw in a nice canned ham and cans of chili and tuna when you donate. They can't cost anymore that the corned beef hash and vienna sausages.

[Glitterati]

69. Refrigeration

Food banks have no way to provide refrigerated foods. If it's not canned, it's not in the bag.

1 brown bag of groceries for a family of 4 once a month. 1 can of corned beef hash, 1 package of pasta, usually Mac N Cheese (1 box), a box of saltine crackers, a jar of peanut butter.

You can get bread weekly - usually 2 loaves of bread, and stale Publix bakery goods.

[niyad]

75. there are canned hams that do not require refrigeration. I used to keep one on hand for

emergencies.

[Glitterati]

76. Yum! That sounds heavenly!

A canned ham would be nice.

[redqueen]

62. Yep same here.

Embarrassingly, I developed a taste for it.

[Rex]

47. Wet or dry?

There is a difference.

[KamaAina]

48. KurtNYC routinely eats dog food.

He won't feed anything to his dogs that he hasn't tried himself.

His review: Most commercial brands taste like Fritos soaked in chicken broth.

[riderinthestorm]

49. Thank gawd some of the staples like tuna, pb, rice and beans are cheaper still than cat food!

But I'll still join you with a major

[redqueen]

63. Nope, I've eaten out of the trash though.

Being homeless makes you resourceful. People throw away a lot of food.

[Callmecrazy]

65. No. Never...

I don't know any good cat recipes. And no one has ever cooked one and fed it to me.

[madville]

66. I prefer beans and rice, cheaper and healthier

Damn near lived off of it for a couple of years. 50 lbs of rice and 40 lbs of dried red beans are about $30 wholesale and that gets you around 160,000 calories. I worked it out that a 500 calorie serving costs about $0.09, round it up to $0.15 with a little seasoning and some type of fat added like a splash of olive oil.

It's a complete protein and tasty, but it gets old after a couple of hundred times but way better than pet food by far and cheaper.

[MNBrewer]

67. I'll do beans and rice

canned catfood is what... $3 a pound?

[smirkymonkey]

72. Exactly, cheaper and better tasting.

Not that I have ever eaten cat or dog food. And I never will. I will eat grass before I would resort to that. I think it's absolutely revolting. I would go veg and just forage for my food.

[madville]

73. I've never understood the cat/dog food thing

You can make many simple things like baloney sandwiches or beans/rice for the same or cheaper than pet food.

You have to actually want to eat pet food for some reason these days, it's not the cheapest option by far.

[Revanchist]

71. Here's one persons opinion

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=Bpyq4NWaxK0&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DBpyq4NWaxK0

[raging moderate]

77. Beans and Corn together form a complete protein, just as good as meat.

Decades ago, as an Anthropology major, I learned that beans have all but two of the enzymes needed for a complete protein, and those happen to be the two enzymes which corn does have. Whole tribes have lived on a diet starring those two food items. Corn is not really a vegetable but a grain, in its dietary effect, but it does have those two enzymes. It is mostly a good steady-burning starch. No doubt there are other things like it. Dandelion greens are said to be nutritious and delicious. I can tell you from experience that beautiful green peppers and tomatoes are embarrassingly easy to grow. Corn, lettuce, and green beans are not much harder. Carrots and potatoes take some shrewd care, but they are possible.
Having owned cats for several decades, I would advise against eating cat food. Just the other day, again, all my cats threw up right after I had fed them a can of Fancy Feast classic tender beef. Who knows what is in it? Many people don't care what happens to cats. I won't make that mistake again. Maybe dog food would be a better bet. More people care about them.

[pansypoo53219]

81. its that 1 of the 'substitutions' those economists are talking about?