Re: Don't Die Alone with Pets
Date: February 05, 2010 04:39PM
Cats generally wait about 1 and 1/2 days before they will eat you. Hawk from the Straight Dope explains:
The fifty-cent word for the event that you describe is "postmortem predation" and it is a major concern for those involved in death investigation and the forensic sciences. For example, let's say that a set of skeletonized remains is found in a heavily wooded area. When the remains have been inventoried, it is learned that all the bones of both hands are missing. Were the hands removed to hide the deceased's fingerprints? A gruesome scenario, yes, but consider this alternative: a hiker has a fatal heart attack and collapses, where some woodland creatures gnaw off the hands (as the only exposed areas of the body) and make away with them. Both scenarios are plausible, but vastly different: is this a homicide or an accidental death? The main difference, of course, is how much paperwork you have to fill out.
I was attending the 1992 American Academy of Forensic Sciences conference in New Orleans and a forensic pathologist related the following story (paraphrased as best as memory will serve): "Sometimes, when an individual living alone dies unexpectedly, several days may pass before anyone takes notice. Some of these individuals may own a dog or a cat, which will go unfed. In my experience, a dog may go for several days before finally resorting to eating the owner's body. A cat, on the other hand, will only wait a day or two. Just goes to show you which is more loyal. So, the next time you're falling asleep on the couch with the football game on, take a look at your cat. He's not watching you because he's enamored of you; he's checking to see if your chest is still moving." Oh, those wacky pathologists.
I can't explain why a cat may be so quick to turn on the hand that fed it. I can only tell you that yes, it does happen. As a single guy living alone with three cats, I can tell you that I keep plenty of kibble about, because you never know.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/2010 04:44PM by Radiophile.