# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Livestock and Animal Husbandry >  Cats & Rats

## Blade

Perhpas you've heard of the famous Cat & Rat scheme, if not here's a link to it.

http://www.snopes.com/critters/disposal/catrat.asp

That was set up when I guess cat fur or pelts were all the rage for clothing and of course it is a scam but,..........

I have taken that theory, on a smaller scale of course, and have produced cats as a potential survival food source. IT WORKS! 

One day I watched as a few cats were in my pole barn cornering a rat and then ate it. I remembered this scam thing and thought "this may work". I bought some rats and waited until I had a few dozen then caged them. I started feeding my cats the rats. My cats came to me from somewhere I'm not sure they just wandered in and stayed  but they were not "fixed" I had two males and three females. As time passed one female had a litter of 3. Usually litters are 3 to 5 and a kitten/cat can get pregnant around a year old. I'm thinking the other female can't get knocked up.

Now my rats were multiplying at the same time but more babies than the cats so I fed rats to the cats. That's all they were fed nothing additional. I had seperate cages for the rats and cats and kept the young ones seperate. It seemed over the period of the last two years that this may be a viable food source.

Yes I tried eating cat and no it didn't taste like chicken, hey in case of survival I needed to know. It was a bit like rabbit and actually a bit gamey and a little tougher but food is food and it's renewable. I've eaten some cat along the way just to keep the population in check and a couple I've given away as pets.

I have another project going involving chickens but not enough data has been documented for me to post on.

So has anyone played with anything like this?

My next attempt will be aquaculture with carp.

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## wildgarlic

The taste of cat or any animal will be a strong function of what they eat. If you fed them trout or salmon, you would get a slight fish taste. I know in taiwan and parts of china that rat is actually a delicacy; cat's are eaten as well.

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## wildgarlic

hey Blade, your aquaculture idea, if I may make a suggestion. Also try Tilapia. I have had it once and it tasted great and then found out how it was raised: Basically it eats the feces of any animal (especially birds and mammals).  Totally unappetizing, but if it is a choice to live or die.

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## Blade

> hey Blade, your aquaculture idea, if I may make a suggestion. Also try Tilapia. I have had it once and it tasted great and then found out how it was raised: Basically it eats the feces of any animal (especially birds and mammals).  Totally unappetizing, but if it is a choice to live or die.


Tilapia contains bad omega fats,
http://www.rd.com/health/healthy-eat...a-bad-for-you/

I'd rather eat the rats which BTW are IMO better tasting than the cats.

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## Wildthang

You could probably make a fortune selling them to a couple of Chinese restaurants in your area :Scared:

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## Blade

> You could probably make a fortune selling them to a couple of Chinese restaurants in your area


If *it* comes looks like I'll be eating a lot of stir fry  :Laugh:

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## intothenew

> Tilapia contains bad omega fats,
> http://www.rd.com/health/healthy-eat...a-bad-for-you/..................


I don't think I follow you on that. I read the article, and found nothing "bad". Short maybe, but not bad. Can you elaborate a little?

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## Delta 5168

Not stealing the thread, but in Korea, dog is "numba one chop".  A lot of people call squirrels "tree rats".  They are cousins.
I'm carrying around a whole lot of "me" before I have to go to unconventional critters.

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## kyratshooter

The reason some animals are raised as food and others are not is due to the return in caloric intake.

Animals that we consider food do not eat the same things we eat as a rule, or can live on low grade food left over from our food procssing.

Dogs, rats and cats do not return as much in pounds of food WE could eat as they consume in the production of their body weight.  They are a very inefficient food source.  As such they are usually considered an expensive delicacy in the cultures where they are consumed.

One might also consider that many states consider the killing of a "domestic animal" a felony and conviction for eating cat could mean that one lost all civil rights and privilidges.  Not to mention the redicule one would face after your face hit the local evening news.

I do not know why you would be "experimenting" with chickens?  They have been kept as a reliable food scource for longer than any domestic animal beside the dog.  Not much "experimentation" to do.  Several of us here raise chickens, rabbits and other small livestock.

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## Blade

> I don't think I follow you on that. I read the article, and found nothing "bad". Short maybe, but not bad. Can you elaborate a little?


Try this one,



http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/...d-for-you.html

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## Blade

> The reason some animals are raised as food and others are not is due to the return in caloric intake.
> 
> Animals that we consider food do not eat the same things we eat as a rule, or can live on low grade food left over from our food procssing.
> 
> Dogs, rats and cats do not return as much in pounds of food WE could eat as they consume in the production of their body weight.  They are a very inefficient food source.  As such they are usually considered an expensive delicacy in the cultures where they are consumed.
> 
> One might also consider that many states consider the killing of a "domestic animal" a felony and conviction for eating cat could mean that one lost all civil rights and privilidges.  Not to mention the redicule one would face after your face hit the local evening news.
> 
> I do not know why you would be "experimenting" with chickens?  They have been kept as a reliable food scource for longer than any domestic animal beside the dog.  Not much "experimentation" to do.  Several of us here raise chickens, rabbits and other small livestock.


The "law" won't much matter when the poo hits, now will it? I think there will be a few more important things to worry about than me eating cats. "Ridicule" about what me eating a cat?......what about a rabbit or chicken that people raise?......please.

As far as animals being raised on by products, you're right it's crap. A mouse or rat contains all the proper nutrients needed for a perfect cat meal, then a great meal for me. You can stick to your dried, canned food that's years old.....I'll go with fresh meat and some gathered greens.

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## Psalm25

1.jpg 2.jpg 13.jpg 4.jpg

3.jpg

Here's a few critters I experimented with... turns out salt and pepper turned out to be the best overall topping to make anything taste good  :Chef:

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## hunter63

Well then there is always.....
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

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## kyratshooter

> The "law" won't much matter when the poo hits, now will it? I think there will be a few more important things to worry about than me eating cats. "Ridicule" about what me eating a cat?......what about a rabbit or chicken that people raise?......please.
> 
> As far as animals being raised on by products, you're right it's crap. A mouse or rat contains all the proper nutrients needed for a perfect cat meal, then a great meal for me. You can stick to your dried, canned food that's years old.....I'll go with fresh meat and some gathered greens.


Yes, but the poo has not hit yet and you are already digging in!

You go eat your nice fresh mouse and maggot meal and I will suffer through eating my baked spam and pinapple, fresh eggs, baked chicken and fried rabbit with garden grown veggies and a few sliced tomatoes.

One thing about it though, you really do go for the shock value in every post!

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## intothenew

> Try this one,
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/...d-for-you.html





I still don't get the "bad" part. Omega 3 and 6 are both essential fatty acids.

An excerpt from Wiki:




> Essential fatty acids, or EFAs, are fatty acids that humans and other animals must ingest because the body requires them for good health but cannot synthesize them


The article you provided, and the link, question the balance of the two in Tilapia. Assuming that is an issue, adding some flaxseed to the side salad should fix that right up. There is no bad food, only bad cooks.


I would think you would need to supplement both of those essentials with the "Cat and Rat" diet.

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## intothenew

And I may need to clarify a bit where I am coming from. Certainly, intensively farmed Tilapia has the omega 3-6 imbalance. But raised in a farm pond? I would think that would be close to wild.




> CHILTON: In a fish-farming situation, the fish that you get depends on what they are fed. Now if these fish are fed, as in the wild, Omega 3 fatty acids and algae, then theyre going to have long-chain Omega 3 fatty acids, which are going to be incredibly beneficial. However, if these fish are fed short-chain Omega 6 products that comes from corn products which is happening so often now then what one sees is the long-chain detrimental Omega 6 fatty acids. So really the fish really are what they eat and we really are what we eat as well.

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## finallyME

The easiest two small animals to raise are rabbits and chickens.  Rabbits can be fed on what grows in your yard.  You would have to dry it out for winter use.  Chickens are omnivores and can eat what we eat.  Rats can eat whatever we eat as well, but they aren't as easy as chickens.  Plus they don't give you eggs, or kill all the bugs in the yard, or fertilize all your crops.  Chickens also taste better.  I don't see the point in cats.  The farther down the food chain you process at, the more inefficient.

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## Psalm25

> The easiest two small animals to raise are rabbits and chickens.  Rabbits can be fed on what grows in your yard.  You would have to dry it out for winter use.  Chickens are omnivores and can eat what we eat.  Rats can eat whatever we eat as well, but they aren't as easy as chickens.  Plus they don't give you eggs, or kill all the bugs in the yard, or fertilize all your crops.  Chickens also taste better.  I don't see the point in cats.  The farther down the food chain you process at, the more inefficient.


I agree with this. The picture of the rabbit I posted above is one of two Flemish Giant rabbits I had. I breed them and sell most of them for meat. They get huge and reproduce like... well, like rabbits. The one in the picture was young. When they are full size it is nothing for them to reach about 50lbs or more. As finallyMe said, costs nothing to feed them, other than winter. But by that time they are all in the freezer accept for the two breeders you choose to keep. I'm sure they would taste much better then cats.

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## finallyME

> I agree with this. The picture of the rabbit I posted above is one of two Flemish Giant rabbits I had. I breed them and sell most of them for meat. They get huge and reproduce like... well, like rabbits. The one in the picture was young. When they are full size it is nothing for them to reach about 50lbs or more. As finallyMe said, costs nothing to feed them, other than winter. But by that time they are all in the freezer accept for the two breeders you choose to keep. I'm sure they would taste much better then cats.


You had a chinchilla colored flemish?  That's awesome.

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## welderguy

I hope I have prepared well enough, that it would be a long time before I have to eat cat rat or dog if at all ever.

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## crashdive123

> I hope I have prepared well enough, that it would be a long time before I have to eat cat rat or dog if at all ever.


It would probably be a long time before the OP would do it as well.

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## welderguy

> It would probably be a long time before the OP would do it as well.


 One would like to think so !

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## Psalm25

> You had a chinchilla colored flemish?  That's awesome.


That was the doe, she was pretty young in that picture and very skittish for some reason. I would love to get my hands on a fawn colored buck, it would be a keeper.

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## kyratshooter

I see that the OP was banned while I was gone!

I am really surprised he lasted nearly 100 posts.  Were you guys "troll tossing" while I was absent?

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## welderguy

> I see that the OP was banned while I was gone!
> 
> I am really surprised he lasted nearly 100 posts.  Were you guys "troll tossing" while I was absent?


 You missed the troll tossing. We thought about ya !

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## 1776

There's an old book called King Rat about a WWII POW camp (fiction). The main character starts raising rats to trade to other POWs. At least in the book the scheme worked well.

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## BENESSE

> I see that the OP was banned while I was gone!
> 
> *I am really surprised he lasted nearly 100 posts*.  Were you guys "troll tossing" while I was absent?


We're just not as sharp as you are. You would've nipped that in the butt long time ago.

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## welderguy

That book may be fiction, But in a time of crisis and no food available that would be a good barter Item.

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## welderguy

Sometimes its a little fun to play with the Trolls and feed them !

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## 1stimestar

We had to do something to entertain ourselves while you were gone!

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## ubercrow

Sounds a little fake to me. Can you imagine the stench of a barn of dozens of cats the ammonia would be poisonous.

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## crashdive123

I've been chastised in the past for banning the trolls before y'all were done playing with them.

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## welderguy

> I've been chastised in the past for banning the trolls before y'all were done playing with them.


 I hate when that happens!  :Smile: )

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## Rick

I'm gonna be pretty da@#ed skinny before I eat a rat. I'm got a long way to go to get that skinny so I should be good.

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## welderguy

So you would be good for what a couple months then rick

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## Rick

I'm thinkin' years but yeah.

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## kyratshooter

> I'm thinkin' years but yeah.


Yea, the doctors inside the Warsaw Getto during the intentional starvation of that population kept some pretty good records for use as evidence against their opressors when the altercation was over.

From their records it was deduced that a person that started out 20 pounds overweight could last a year if they got only 500 calories a day.

I have therefore declared this last 20 pounds that I can not seem to loose my mobile food storage unit.   

Makes me wonder if 40 pounds would hold you for 2 years with a pack of Ramen and a vitimin pill each day?

It also changes speculation on how long the average 50 pound overweight suburbanite would last.  Most of them would not even start showing a loss for the first month.

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## BENESSE

> Makes me wonder if 40 pounds would hold you for 2 years with a pack of Ramen and a vitimin pill each day?


Might could.
Providing you're perfectly healthy otherwise (not likely being 40lbs over) and are sitting on your @ss all day long.

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## finallyME

Dang, the OP got banned.  I was going to ask him why they call him blade.

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## crashdive123

> Dang, the OP got banned.  I was going to ask him why they call him blade.


Because freaking idiot azzhat was already taken.

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## welderguy

:W00t:  


> Because freaking idiot azzhat was already taken.


HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!

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## finallyME

> Because freaking idiot azzhat was already taken.


crash, didn't know you had it in you.  So, who took freaking idiot azzhat then?

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## crashdive123

It was that guy with the sword.

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## 1stimestar

Ahhhh lol.  Blade is still providing entertainment!

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## BENESSE

That's the thing about trolls. 
All they have to do is wind 'em up and watch 'em go...page after page, after page. 
We need trolls once in a while to build up immunity.

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## crashdive123

Bump for Krat. :Whistling:

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## kyratshooter

Your mean streak is showing.

Must I call Mrs Crash and put you on report?

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