Tell me more ×
Skeptics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for scientific skepticism. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 14 down vote favorite
2

A friend of mine is a former prosecutor for the Crown/State. He's observed that it was often harder to investigate whether a deceased person was murdered when they own cats because the cats will eat the corpse of their owner. He also observed that dogs will starve to death before they eat their owner.

While I don't doubt the veracity of his observations, I am wondering if is this a known phenomenon that can be generalized for all cats and all dogs, or just a sampling peculiar to his practice?

If so, one must admire the loyalty of the dog and the survival instinct of the cat!

share|improve this question
12  
practical testing could prove troublesome... – Mihai Rotaru Jun 10 '11 at 15:23
5  
So... the next time I murder someone I need to bring along a bag of cats to clean up the mess... – MrHen Jun 10 '11 at 15:26
13  
Live corpses are the finicky cat's preferred choice. – horatio Jun 10 '11 at 17:58
3  
Cats are like selfish little psychopaths -- ever see how they enjoy playing with an injured and suffering mouse or bird they just caught? They're also not loyal like dogs, who tend to just retrieve the dead or dying animals on the hunting fields for their gun-wielding owners, and do so without exhibiting the psychopathic cat-like traits of playful brutality. – Randolf Richardson Jun 10 '11 at 19:02
3  
Never heard of a person being maimed by a pack of wild cats. Though cats do like to lick your hand. Maybe they are just sampling so they can decide if you would be a tasty treat in the situation were right. – JohnFx Jun 11 '11 at 2:50
show 5 more comments

1 Answer

up vote 12 down vote accepted

Google "Dog eats Owner"

http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/05/15/austria.dog/
http://english.pravda.ru/society/stories/30-09-2008/106502-dog-0/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-409885/Dog-eats-dead-master-wife.html

It doesn't appear to be common, but then the circumstances in which this occurs aren't real common either as it requires someone dying in a confined area with a dog and not being discovered before the dog runs out of better pickings.

Though google also seems full of some crazy story about a dog saving a diabetic man by eating his toes (though links seems to disagree on where this happened and the number of toes)

share|improve this answer
I wonder if the dog would have stopped at the toes if it was a pitbull? – Randolf Richardson Jun 10 '11 at 19:03
2  
Oh sure, dog eats man, that's news. But man eats dog.... wait, never mind:) – Monkey Tuesday Jun 10 '11 at 21:15
Doesn't really answer the question? – gerrit Nov 7 '12 at 16:31
The question asks if a dog will starve to death rather than eat it's owner. These examples prove otherwise. – Russell Steen Nov 7 '12 at 17:00

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.