Article originally published in April 2024
The cat, the big villain of domestic animals?
Widely noted for its independence, its indifference too often displayed as a mark of contempt towards human beings, the cat is an animal whose behavior is too often overused. Unfaithful, sneaky, cunning, there are many rumors about the feline, fueled by popular culture and the collective imagination.
Among these rumors, a worrying urban legend looms: the cat is even capable of the worst betrayal, that of eating the corpse of its master in the event of the latter’s death. For example, in La Rochelle, in 2014, a deceased fifty-year-old was devoured by his twenty cats in his apartment, according to an article published by Charente Libre.
A barbaric act that fervent defenders of canines affirm: the dog, at least, would be incapable of it, too faithful to its master. Really ?
Miscellaneous facts among others…
1977, an article appeared in the journal Forensic Science Internationalwhere a Berlin forensic expert relates a case like no other. One evening, a man in his thirties decides to sleep in his garden shed located behind his house, which he shared with his mother, who was the happy owner of a German shepherd.
8:15 p.m., neighbors heard a gunshot and 45 minutes later, the man was found dead, with bite marks on his head and neck. Her German shepherd later regurgitated human tissue and hair, police said.
The dog did not even have the excuse of being mistreated and starved: a bowl full of food was still near him when the police came to inspect the scene of the crime.
There are, however, very few sources on testimonies of dogs having devoured their master, although medico-legal articles relating to the scavenging behavior of domestic animals are already more extensive.
In 2010 for example, an article from Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine states that a woman who died of a ruptured aneurysm was found the next morning, and that her face had been largely devoured by her dog.
The scavenger dog would obey its survival instinct
“Dog scavenging in indoor environments is rarely reported, but regularly observed in forensic practice”even supports a study published in 2016 in the journal Journal of Veterinary Behavior.
A behavior which could result from the dog’s survival instinct, triggered in particular by the wolf, its illustrious ancestor. As recalled by Stanley Coren, canine psychologist and author of the book How to speak dog (2000) au National Geographic, “dogs are descended from wolves […] If we find ourselves in a situation where the owner dies and there is no food source, what are they going to do? They will take whatever flesh is available.”
One thing is certain: you will never see your dog the same again.
Source : Specific patterns of canine scavenging in indoor settings // ScienceAdviser: Will your pet eat you after you die?
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