Most of us would say our beloved dogs and cats are part of the family. We live, sleep, and eat with them—but our domesticated companions are still animals, and sometimes, they give in to their biological instincts.
In January, authorities found the half-eaten body of a 34-year-old Romanian woman who passed away alone in her apartment. The culprit: her two pet pugs, who had started consuming their owner’s corpse after five days in isolation.
Experts say even the friendliest kitty or the most aimable pup could resort to eating their owner’s body, though the phenomenon has more to do with human behavior and animal survival instincts than a sudden, bloodthirsty urge from our furry friends.
So, if you died, would your dog or cat really eat you?
The short answer is yes, they can and they have. Most of the literature on the subject relies on individual case studies rather than long-term pattern analysis, but the behavior is common enough that forensic investigators regularly encounter pet scavenging wounds during autopsies—and often expect it when visiting homes with cats and dogs where bodies have been left alone for days or weeks.
There’s even forensic literature on how to pin down the cause of death—and rule out foul play—while accounting for post-mortem pet bites, scratches, and consumption. But why would pets eat their owners?
Related 'Ask Us Anything' Stories
Why your dog gets so excited to see you
Why do cats love boxes? Evolution has an answer.
Why do cats hate water? An expert explains.
Do cats and dogs remember their past?
Are cats really afraid of cucumbers? We asked the experts.
Do dogs dream? The answer might make you appreciate your pup even more.
Cats and dogs are hardwired for survival
Most commonly, pets will eat our bodies as a survival behavior when there’s no food left, said Lena DeTar, an associate clinical professor at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.
“The drive is not that all of a sudden your pet doesn’t like you anymore,” she tells Popular Science. “The drive is you’re smelling like meat, you’re no longer moving, and I’m really hungry and I need to eat.”
Dogs and cats who prey on their pet parents after death are often trapped in their homes for days or weeks before their owners are discovered, DeTar says. The humans typically live alone and are socially isolated, often with their pets as their only companions.
In a study examining almost 40 cases of indoor dog scavenging over 60 years, a significant number of incidents involved elderly people who lived alone and were left undiscovered for long periods.
Sometimes pets don’t wait to start nibbling
In some instances, your pet could start eating you right away. Carolyn Rando, a forensic anthropologist and bioarcheologist at the University College London Institute of Archaeology, cites a case where a dog licking at their dead owner’s face for comfort was potentially triggered by the presence of blood there before it started gnawing.
“There’s a couple of other similar cases where somebody’s taken a fall or had a heart attack in their house and the animal will go to them again looking for reassurance,” Rando says. “And so, we see small dogs or small cats sometimes chewing at the face trying to get some sort of reaction.”
Are dogs or cats more likely to eat your dead body?
The age-old question of whether dogs or cats are better pets takes on a fresh perspective here. Rando says that most people assume cats would be quicker to take a nibble on us than dogs. However, man’s best friend is more likely to eat your corpse, and their methods are usually more violent than how cats scavenge.
“Cats are going to maybe chew at the soft tissue of your nose, chew at your face, chew at your fingertips, but dogs will consume the whole corpse if given a chance and enough time,” Rando said.
It’s not personal. It’s all about biology: dogs are more domesticated and they’re natural scavengers, while cats retain more of their wild instincts and are natural hunters. Cats, especially outdoor cats, have other ways of finding food, like hunting down small rodents and bugs. On the other hand, dogs are often completely reliant on their owners to feed them. They’ll sniff out dog food before resorting to eating their owners, but they’ll scavenge to survive like they do in the wild, says DeTar.
A small house cat is also less likely to target large prey like humans, but dogs, especially larger dogs, are more able to tear at tissue and bone, adds DeTar.
If you have lots of pets, that could be an issue
One human behavior, known as pet hoarding, increases the risk for post-mortem pet scavenging while endangering animals. Pet hoarders collect dozens of cats or dogs and are likely to neglect them, according to experts. In some cases, humans and hoarded animals live alone in poor, unsanitary conditions where pets are often starving—a high-risk situation for pets to consume their owners if they die at home.
In one case, a 69-year-old man died at home with almost 30 cats trapped in rooms filled with trash. The cats ultimately ate much of the man’s soft tissue, along with his heart and lungs, before he was found.
DeTar works at the intersection of veterinary medicine and social work. She often works with socially isolated and vulnerable populations, including with the elderly and pet hoarders, to help prevent pet scavenging situations through spaying and neutering, counseling, and potential rehoming animals.
“We call it disaster management when we have a hoarding situation,” DeTar said. “We try to get social workers involved; we try to get human healthcare involved. Often the homes get condemned.”
DeTar says the complicated relationships between pet hoarders and their pets are the highest hurdle. Pet hoarders tend to believe they’re rescuing these animals, or they don’t understand their pets are living in unsafe conditions: Like many people, hoarders are emotional about their pets.
Ultimately, it’s all about doing what’s best for the pet, and that usually means preventing the situations that lead to pet scavenging. But in an unavoidable situation, DeTar, who lives with a yodeling Husky, a 14-year-old Heeler, and a Calico cat, says she wouldn’t mind her pets eating her, given there was no other food available.
Rando, who has a black cat named Momo, agrees.
“Pets are our family,” she said. “Who wouldn’t want them to be taken care of—even if it’s just briefly, by my own flesh, after my death.”
In Ask Us Anything, Popular Science answers your most outlandish, mind-burning questions, from the everyday things you’ve always wondered to the bizarre things you never thought to ask. Have something you’ve always wanted to know? Ask us.
