Eatin' cats?

F

FirstFreedom

Moderator
I have to ask, while on the subject of hunting ethics brought up most recently in the bigfoot thread. I see pics of guys with their pumas; and they hunt them on Versus and The Outdoor Channel. Do they chow down or trophy-hunt only, typically? Or is it a mixed bag?

Pumas are not overpopulated nuisances (unlike coyotes for example); so if you're not eating them, I personally would have an ethical problem hunting them. For the trophy only is not a satisfactory reason to me.

In any event, are they tasty?
 
I had a tow truck driver in NO WY tell me the cats are gud et'n. I was just happy to get the high centered rent-a-car off the damn pass.
 
Never had cat....at least that I know of, but we did have a Vietnamese family move in some years ago. After a few months neighbors noticed the strays began disappearing and even some of their house pets. He might know what they taste like....I'll ask him and get back to you.
 
Can't say as I've heard of anyone eating a cougar. But having said that and having spent lots of time in Asia...I've eaten domestic cat(and dog, monkey, rat and a few things I couldn't quite identify and wasn't about to ask) and in my opinion with enough seasoning anything is pretty much edible.
 
Had some years ago at a game dinner in Reno, NV. Wasn't bad, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat it again.

As for them being scarce, it would depend on who you ask. Ranchers seem to think there are too darn many of them. As for a trophy, they are a trophy. You really have to work to get them. They won't just let you stroll up to them and poke 'em. Be prepared to chase hounds for at least 5 miles from the time they cut a trail. And mountain lions like to run uphill, unlike us hairless apes.
 
Are mountain lions scarce? I thought they were VERY scarce.

I wouldn't want them to go extinct. They are beautiful animals.

I would hate to help extinct a species just to have a trophy.

Of course, if they were eating all my sheep it would be a different story.

Then again, if I lived were I could help a dying species, I would probably feed some sheep to the mountain lions. LOL

Then the moutain lion would thrive and I could hunt it without worry of making it extinct.
 
mrawesome... they are only scarce on the East Coast. Up north (Maine, VT, NH), the state fish and wildlife claim we don't have them at all. (and I know for a fact that is a load of crap! I've seen them in VT and as of last week, in Maine too.)

Out west, they are still quite the problem. WY, last I heard, still considers them a varmint, and puts an open season on them.
 
Cats are not scarce out here in the west, trust me. Last time I hunted WY, you needed to draw a tag to hunt them also. Here in WA, you can buy over the counter tags for $5 to hunt lion. No dogs or bait though for most, the liberal idiots of this state took care of that in '96. I have never tried it but I have been told that the meat is outstanding, like very lean pork. Need H&H to chime in here.
 
I would say up here in wa state its a mixed bag. Some guys just want the cool pelt hanging on the wall and some do truly enjoy cougar steaks :barf: Personaly I havent ever shot a cougar but if I had the chance I would because the population here has really gone through the roof since they outlawed hound hunting. According to many its why the deer population has dropped recently in some areas. For example on Iron mt. in republic wa they did a study where 18 cougars were found to be enhabiting this small mt. in a group of hundreds of other hills that werent studied. Deer remains were being found at a higher rate than usual. They were finding the death to be caused by cougars.
So I would shoot one but I cant say that I would eat it. I would however not waste the meat. i would give it away to someone who wanted it. The pelt i would keep.:D
 
Ive eaten broiled cockroaches in soy and deep fried scorpions trying to impress a Thai girl.

I draw the line at kitty cat.

WildandprobablybowsertoobutihearthatstastyAlaska
 
A buddy of mine killed a young lion of some sixty pounds. He barbecued the hams. Absolutely wonderful meat. IMO, those old mountain men were correct in their stated view that lion meat was the best of all.

In Texas there are no controls on lions. Legally, they're the same as coyotes. In my area, we're bum-deep in lion poop, although the population varies as they eat their way from one place to another. Resident females remain in the area, so the occasional Handsome Stranger wanders through to ensure another generation. I see tracks around here pretty regularly.

Art
 
I've never had the chance to try it, but I'll eat anything, the weirder the better.

I ate the scorpions too, but prefer the fermented fish-paste. You can't find it in the US... stupid FDA.:)
 
Wish we had them here in Ohio.

Biggest wild cat I've seen around here was a bobcat that I called in while coyote hunting with my father this past February. And that was only the second bobcat I've seen in my life.

I called the sighting in to the ODNR like your're supposed to and they were very rude to me.:confused: You'd think they would be polite since I was going out of my way to help them, but ehh.

Maybe I'll go start a new thread about that.:)
 
It all depends on how hungry you are. What the heck, if God didn't want us to eat them why did he make em out of meat?
 
Obviously it's edible, but I would say majority of people who hunt them don't hunt it for food. Perhaps some people eat a bit of it so that they are not "trophy hunting" or make themselves feel better, but it's bit of a stretch.
 
Mr. Awesome- The Ventura County govenment in So Cal just closed two hiking paths because of mountain lion sightings...Lions and bears in Southern California come into neighborhoods bordering hill country quite often...
 
An outfitter that I went with in Wyoming said that Mountain Lion was the best meat he'd eaten. I thought he was pulling my leg, but he swore to it.
 
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