According to a survival manual I have, cat, when butchered and dressed, is indistinguishable in appearance and taste from rabbit. I haven't eaten cat but I have eaten rabbit and it's tasty.
What's a pet and what's a pest and what's dinner is pretty much up to circumstances and culture. Anglo-saxons would probably balk at eating cat, dog and horse and some even balk at reading guinea pigs and rabbits but they're all eaten in many other countries. Much of the horses slaughtered in the US end up on European plates. Not only the Chinese eat cats - cats are also eaten in Peru. Guinea pigs are also eaten - according to one person who experimented with guinea pigs, they aren't worth it when compares their meat output compared to rabbits...but he did say that guinea pigs are EXTREMELY TASTY...but they just don't contain much meat. So if you're thinking in terms of meat, rabbit is more efficient. Pigs are among the most intelligent land animals. They're more intelligent than dogs. But we treat dogs as family and we eat pigs. Go figure. The Thais eat rats. Most Anglo-Saxons would balk at eating rats since they're considered to be carriers of disease.
Anyway, I still wouldn't eat a cat but that's because I was brought up as an Anglo-saxon. I am not so provincial to believe that my cultural background is anywhere close to the "norm" in the world. My eating habits would probably horrify an Orthodox Jew, Hindu or Muslim.
