Cat meat lucky? Tell it to the poor cats
Print 
In northern Vietnam, eating cat meat at the start of a new year or month is believed to ward off bad luck. It is also considered a “warm” food for the cold winter months, a belief originating in neighboring China.
In Thai Binh Province, cat meat is all the rage now, whether at year-end parties, social gatherings, or just family outings. People are choosing to feast on cat-themed meals.
The cat's stomach and intestines are eaten, while the thighs are turned into meatballs. The head and the rest of the animal are thrown away.
Eateries serving cat meat are found everywhere, from the main cities to rural districts.
Diem Dien, a small town with a population of just over 10,000, has at least 10 such restaurants.
The place has a busy port and sailors flock to these restaurants for a feast after months at sea.
“Cat meat brings good luck. Every time our ships dock, we have to eat it, not to mention New Year or the first of a month when cat meat is a must,” a sailor and an obvious fan of the food said.
Serving the meat at parties has also become an indicator of the host’s wealth and trendiness. Cats are thus on frying pans at weddings and New Year parties at home.
The most expensive and rarest is meat from black cats which is considered to be the most beneficial to health. But due to its price and rarity, it is never served at big parties or feasts.
Killing a cat
“The best way to kill a cat without affecting the flavor of its meat is to drown it,” a cook at a popular restaurant in the area explains.
“If you beat it to death or cut its throat, the cat will be scared and break its bile, making the meat taste bad.”
To meet the growing demand, restaurants now buy cats smuggled in from China or raised for their meat. But they are not considered tasty and cost less than domestic cats which fetch VND70,000 (US$3.5) a kilogram.
Thus, cats are often stolen from careless owners.
A man in Thai Thuy district says angrily: “My family had nearly 10 cats stolen. We had to chain them and keep an eye on them all the time.”
Most restaurants do not have signboards outside because the provincial government has banned the killing and trading of cats.
However, since ban is hardly enforced.
“The ban is nonsense. I have been in this business for more than 10 years and never once had any problem,” a restaurant owner says with a smirk.
When the cat is away …
Thai Binh is an agricultural province, with over 80 percent of its population involved in agricultural activities. It is one of the main rice producers in the northern region.
But with cats being eaten in people’s quest for luck, rats rule the province’s paddy fields.
To stop the plague of rats, farmers resort electricity to kill the cunning rodents in the fields.
Though red warning lights are put up in these fields, there are often reports of human deaths from electrocution.
Will things look up for cats in 2011? After all, it is the Year of the Cat.
