I think the story is embellished a lot.
I also think, though I might have my historical periods wrong, he lived in a time when stray dogs and cats were considered pests and eating puppies and kittens wasn't the weirdest thing.
I also think, though I might have my historical periods wrong, he lived in a time when stray dogs and cats were considered pests and eating puppies and kittens wasn't the weirdest thing.
> In one year [Domery] devoured 174 cats (not their skins) dead or alive; and says, he had several severe conflicts of interest in the act of destroying them, by feeling the effects of their torments on his face and hands: sometimes he killed them before eating, but when very hungry, did not wait to perform this humane office
So in that case, the person reporting it is saying the man was indeed scratched up by the cats.
IIRC, Neutering cats and dogs wasn't common until the 1930s, and before then "getting rid of" the excess offspring was basically mandatory.
https://dogtime.com/dog-health/spay-neuter/34567-history-spa...