Yes (okay to feed rat to snake), yes (cruel re puppy), and yes (okay re cat.)
Puppies are special. They are fully fledged members of human families.
The perp is lucky that I wasn't deciding his sentence.
Not so in many lands around the world. Here we call it cruel, over “there” they call it lunch. In Italy I’ve seen whole, butchered horse legs hanging in the shops. Anyone think it’s cruel to eat a horse? In many lands they kill and eat sparrows.
“Puppies are special. They are fully fledged members of human families.”
Okay, as long as you do not end up treating a dog like a human, and a lot of people do. I heard something interesting the other day Where someone explained how “Love” as expressed by dogs and cats is not the same as human love. Rather, it is a survival instinct. You (the owner) are the dominant one in the relationship and the animal is merely sucking up to you so that you will feed and/or not kill it outright.