Heartbreaking footage from inside a cat meat market shows how helpless pets are squeezed into rusty 'death cages' before they are skinned, butchered and boiled.
It was taken by a horrified cat rescuer and shows the conditions animals are kept in as they await slaughter.
The clip, from Ho Chi Minh City, in Vietnam, has sparked outrage - and tourists have been warned that eating the illicit meals could be fatal.
Cat meat - known as 'little tiger' - is believed to be a source of strength and feline-like agility as well as capable of warding off bad luck.
As some of the animals in the video are wearing collars, it is possible they could have been snatched from homes in order to be slaughtered.
The video, taken by a cat rescuer named only as Quyen, was released by charity Fight Dog Meat .
Chief executive Michele Brown, 60, said: "Cats are the forgotten victims of the dog meat trade.
"Recently dog meat has drawn a lot of attention, but cats get almost none. This frustrated me, so I decided to capture one of the street markets.
"The tradition is wrapped in superstition. The meat is eaten at the start of every month to ward off bad luck, boost libido, and even to gain the agility of the cat.
"But it’s a dreadful situation. The butchers want tough meat so they terrorise the cats in the belief it will flood them with adrenaline.
"Cats are space sensitive, so they throw them all in the death cages and kill them outside then lay the carcasses on top.
"Some of these cats are house pets taken from the streets by snatchers, you can hear how terrified they are."
Cat meat is considered a delicacy in Vietnam and specialty restaurants serving it are booming.
Dishes fetch between £43 and £57 - 1.36 to 1.82 million Vietnamese Dong.
Although cat restaurants have been banned in Vietnam, Michele said the industry has thrived above the law to become the world’s largest per capita.
She claimed ‘little tiger’ meat is so popular, many of the cats are smuggled in tightly-packed trucks from neighbouring China and Laos to fuel the demand.
But there are health risks involved with consuming the meat, which she said is sometimes sourced from stray cats.
However, Michele said this is not enough to stop opportunistic tourists from trying the meat in search of an exotic traveller’s tale.
Michele said: "People have died from eating this in Vietnam, there are significant health risks as many of the cats are stay and carry infections.
"Despite this, I am still coming across foreigners with a ‘when in Rome attitude’ to trying it out.
"This is all the more reason to help the animal rescue teams and raise awareness."