Could someone enlighten me please. I know, I know I should know I'm AA but I
need some facts. The inevitable joke about cats being served up as a Chinese
meal came up recently at another newsgroup. When I objected to it being
inappropriate as a joke, I was told the word "chow" meant food and that I
"should know that". As to why I was told this, I'm not sure if it was a
derogatory definition referring to dog meat.

Well -- I know that dog is served in Vietnam (e.g. in Corinne Trang's
cookbook), but honestly does the word "chow" have its roots in dog or cat??
I thought it to mean "stir fry" or "cook in a wok". I don't mean to get any
group mad at another but I'd like to find out from someone who's a bit more
knowledgeable on this subject.