Trying to dress a live animal is nonsense. I don't understand the motivation behind it. I would recommend dispatching the beastie before preparing it for the pot.

In answer to your question, yes, hunger will go a long ways towards overcoming your mindset. Take for example the Donner party. These were pious, highly moral, God fearing people. The idea of cannibalisim was as unappealing to them as blaspheming the holy spirit, and yet when faced with certain doom, they overcame their mental barriers and ate the dead friends and family they'd been so closely socialized with. How hard was that!!!

If you are a meat eater, my suggestion is to see if you can visit with a butcher that processes carcasses. If you take things in reverse order (there's the sausage, which came from the scrap tub, which came from the trimmed meat, which came from the quarter, which came from the side, which came from the dressed whole, etc). You take it one step at a time going backwards like that, and eventually the sight of a dead animal is not so repulsive. The two biggest hurdles to get past are seeing the dead animal getting dressed, and seeing the live animal getting dead. Suffocating or strangling an animal is not the most humane way to dispatch, but in a survival situation is likely the most effective way at procuring food on the hoof, or paw. It does take a conscious effort to make the leap, but once you get past it a few times, it shouldn't be cause for concern. The main thing is to always respect the kill, regardless of the method. When I go hunting or fishing, or out to the field to harvest livestock, I always thank God and the animal whose life I took for providing me with the sustenance I need. If you are religious, then you should understand that God gave us these plants and animals for our benefit, but that we are to be good stewards nonetheless. If you have no faith, then you should at least accept that all life here on earth is connected, and that respecting the kill is a responsible and ethical act, even in a survival situation.

My upbringing fairly requires that I go out and kill animals and eat them. For me, it is a question of ethics that I use my natural talents to provide for myself, both indirectly (vis-a-vis my job) and by doing the deed with my own two hands. I've also done my tour in the slaughterhouse, and raised pets that were subsequently sold off as food for someone else. I don't think this hardens your spirit, unless you haven't come to terms with the reality of your existence yet, in which case spending some time doing without a belly full of food will help get you over the esoteric hump and back to what life is all about. Cannibalism is perhaps going too far, more an indication of "dumbass" than of dealing with reality.

For some, survival is having their world turned upside down. For others, it is just an unplanned adventure.

I prefer the latter.