My cat was killed in hit and run

[MadameLeBean]

Not to sound dramatic but I am still so angry and upset even though it's been 2 weeks.

He was hit on the Sunday night (I know now) and was still alive, but badly injured. A man walking past tried to alert neighbours who told him to call RSPCA but don't think anything was done (I imagine he was fatally wounded - there was a huge pool of blood still staining the road now). In the morning he was dead. I found out on the Thursday after putting leaflets through people's doors. Someone had seen him lying in the road Monday morning but by the evening body was gone (?!).

The woman who had told the man to call RSPCA later told me what she had seen/heard.

I hope the man at least put him out of his misery because I cannot bear to think of him dying alone and suffering all night.

I can't believe you could run over a cat and not notice. Not stop the car. I'm heartbroken as I had him for 5 years since he was 10 weeks old.

[VivaLeBeaver]

I'm sorry. I've had two cats killed in hit and runs. Both times neighbours saw it happen and came and got me. Both times the cat was killed instantly, and yes there was a lot of blood. I do think it tends to be very quick.

I've also seen another cat hit by a car and honestly believe the driver didnt have a clue. The cat ran under the middle of the car and was hit by the back wheels. Cats are so small and light it probably just feels like a pot hole or bump to the driver. So if they don't see it they might not know. I'd like to think people would stop if they knew.

The council will normally come and collect dead cats off the road.

[MadameLeBean]

Thank you

[Kudzugirl]

I'm too haunted by the fact that my cat laid out all night. I saw what I thought was him laying away on a disused piece of ground but it was foggy and my husband said it wasn't him. When we got the binoculars the next day, it was him. We don't know what happened.

All I can say is how sorry I am. It is awful isn't it? Nothing but time is going to ease this one and the realistic point of view that the shock your cat would have gone into probably blunted any pain he felt and he became swiftly unconscious. I can imagine how much this preys on your mind because it did mine.

I am so sorry Madame. They get right into your heart don't they?

[SoonToBeSix]

Sadly it's not a legal requirement to stop if you run over a cat , only if you run over a dog.

[Fluffycloudland77]

That's awful, I'd pick an injured cat up & take it to a vet. People are so calous towards animals.

[cozietoesie]

So sorry, Madame.

I think that the likelihood of his ever being conscious again after being hit is very very small - cars are so huge and heavy compared to the size of a cat that he was probably having a good roam and dash - and then it just stopped for him.

Awful for you.

[MadameLeBean]

Thanks everyone. I'm just tormented by the fact that someone saw him alive enough to realise he was alive just after it happened.. So I'm worried that he was conscious and suffered
I miss him jumping on our bed every night and snuggling up.

[Kudzugirl]

Madame That will pass and not feel so bad eventually. I did the same and sometimes still do. I imagine you might wish they had picked your cat up and taken him to the vet -anything- other than what happened. All I can say is that shock cancels out pain and your cat is likely to have retained little awareness especially as it sounds as if the cat lost a lot of blood. That in itself renders a living creature pretty insensible to its surroundings.

It will get easier to bear. Just let yourself feel for now- have a good cry. I turned my house into a bizarre kind of cat shrine for a while because the loss of his physical presence was so hard. I even thought he was haunting me at one point confused].

It will ease.

[cozietoesie]

I don't think he would have known about it, Madame. The fact that someone may have seen him move or breathe doesn't mean that his brain was lucid or that he was feeling anything - after a serious hit by a car, that's highly unlikely.

That's only a small consolation to you of course: it's awful to lose a darling boy in any way.

[timtam23]

Madame I'm so sorry, I hate to think of people not stopping for an injured animal

He is at rest & peaceful now

Take care, it's hard to lose a pet in this way

[ohfourfoxache]

Oh darling I'm so sorry

[specialsubject]

I believe that you can not notice, cats are quite small.

re the removed body - I found a dead cat on our doorstep one morning, we live on a very quiet road but it must have been hit and crawled there - it was a regular in our garden. Asked around but no-one knew who it belonged to, so had to bury it in our garden, couldn't leave it where it was.

The posters from the owners went up a few days later. That was an unhappy phone call.

[BertieBotts]

Yes I've heard they go into a sort of trance. Having had a cat who staggered home once she was really not "with it" and bizarrely didn't seem in pain although she could hardly lift her head :( (She had to be PTS unfortunately)

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

I can't add anything to the wise words on here, but just wanted to offer my sympathy to you, Madame, and to others on here who have lost beloved pets. They wind their paws round your heart, don't they?

I think of the Rainbow Bridge whenever I see a post like this - it's quite sentimental, but I like the idea of a happy hunting ground where all the animals run and play, all their hurts and illnesses healed, until their owner arrives and they cross the rainbow bridge together.

[MadameLeBean]

Thank you all for your kind words x

[Sparklingbrook]

I am really sorry Madame.

I wonder why it isn't a legal requirement to stop if you hit a cat? IMO it's morally the right thing to do.

[Wolfiefan]

My darling boy was also a hit and run. Our neighbours called the vet who came out. They described him as alive when they reached him but that "whatever made him Wolfiecat had gone." He may have been breathing and heart beating but he wasn't at all aware of what had happened.
Bloody awful but at least I got to see him and say goodbye.
XX (Hugs)

[Wishyouwould]

So sorry for your loss, my heart goes out to you

I too wonder why it isn't a legal requirement to stop if you hit a cat.

[QOD]

So sad for you :(

[SelectAUserName]

So sorry Madame. :(

I think (but am prepared to be corrected) that it isn't a legal requirement to stop if you hit a cat because cats aren't regarded as "property" in the same way a dog is. Same reason why dog owners are legally required to clean up after their dog in public but cat owners aren't.

[HelloBoys]

God that's awful, so sorry for your loss OP.

maybe the man was very upset/shocked to be able to pick up the cat but no excuse.

when my mum ran over a cat who just darted out years ago when I was a teenager she picked up cat and found owner.

[mycatlikestwiglets]

My cat was killed the same way on Monday - thankfully someone found his body (I think the bin men were about to take him away) and took him to the vet who scanned his microchip and called us. I'm grateful we got to bring him home to be buried but also so angry that someone just hit him and drove off .

Sorry for your loss Madame, it's awful to lose a cat this way.

[ChickyEgg]

Sorry for your loss

[MadameLeBean]

So sorry to hear that twiglets! I wish we would have been able to bury him. At least someone was kind enough to bring yours to the vet. See I think often people aren't aware of microchips and think oh no collar - nothing to do.

[cozietoesie]

You may well be right. I don't know what proportion of cats are chipped nationally but I suspect it's still quite low.