To send the person who ran my cat over the vets bill?

do what Barbarian says if intentional. otherwise as in Frozen let it go.

sorry for your loss btw

I recall my mum hitting a cat that rushed out in front of her car years ago (I was with her as a teenager) and she was devastated and mortified and went to apologise to the owners.

Aww no, I'm sorry to hear about your car OP

Unfortunately, you can't legally make this person pay the vet bill. Morally of course it's the right thing to do, but cats have the right to roam and unfortunately you don't even have to stop if you hit a cat, whereas you do if you hit a dog. Horrible, but that's the way it is under the law.

If they didn't have the heart to stop, I think they're not going to suddenly feel nice and pay your bill. I have cats and I would be heartbroken if they died, but ultimately they're my responsibility. I think if you let a cat out to roam, you have to accept that being run over is a very likely consequence.

I would try not to run over a cat (although not to the point of endangering human life - I wouldn't swerve onto the pavement, for instance). If I did I would stop and take it to the vets/try and find the owner. But I wouldn't pay the vet's bill.

On our road cars mount the pavement to park, to let other cars past and to access driveways. Not sure why anyone would think this was done on purpose. If you think they purposefully mounted the pavement to mow down your cat, call the police. That's dangerous driving (and animal cruelty).

I think an acknowledgement (if the driver did know what they had done) would be worth more than money IYKWIM.

They are highly unlikely to pay the bill out of the goodness of their hearts and there's nothing to compel them to. I wish there was and I am sorry you and your poor cat had to go through that.

Tempting to leave a note telling them that the cat they hit was so seriously injured it had to be pts but again, if they knew they did it and still drove off then they are unlikely to give a shit.

Op im so sorry for your loss. I would be heartbroken.
May have been an accident, but callous not to stop.

It's sad but no I don't think you should send them the bill. I didn't when my cat got hit it's just one of those things. They should have stopped though that would have been the decent thing to do. If I hit a cat and someone sent me the bill I wouldn't pay, sorry.

Ah you poor thing :( I had similar but the cat lived, although it was a close one. Think you need to let it go, or if you havent paid yet, ask to pay in installments

Op do you live on a narrow street where it is necessary to park slightly on the pavement as it is in my street? If so perhaps that's what happened.

My friends dad ran over two (yes two!) of their cars because they used to sit under the wheels of parked cars. He checked, of course, but busy morning, rushing to get to work, raining, didn't check - squash. The. Happened again about a year later to their ther cat. So sad but not really his fault.

My cat was hit on a road a couple of years ago. He was quite happy to roam, we live in the countryside, very few cars and he'd often be out for hours in the fields. He was a rescue cat and would spend hours snuggled under my duvet with me. Will never forget finding him on the roadside, cold and sodden. I still find myself in tears quite often. I don't know who hit him but I do know they didnt stop, it was the house opposite that carried him on to the grass verge not knowing who's cat it was, and hoping his owners would find him. I don't think you or I can blame the driver (nor should you be blamed), but I think there are ways of handling the situation that helps. Just driving off isn't the way to deal with it, even though it's never anyones fault really.

bloody hell what was the car doing on the pavement. Unless crossing pavement to access a driveway or allowed to park there?

I wouldn't get any comfort out of contacting the driver, but given you have 3 witnesses who can testify to the driver being in an illegal place, I might ring the police.

MidniteScribbler the cat was on the pavement!

Cats should be roaming, and nothing anyone can say will convince me of that. There is no valid reason whatsover that a cat should be on the road. What if the driver had tried to swerve to avoid your roaming pet and hit a child walking on the footpath? Or hit another car causing an accident resulting in injury or death? Keep your cat confined on your property and there won't be an issue.

And for the hattrick of PS messages, sorry about the loss of your pet

Sorry, no actual answer to your question, OP. no, I don't think you should send a bill. It's not their responsibility. Obviously, if you think they ran your cat over on purpose, that's different. However, the most likely scenario (IMO) is that they swerved and mounted the pavement to avoid and the cat chose the wrong escape route.

If someone had tried to punish me for this I would be quite angry to be honest because I didn't choose to be put in that position and I wish that lovely cat hadn't lived on a busy road and had chosen my car to run in front of. I was already upset enough

I hit a cat over 20 years ago and I can still remember the moment vividly. I was incredibly upset for several dats and I think about it a lot.

I've been lucky since then and, despite living in cat-rammed, car-jammed side streets, I've avoided further accidents. And I use the word 'lucky' on purpose. There was nothing I could do the first time, no special driving skills would have prevented the accident, it was (bad) luck.

I also have a wierd emotional mix of terror and anger when I spy a free animal near a road. I'm not sure cat owners understand that? I am afraid it will happen again, and I'm fucking annoyed that cat owners let their animals potentially cause a road hazard and personal trauma (both for their pet and the innocent bystander). Don't get me started on dog owners who walk them off-lead by the side of a road.

I don't really like to think the driver was driving along the road, saw the cat, decided to veer off the road onto the pavement with the express intention of killing the cat. That is just too fucked up.

I'd assume the car hit the animal with force enough to knock it flying on to the pavement.

I'm not sure why you think they should be responsible for expenses.

I am sorry for your loss and pain however you have no proof and also no case in law so, be brave and let it go.

Again, my condolences. x

Hang on a sec here. Whilst the driver of the car may have been maliciously aiming, they may also a) have swerved towards the pavement to try and avoid the cat, the cat ran the same way and was hit on the pavement, the driver panicked or thought they had missed the cat, and drove off, or b) the car was parked, the cat was under the car (as cats are wont to do, I have to check under mine for my neighbours cat), and the driver moved off without realising the cat was there.

Neither of which make the driver a "bastard", or that they went out of their way to hit her.

I personally find those scenarios much more likely than a deliberate hit and run, although I accept that may be a horrible possibility.

Nothing like jumping to a good conclusion though is there...

I'm very sorry to hear about your cat OP. I hope whatever has happened you can get some answers soon.

First of all, I'm so sorry for your loss. I have lost a beloved pet before and know how much it hurts. A cat ran out on the road in front of me and I ran it over - this was a good few years ago - and I was absolutely distraught. I stopped the car and a neighbour knew who the cat belonged to. This was a busy road and I was driving at a sensible speed but the cat ran out right in front of me and despite emergency braking I still hit it. I really can't tell you how upset I was - there was nothing I could have done and I still have flash backs. I sobbed in the middle of the road. If someone had tried to punish me for this I would be quite angry to be honest because I didn't choose to be put in that position and I wish that lovely cat hadn't lived on a busy road and had chosen my car to run in front of. I was already upset enough.

I really can't think of any reason why the car's wheel would be on the pavement?

Unless it was parking?

Can you not get a fuller description of what happened from the witnesses?

I'm so sorry. That's so very sad.

Morally, yes, they should have stopped, and depending on their kindliness (and affluence) it would be a nice gesture for them to pay.

The fact that they didn't even stop though, combined with the pavement issue makes me think that you would be sadly wasting your time, and opening yourself up to a distressing and upsetting conversation. Sadly, I'd have to agree with PPs to let it go for now - but make sure that all the neighbours know who it was, so they can be aware of what they are like in case anything else happens to a neighbourhood cat.

About 10 years ago my DH accidentally hit and killed a cat that ran out in front of him - he was heartbroken. He took it to the house (country road, only one property nearby) and after a sobbing apology offered to pay for cremation; the family were obviously heartbroken, but declined. He still has dreams about it.

"Let them roam free, you takes your chances. This is what pet insurance is for."

I don't think pet insurance will cover the costs of having an animal put down, whois.

OP - I would definitely go round and leave a letter asking the driver why they didn't bother to stop to see to your poor cat - and the fact that they mounted the pavement makes it even worse. I'd hope they would have a shadow of conscience about this.