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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To have cycled into a cat

314 replies

Rhododendron · 30/03/2014 21:39

Background: I'm new to cycling and not very good at it yet.

I was cycling along, fairly slowly, when a cat ran into the road ahead of me. Since it would be so much more manoeuvrable than me, I carried on, assuming it would avoid me. But it ran straight under my front wheel!

I don't think it was (hope not, anyway!) particularly hurt since it carried on running and disappeared through a gate. (I stopped.)

Was I BU? Should I have tried to avoid it?

Bit confused since I thought cats were rather more sensible than that? DH (experienced cyclist) says he's never needed to avoid a cat.

OP posts:

WooWooOwl · 31/03/2014 09:17

People don't need experience to ride bikes on the road. It might be beneficial, but it's not the law, cyclists need no training, no insurance and no identification.

Personally, I think that sucks, but as long as that's the way the law is, and as long as we allow people's pets to wander around unsupervised and uncontrolled, then cat owners take the risk of their cat being squashed by bikes.

The problem here is that someone's pet could have caused the OP, or other road users to come to harm. The cat doesn't really matter except to the person who chooses to take the risk with it anyway.

Pleasejustgo · 31/03/2014 09:19

Brake. I'm on a phone. And haven't had coffee. And I think there is a 'this' instead of a 'the' somewhere . Anyway.

Polarn, horrified at your flippancy to dead cats and grown ups on tricycles.

flounces off to find coffee

Lovecat · 31/03/2014 09:28

How can you not have thought to brake?

I agree that swerving is dangerous, and I would not do that, whether in a car or on a bike. But surely slowing down/stopping is just what you do?

DH and I once put on the brakes for a cat that had wandered out in front of our hire car in a narrow backstreet in Palma, sat down and proceeded to lick its arse. There was no room to go around it. I ended up getting out of the car, walking right up to it (it gave me a sort of 'dude, please, I'm washing my bits' look), picking it up and moving it to the side of the road so DH could get past, then putting it back again. Much to the amusement of the locals. :o

rightsaidfrederick · 31/03/2014 09:30

Some cats are idiots - and so are some humans. I once hit a full sized human after he stepped out in front of me (yes, I braked, there just wasn't the stopping distance available).

However, if you're not feeling very confident then chances are that your local council does some sort of adult cycle training thing that would help you.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 31/03/2014 09:31

I think that by not braking you put yourself at risk, it could have easily derailed you had you hit it slightly differently. Put it down to experience - next time something like that happens you know to carefully brake. You'll need to do the same if you cycle through a town centre where for some reason cyclists are invisible to pedestrians. In fact, the best bit of advice is to imagine that you are invisible to all road users and cycle accordingly.

I'm not normally pedantic and I realise that autocorrect can do strange things to words but:
break means to harm something.
brake means to apply brakes and slow down.

Animals can be weird, yesterday I saw a buzzard have a very near miss with a zooming motorbike as it decided to land in the middle of a busy dual carriageway. Could have been horrific!

dammitsue · 31/03/2014 09:36

I never brake for cats. Ever. Agree with long, if you want to avoid a flat cat, keep it in.

dexter73 · 31/03/2014 09:40

dammitsue - are you in a car or on a bike? Hitting a cat if you are on a bike could easily make you fall off so it is better to brake and avoid it.

dammitsue · 31/03/2014 09:45

Car. Once a cat is 'out' roaming, I consider them the same as pigeons/rabbits etc... I stop for dogs because they are likely to be escapees and that's not their fault.

dexter73 · 31/03/2014 09:46

But the op is on a bike so I don't see why people are talking about what they would do in a car. It is completely different!

Pleasejustgo · 31/03/2014 09:46

Lovecat

I am pedantic so if your break/brake post was for my benefit, I'm horrified as I corrected myself in a following post!

fortyplus · 31/03/2014 09:46

Oh I think I'd have enough compassion for the owner of the animal to take a different view from you - imagine some poor child finding its cat dead in the road. What an unpleasant attitude

WooWooOwl · 31/03/2014 10:06

It is sad to think of some poor child finding their cat dead, or missing their cat, but I can't help but feel that their parents set them up for upset by their choice of pet.

The two friends I have that have always had cats around have both had their children go through the misery and upset of their cats either being run over or going missing. And there's pretty much always a sign up round here about a missing cat, or people knocking on our door asking us to check our garage for their cat.

I know there's a risk children will be upset at a pet dying no matter what animal is chosen, but with cats that risk seems to be magnified almost to the point where it's guaranteed. I makes me wonder why on earth parents put themselves and their children through it.

Lovecat · 31/03/2014 11:15

It was OYBK, not me!

(I'm pedantic too but have been caught too many times by my kindle's autocorrect to throw stones...)

Pleasejustgo · 31/03/2014 11:26

I see, I see!

I'm going back to bed! Gagh!

This morning is a fail, just an enormous fail.

Handsoff7 · 31/03/2014 12:18

Dammitsue, you stop for dogs but won't even brake for cats?

You really should think about the owners even if you hate cats.

OP YABU . If you were cycling slowly and had time to stop, running over the cat is equivalent to throwing a heavy rock at it. I'm guessing you would have braked if it was a toddler

ADishBestEatenCold · 31/03/2014 12:37

"OP should not have put herself at any additional risk for the sake of a cat"

Controlled braking when cycling at slow speed is hardly additional risk, CorusKate, in fact running over an animal on a bicycle does put the cyclist at considerable risk of being unseated and ending up under the wheels of a car.

6cats3gingerkittens · 31/03/2014 12:42

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Pleasejustgo · 31/03/2014 12:47

6cats

I can actually picture you screaming that our your window at OP

Gives new meaning to 'mad cat lady'.

Pleasejustgo · 31/03/2014 12:47

Out not our, I'm
Still on my phone

KellyElly · 31/03/2014 12:50

I'm trying to get into cycling, but I really hate it and I find it really difficult. Maybe I should just give up. Yes I think that's a really good ideas.

Some of the post on here are fucking out of order and we are supposedly a nation of animal lovers.

Crosseyedcat · 31/03/2014 12:52

Can't quite believe that you are actually asking if you are being unreasonable. If you lack that much judgement you are a danger to others and yourself on a bike.

shallweshop · 31/03/2014 12:54

Bloody hell - you definitely shouldn't be on the road!

6cats3gingerkittens · 31/03/2014 12:56

Hello, Please. Yes, that's me. But just think for a moment. How can an adult ask such a silly question. Of course its not reasonable to run someone's pet over, pedal away and then whine, "Did I do sumfing wrong?".

Nomama · 31/03/2014 12:57

Oh! A cat.... never mind. Just make sure it doesn't dent your confidence, OP. Nor any of the more angry responses here.

I am sure I'm not the only one who has hit a cat and spent half an hour trying to find the blessed thing. I expect the owners of the one I ran over were absolutely livid that some bastard just drove off and left poor Topsy for dead.

These things happen. Yes, you could have done more to avoid it, but you didn't. You probably will next time.

CorusKate · 31/03/2014 12:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

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