To not stop for a dead cat

[Myusername33]

I recently passed a very recently deceased cat at the side of a busy road when I was driving with my kids in the car, I didn’t stop because I wasn’t going to stop in a busy road and leave my kids sitting there while I picked up a dead cat. I later saw someone had put a post up about the dead cat on the local community fb page saying they had picked it up and taken it to the vet so the owner could be found but they were disappointed that not only had someone hit the cat and not stopped but also lots of people had driven past without stopping, the owner of the cat eventually appeared to say how devastated they were that someone had hit their beloved cat and not stopped.

Aibu to not stop and pick up someone else’s dead cat from the road? I actually think it pretty unreasonable to let your cat out to run around in the road and get annoyed at the person that hit it for not stopping, I’m sure they didn’t set out to run over the cat and it was an unavoidable accident. If I hit a cat I would stop if I could do it safely but my kids and my own safety would be a priority over someone else’s cat that shouldn’t have been on the road in the first place.

Do you know what really grips my shit? Posts on FB by the saintly pointing out the transgressions of "other people" and how "somebody" should have done "something". Just fuck off would you please.

Not every driver will have seen the cat, they may not have the car space to scoop up said deceased pet or might be going to an important meeting or appointment that wouldn't accommodate time for scooping and taking the corpse to a vet, assuming they passed at a time when the vet was even open.

I did stop once. The poor cats eye had bloody popped out and half its brains were on the road. I knocked on doors and found the owner. Guess what? They blamed me for hitting the poor thing!

Why does somebody have to be at fault? You said people on Facebook have slated the person who hit the cat for not stopping, not the act of hitting the cat. I’m sure they are assuming this was unavoidable. Why are there so many weirdos on here bragging about how they’ve hit a cat and not stopped? Also have you not considered that the cats owner may be in a state of shock/upset? Some empathy wouldn’t go a miss.

If I hit a cat I'd pull over. If I saw an injured animal of any kind I'd pull over. I wouldn't pull over for a dead one though. Obviously I'm thinking about roads where I'd have time to notice the state of the animal, if I didn't I wouldn't consider it safe to stop anyway.

@TSSDNCOP

Do you know what really grips my shit? Posts on FB by the saintly pointing out the transgressions of "other people" and how "somebody" should have done "something". Just fuck off would you please.

Not every driver will have seen the cat, they may not have the car space to scoop up said deceased pet or might be going to an important meeting or appointment that wouldn't accommodate time for scooping and taking the corpse to a vet, assuming they passed at a time when the vet was even open.

I did stop once. The poor cats eye had bloody popped out and half its brains were on the road. I knocked on doors and found the owner. Guess what? They blamed me for hitting the poor thing!

Yes I think Facebook especially those ‘community’ pages tend to bring out all the ‘perfect citizens’ That sounds horrible, poor cat I can’t believe the owners tried to blame you for it though!

I’m not a huge fan of handling the Christmas raw turkey but luckily I’ve never been in this situation.

As PP you don’t let cats run around the road, you also don’t let them on the counter but they do as they bloody well please.

On another note this was my sponsored add - not sure it’s in the best place tbh...

If it was in the road where other cars would run over it and it could be safe to stop and move it then yes I would. It's an absolutely horrible thought that someone's beloved pet has not only died but then run over multiple times . Much nicer for the owner to have it returned reasonably intact.

@Username91

Why does somebody have to be at fault? You said people on Facebook have slated the person who hit the cat for not stopping, not the act of hitting the cat. I’m sure they are assuming this was unavoidable. Why are there so many weirdos on here bragging about how they’ve hit a cat and not stopped? Also have you not considered that the cats owner may be in a state of shock/upset? Some empathy wouldn’t go a miss.

I have empathy for the owner, I’m sure it was a horrible situation for them but I also don’t blame the driver for not stopping if it wasn’t safe for them to do it, of course they might just not have cared but there’s no way of knowing what the reasons were.

@Rob87

‘In most cases not the driver’

How could you possibly know that??

How can it possibly be the drivers fault if a cat runs across in front ?

I wouldn’t stop if I had my children in the car as they would find it very distressing. I would stop if I was alone.

I mean, you didn’t hit the car so it’s not your responsibility. If you did then I think you should stop to report it.

Christ, the empathy just oozes from you op.

Maybe, it’s just a nice thing to do for someone who’s just lost a much loved pet.

I passed one walking home from work one morning. I just couldn't bring my self to pick him up. I felt terrible about it but just couldn't do it. Had a real fear of dead things. I still think of him
Every time I walk down that road. And it was 3 years ago.

Strange thread.

I have unfortunately picked up the actual pieces of people’s cats from the road and taken them to the vet. So even if you’re in a rush, please move the cat out of the road and onto a verge for the sake of its dignity, and so its owners can say their goodbyes. I do think it’s dreadful that people drive on by as someone’s poor pet is repeatedly driven over.

I understand why you may not stop for a cat that had been run over by another driver. However, if you hit a cat and tootle on then you are absolute trash.

If I hit the cat, then yes, I’d definitely stop. Otherwise no.

@goddessofmischief

100% agree. Sadly some people are utter scum though. I'm glad I don't know anyone like that. I wouldn't spit on them if they were on fire.

Thankfully the majority of people aren't that disgusting.

We definitely need a purge.

This is why I hate to let my cat outside. The world is full of people who would run him over and drive off, and then people who would just drive past him lying there I can’t really judge them though because I don’t think I could stop and deal with it. I recently read an incredibly unnecessarily graphic and distressing post on here by a woman who found a cat nearly dead after being hit and I just couldn’t do that myself. I love cats so much that I would be utterly devastated to see a dead one.

I cried for a month after my boy was killed. I still shout at the wankers who drive too fast past my house 3 years later.
The driver didn’t stop it was someone else. If they hadn’t taken him to local vets I probably would have found him myself coming home with dog. I’m eternally grateful to the person who moved him.
You couldn’t stop so don’t feel bad. But if you can please do

I don’t think you are being unreasonable

1. You had your kids - no child wants to sit in the back with a dead cat
2. You it wasn’t safe to do so - no one would expect you to risk your safety for a cat that wasn’t yours
3. You clearly don’t like cats - that’s not a bad thing. It would be very unreasonable to expect you stop for something that you had no interest in.
4. It’s unclear how long they have been laying there and like other roadkill May have developed diseases
5. Really, (most controversially) I personally also agree with you that it’s irresponsible to let a cat out on a busy road, if you’re not prepared to deal with it when it gets run over.

A while back I was driving to work and saw what I thought was a dead cat at the side of the road. I decided to stop and at least move it so that it would not have further damage that would distress the owners. It was alive and injured. I got it to the vet and the immediate treatment saved it’s life. The owners were beyond pleased. So glad I had stopped.

I’ve lost cats to road accidents and am grateful to the people who helped.

You didn’t kill it so why would you?

Well, aren't you kind.!!

''I actually think it pretty unreasonable to let your cat out to run around in the road and get annoyed at the person that hit it for not stopping''

This happened to my cat and I was devastated.

1. a cat is NOT a person and can be trained to sit and wait and look left and right for the cars to pass.
2. a cat is NOT a dog and cannot be on a lead either when its out and about.
3. The person hitting the cat, sometimes it cant be helped, but a bit of human decency please. This is someone's pet you have just killed and you just go and bugger off?????

YABU for that comment, not one for sympathy are you????