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AIBU?

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Original poster

To not stop for a dead cat

247 replies

Myusername33 · 26/06/2021 21:37

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.

OP posts:
DwangelaForever · 27/06/2021 09:03

Yes!! I stopped for a dead cat when everyone was just driving past it. Poor wee soul, I cried my eyes out. In my eyes it's it's same as driving past a dead human.

covidcloser · 27/06/2021 09:03

@TheGenealogist

I wouldn't stop, no. Not my cat, not my problem.

We do not have a collective responsibility for other people's pets. Yes the owner would be upset by the death of their pet but expecting other people to go out of their way to pick up the body, drive around looking for a vet (I have no pets so have no clue where the vet is, or opening times) is ridiculous.

If you hit the thing in the street then you have more responsibility, but not as a bystander.

This is it for me. One of the reasons I don't have pets is because I don't want to deal with the death of a pet, I'm fucked if I'm scraping someone else's cat off the road.

covidcloser · 27/06/2021 09:04

@DwangelaForever

Yes!! I stopped for a dead cat when everyone was just driving past it. Poor wee soul, I cried my eyes out. In my eyes it's it's same as driving past a dead human.

Don't be so bloody dramatic.

DwangelaForever · 27/06/2021 09:05

@Myusername33

It’s is absolutely the owner fault, and not the person that hit the cat or people who drove past it! That’s not goady, it’s a fact!
NO ITS NOT THE OWNERS FAULT. You sound like a horrible person.
Sparklingbrook · 27/06/2021 09:05

I've never 'scraped' a cat off the road. Just wrapped it in a towel and put it in a box in my boot.

covidcloser · 27/06/2021 09:07

@Sparklingbrook

I've never 'scraped' a cat off the road. Just wrapped it in a towel and put it in a box in my boot.

Ok. Fair enough. I'm not doing that either.

mag2305 · 27/06/2021 09:07

Obviously stopping when it's too dangerous to do so and with children in the car is one thing and totally understandable.

But reading lots of these comments, not many people appear to be animal softies. Maybe I am. But I would hate to think of it being somebody's loved pet and not doing anything, if I could.

OccaChocca · 27/06/2021 09:08

What an odd thread.

If someone hit your child, would you not expect them to stop if it was busy and dangerous?

A cat may not mean a lot to some people but it is a living thing and loved by a family somewhere. If someone hit a cat I would totally expect them to stop and sort things out. It would be very cowardly and cruel to leave it for someone else.

OccaChocca · 27/06/2021 09:09

Most of the time around here it is speeding drivers who hit cats. It's not hard to slow down for a cat if you see them further up the road. Impossible to do that if you're doing 50 in a 30.

Sparklingbrook · 27/06/2021 09:10

Ok. Fair enough. I'm not doing that either.

That does not surprise me.

mag2305 · 27/06/2021 09:10

To be fair, I do understand some people might also be a bit squeamish about getting involved with inquired animals. It doesn't phase me too much but I know plenty of people who couldn't do it.

mag2305 · 27/06/2021 09:10

@OccaChocca

What an odd thread.

If someone hit your child, would you not expect them to stop if it was busy and dangerous?

A cat may not mean a lot to some people but it is a living thing and loved by a family somewhere. If someone hit a cat I would totally expect them to stop and sort things out. It would be very cowardly and cruel to leave it for someone else.

Exactly this!
covidcloser · 27/06/2021 09:10

@OccaChocca

What an odd thread.

If someone hit your child, would you not expect them to stop if it was busy and dangerous?

A cat may not mean a lot to some people but it is a living thing and loved by a family somewhere. If someone hit a cat I would totally expect them to stop and sort things out. It would be very cowardly and cruel to leave it for someone else.

Please let's not compare cats with children.

That said, the majority on the thread are saying that you should stop if you are responsible. I'm not sure why that's odd.

Sparklingbrook · 27/06/2021 09:11

@mag2305

Obviously stopping when it's too dangerous to do so and with children in the car is one thing and totally understandable.

But reading lots of these comments, not many people appear to be animal softies. Maybe I am. But I would hate to think of it being somebody's loved pet and not doing anything, if I could.

That’s it for me too. Luckily there’s lots of people who would stop if my local lost and found FB pages are anything to go by. It’s turning into competitive uncaring on here. Grin
covidcloser · 27/06/2021 09:12

@Sparklingbrook

Ok. Fair enough. I'm not doing that either.

That does not surprise me.

What do you mean by that?

Plenty of people wouldn't stop for a dead cat. Like I said I don't have pets because I don't want to deal with dead animals, I'm not sure what is wrong with that?

TheGenealogist · 27/06/2021 09:13

Some cat people are really quite unhinged, aren't they?

All the ridiculous statements about it being like hitting a child and a member of the family.

It's not. It's a cat.

Ivymundane · 27/06/2021 09:13

It’s unlikely I would stop if I didn’t hit it as I don’t like things like that. I wouldn’t stop for my own cat, I’d go get DH. I can’t tolerate it and would have nightmares!

Sparklingbrook · 27/06/2021 09:14

I agree it's nothing like hitting a child, that is not a comparison at all.

redcarbluecar · 27/06/2021 09:15

Being honest, I probably wouldn’t stop the car for a cat I hadn’t hit. Luckily only a hypothetical situation thus far. This thread has made me think about it a bit though.

Birkie248 · 27/06/2021 09:15

If you didn’t stop how did you know it was recently deceased, or did you hit the cat?
I think if you’d just said you didn’t want it in the car as it would be too upsetting for the kids, that would be fair enough. I’m finding your other comments quite goady though.
Not everyone has a towel or something they can carry a deceased animal in reAdily available. I didn’t when I saw a deceased cat in the road. Luckily another person who stopped was happy to use their coat.

Sparklingbrook · 27/06/2021 09:16

@Ivymundane

It’s unlikely I would stop if I didn’t hit it as I don’t like things like that. I wouldn’t stop for my own cat, I’d go get DH. I can’t tolerate it and would have nightmares!
I was out for a walk once and I did just that. I rang DH, told him to drive to me now and bring a box and a towel as a cat had been hit but was still alive. She was still alive when we got to the vets but sadly didn't make it but we had done everything we could. It was a farm cat and they were very grateful.
SimonJT · 27/06/2021 09:17

I’ve stopped before, one appeared dead but when I got closer it was clear she was alive but badly injured, she needed a leg amputation and recovered really well.

The second was dead, he was microchipped so his owners were able to say goodbye.

TheGenealogist · 27/06/2021 09:17

Also I think what the mad cat women aren't seeing is that most posters are saying if they were the person to HIT the cat then yes, provided it was safe to do so, they'd stop.

But that's not the scenario, the OP drove past when the cat had already been hit, was dead, and the FB numpties were chastising all the drivers who drove past an already dead cat and didn't get involved.

SallyCinnabon · 27/06/2021 09:18

I’ve never hit the YABU button fast enough.

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

Are you actually joking? Do you know anything about cats?

Also it’s not unreasonable either to stop for a living thing, you don’t have to be the owner of an animal to stop for it, if you’re the one who hit it. Ffs it’s just human decency!

I agree with PPs above, you hit someone’s pet you deal with it. (I know you didn’t hit it OP but you seem to be of the opposite opinion)

SelkieQualia · 27/06/2021 09:18

@OccaChocca

What an odd thread.

If someone hit your child, would you not expect them to stop if it was busy and dangerous?

A cat may not mean a lot to some people but it is a living thing and loved by a family somewhere. If someone hit a cat I would totally expect them to stop and sort things out. It would be very cowardly and cruel to leave it for someone else.

Don't be ridiculous. And I'm definitely not stopping and risking a B-Double in the back seat on top of my kids for an animal that's already dead.
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