To think, if you run over a cat, you don't just dump it on the pavement and fuck off

[inigomontoyahwillcox]

God, it was awful.

DD (13) and I were just behind a car that ran over a cat, the poor little thing had a serious head injury (completely unsurvivable) and was convulsing in the middle of the road.

The driver and her passenger got out of their car, picked up the cat and unceremoniously dumped it on the pavement. I pulled up behind, got out to see to the cat (it very quickly passed away, fortunately) and asked if they were going to take it to the vet - the bloke said "I've got asthma" and they buggered off!

Fortunately another woman who was behind me also stopped and she offered to take the poor wee thing to the vet to see if it was microchipped as DD was extremely upset by this stage (she adores cats and it was a nasty thing to witness). So her and I wrapped it's body in DDs (knackered) sleeping bag which I happened to have in the boot and she took it.

I'm now sitting in the car whilst DD has her trampolining lesson and am a little bit traumatised to be honest! And a bit bloody angry. I hold no grievance towards them about hitting a cat - shit happens, and it's one of the things you learn to accept is a possibility if you have an outdoor cat (which we do). But to leave a dying cat on the pavement after you've hit it is, I think, despicable.

I found my lovely boy like this! On the side of the road, not far away from our house. I was looking for him as he had not been in to eat in two days, and found his body.
I felt very thankful to the driver that put him on the side. At leadt they did not leave him in the road to be driven over other cars.
I was lucky he was close to the house.
Taking him yo the vet is a much better option. It is done now. You have done the right thing. Well done!

@SW1amp

• Call what sort of ‘someone’?

The dead cat collection association?!*

Well, yes. Not that the cat was dead when they left.

Apologies bold fail.

[quote inigomontoyahwillcox]@SW1amp

• Call what sort of ‘someone’?

The dead cat collection association?!*

Well, yes. Not that the cat was dead when they left.[/quote]
The council will collect dead animals as a health hazard. We called them when a dead fox was on our road
They aren’t going to turn up with vets and give it last rites

No one in the right mind is going to sit on the pavement for a few days and wait for the bin men to come along and scrape it up off the road, surely?

@CalamityJaneDoe

If you can’t leave a dog then you shouldn’t be allowed to leave a cat. All these people going on about how they might be on their way to work... if you hit a dog, you have to report it to the police- why should it be any different for cats? Someone loves them just the same.

The difference is that you are far less likely to hit a dog. Cats have a habit of running out in front of you or just waltzing into the middle of the road and sitting there! Fortunately I've never hit one, and the middle of the road thing tends to happen on the road I live on, so I am moving slowly and can get round the stupid animal.

If dogs are kept under close control, they won't get into a busy road.

He should have thought to call someone though and stayed there until someone collected it

As I said further up - who is the magic person you call?

A friend of mine lost two fingers after getting bitten by a cat and another ended up in a and e with septicaemia. Neither of these people owned a cat. I think it's understandable that people don't want to pick up a scared and injured animal if they know the risks of doing so.

@DysmalRadius

A friend of mine lost two fingers after getting bitten by a cat and another ended up in a and e with septicaemia. Neither of these people owned a cat. I think it's understandable that people don't want to pick up a scared and injured animal if they know the risks of doing so.

Believe you me - this cat was not capable of biting anyone.

We have a local FB group who catch stray cats/dogs (and some weird exotics) scan them and return to owners or find homes for them, anyone who losses a pet can contact them as well.

We have a local FB group who catch stray cats/dogs (and some weird exotics) scan them and return to owners or find homes for them, anyone who losses a pet can contact them as well.

I wonder how many 'strays' they catch and return to owners, only to be angrily told "but that's where she always like to go roaming!"

I run over a cat on Easter Sunday, I’m a community carer and we were pushed to our limits with timings. I wasn’t speeding but the poor thing run out of the hedge so fast and straight under my tyres.
I turned around and found it, ring work to tell them I would run late, and I knocked on doors to find the owner. Pretty much held it together until he was so nice to me and thanks me for finding him. Broke down sobbing! Had clients offering me whisky at 9.30 am to calm my nerves.
I could never have left it, but that’s just me.

But none of the variety of comments regarding free ranging cats, their irresponsible owners (I agree that having an outdoor cat in a densely populated area with busy main roads close by is necessarily suitable), what about the millions of other animals that die, what if you caused an accident (of course there are circumstances in which you can't or shouldn't stop) convince me that if you're confronted with an animal in great suffering - you do nothing to alleviate it - or spare a thought for the owner if it's a domesticated animal (no matter whether you think they're an idiot or not).

But you freely admit that your cat causes great suffering to other animals. Why do you allow your pet to do that, and then feel like you have any moral high ground to chastise people who you feel aren't going far enough to alleviate a cat's suffering (not that sitting with a dying cat would do anything whatsoever to alleviate its suffering)? It's total hypocrisy. Clearly a bell around your cat's neck isn't stopping it from hunting, otherwise it wouldn't have mauled the pigeon almost to death. That would be the pigeon you attempted to virtue signal over earlier in the thread before now admitting that it was your decision to have a free roaming cat that actually caused its death 🙄

I doubt you're going to convince anyone to accept a guilt trip over the way they choose to deal with a dead/dying cat or other animal killed on the road when you own a pet that you knowingly allow to maul and kill local wildlife on the regular.

@IWantT0BreakFree

But none of the variety of comments regarding free ranging cats, their irresponsible owners (I agree that having an outdoor cat in a densely populated area with busy main roads close by is necessarily suitable), what about the millions of other animals that die, what if you caused an accident (of course there are circumstances in which you can't or shouldn't stop) convince me that if you're confronted with an animal in great suffering - you do nothing to alleviate it - or spare a thought for the owner if it's a domesticated animal (no matter whether you think they're an idiot or not).

But you freely admit that your cat causes great suffering to other animals. Why do you allow your pet to do that, and then feel like you have any moral high ground to chastise people who you feel aren't going far enough to alleviate a cat's suffering (not that sitting with a dying cat would do anything whatsoever to alleviate its suffering)? It's total hypocrisy. Clearly a bell around your cat's neck isn't stopping it from hunting, otherwise it wouldn't have mauled the pigeon almost to death. That would be the pigeon you attempted to virtue signal over earlier in the thread before now admitting that it was your decision to have a free roaming cat that actually caused its death 🙄

I doubt you're going to convince anyone to accept a guilt trip over the way they choose to deal with a dead/dying cat or other animal killed on the road when you own a pet that you knowingly allow to maul and kill local wildlife on the regular.

Crikey - you're angry!

Cats are natural predators, one of the reasons they were domesticated in the first place. Do you feel the same about dogs? Who are known to cause as much, if not more damage to wildlife worldwide? And before you try to call bullshit on me for that one, maybe try a very quick google search with a scan for reputable sources.

No virtue signalling from here - it's the decent thing to do when you're presented with a suffering animal. The fact that you think that's virtue signalling speaks volumes about you character.

• your character

This happened to my uncle's adored dog (5-year-old cocker spaniel). My uncle was parked by his own house taking shopping from the boot of the car into his house and the dog was standing by the car waiting for him. Someone drove by at speed, hit the dog right in front of my uncle's eyes and drove off leaving the dog to die It was horrific and the driver was never found

@XelaM

This happened to my uncle's adored dog (5-year-old cocker spaniel). My uncle was parked by his own house taking shopping from the boot of the car into his house and the dog was standing by the car waiting for him. Someone drove by at speed, hit the dog right in front of my uncle's eyes and drove off leaving the dog to die It was horrific and the driver was never found

What an absolute arsehole. And (not that it makes a difference from a moral perspective) illegal not to stop/report. How frustrating he couldn't be found.

The ‘if you don’t care enough about your cat to keep it safe then tough shit if I run it over’ is bollocks. I have a cat who is kept inside if we aren’t at home and not allowed out at night or at the front even when we are. She’s used to it now and just sits in our fairly small back garden. So no getting marmellised on the roads for her (although you can’t fully discount them escaping with the best will in the world - she did disappear for a few hours last year) and no heartbreak for me.

But I do often wonder if it’s in her best interests. Is it crueller to keep her safe at all costs? Sadly, I can’t ask for her views on this so I have to guess. I do know that she needs some outdoor access as she’s just a different animal outside.

This is a convenient way to shift blame on to owners who almost certainly do love their animals and part of that is allowing them to roam. In fact, it’s probably more selfless than what I do as they’re opening themselves up to heartache.

Traffic is the real cause, and as a car driver I understand I have certain responsibilities that come with that. Dealing with an animal I’ve hurt as best I can is one of them.

What a depressing thread. I wouldn’t look at a friend in the same way again if they told me they’d leave a cat they’d hit just because they don’t want fur in the car or other minor inconvenience.

Crikey - you're angry!

No I'm not angry. I don't know why you'd assume so. But that is a classic (very weak) attempt to point score against or silence someone you disagree with.

Cats are natural predators, one of the reasons they were domesticated in the first place. Do you feel the same about dogs? Who are known to cause as much, if not more damage to wildlife worldwide? And before you try to call bullshit on me for that one, maybe try a very quick google search with a scan for reputable sources.

Cats are pets that you choose to keep. It is not necessary to have a pet that wanders around killing wildlife. I don't know anybody whose dog is allowed the freedom to do the same, but would think the same about that too.

No virtue signalling from here - it's the decent thing to do when you're presented with a suffering animal. The fact that you think that's virtue signalling speaks volumes about you character.

You tried to demonstrate what a wonderful person you were - and so very superior to the people who you've been chastising on this thread - for helping a wounded animal. Very admirable. Except you omitted to mention until later that you and your pet were the reason the animal was injured in the first place. I don't know what you think that says about my character. It just seems you don't like being called out on your hypocrisy and are lashing out 🤷🏼‍♀️

Thanks @JammyDozen - you make some really good points. The traffic one is really interesting and one that I hadn't considered.

My cat was hit and killed a couple of weeks ago right outside my home. The driver left it but someone else found him and took him to the vets which I am beyond grateful for. The thought of my kids looking out their windows the next morning and finding him horrified me. A week later I came across a cat who was clearly gone on the road myself for the first time in my life. We had just left for a 3 hr drive back home from holiday but I had to turn around and pick it up and take it to vets to see if it was chipped. I couldn’t not.

If you can't pick it up (please at least try and move it to the side of the road) then yes FB groups. There are nationwide and local ones and someone like me will go out and scan the cat and take to the vet where it can be returned to owner. Not all councils, but a lot of them will just dump the cat and the owner never finds out what happened despite them being microchipped. That's why gizmos law is under debate at the minute
If you move it to the side of the road, someone will likely post on social media and then we can go and collect it. And no, I don't like touching dead animals either but I can't bring myself to leave a much loved pet like rubbish

Just had word from my friend who lives in the area (I was just visiting) and who I asked to post on any local Facebook groups she was on - just in case the cat wasn't microchipped.

She's had a response, the cat was indeed chipped and the owners have been notified. So that's something.

This is a convenient way to shift blame on to owners who almost certainly do love their animals and part of that is allowing them to roam. In fact, it’s probably more selfless than what I do as they’re opening themselves up to heartache.

I don't think anybody is trying to blame owners - just try to make them face reality that, as you say, animals having the freedom to roam comes with sad potential risks too. The same as with people, really: if microgliding, parkour, tombstoning, cliff diving, stunt driving or whatever are what make you feel truly alive and bring you immense joy, you also accept (as do your life insurers) that you are at far more risk of accidental death or life-changing injuries as a direct result than would be somebody who lives life in the slow lane, watching Coronation Street and playing dominoes.

I slowed down for a baby squirrel the other day, then went round it when I could. The car behind me ran over it. If I hadn't had my children with me, I'd have followed them and bloody done something about it. Some people are absolute evil bastards.

When the cat shot out in front of me if I had swerved to avoid it I would probably had cause serious damage to my car and me. I wonder if the cat owner would have helped me out and got me home and cared for me 😂

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRolls - some of the comments were very much saying owners are negligent if they let their cats out and therefore won’t get any sympathy if the worst happens. I interpret that as blaming. Of course there are crap owners, but many more will be people who - just as you say - accept there is risk in allowing their cat out, but do it anyway because they believe it’s in the cat’s interests. They aren’t uncaring owners as some posters are suggesting, and I don’t believe those owners (and cats, where there is an opportunity to relieve suffering) deserve that attitude.

To use your examples, if I’m sure most of us would want to help someone who’d hurt themselves doing parkour or tombstoning if we could. The fact someone has done something risky or even outright stupid doesn’t mean we lose all sympathy for them or would leave them to it.