To think you take a killed cat to the vets, not dump it on a grass verge

[CoastalWave]

Post on FB says 'Found' a dead cat in the middle of the road. Couldn't do anything other than move it to the side as I was busy. " Posted the FB update five hours after doing this.

Cat had been moved about 4m from the road so quite a distance and was hidden from site (not quite sure even how they'd moved him the state he was in)

Poor thing was in a really bad way. I had to put my big girl pants on and take a lot of deep breaths before I dealt with him. I took clean towels and gave him a dignified trip to the vets.

No, I don't like picking up dead cats - particularly after losing one myself to an RTA. But AIBU to think that if you've got time to shift the cat, you've got time to take it to the vets to be scanned?? Or did they move it because they were the ones who killed it?!

Would you stop to take a deceased cat to the vets?

No I wouldn’t

I found a dead dog on a road once. I didn't have the nerve to touch him but rang my sister who's a vet and she came to pick him up.

AIBU to think that if you've got time to shift the cat, you've got time to take it to the vets to be scanned

Yes YABU because it takes a hell of a lot longer to go to a vet than move a dead animal a few feet

I wouldn't know where to find a vet for one thing but if the cat, or dog, was dead then no there's no way I'd be taking it anywhere

If I had the time and wasn’t with my children then yes I would take it to the vets.

If I were with my children or working then I wouldn’t have the time.

If I didn’t have the time I would still post to say on the local Facebook site.

No, my local vets would charge me for disposal if I took a dead cat in. I'm not paying for random dead cats. I'd leave it where it is.

Haven't RTFT but please do not call the council
They don't always scan and often bin the cat
Vet. Or move to side of road and post on FB
https://www.gizmoslegacy.co.uk

And vets shouldn't charge. They will scan fir a chip
I do this all the time and collect deceased/injured cats and take to the vets, they take them off me, post on FB, scan and contact any owner found

Help me understand, then, Zero.

Why risk the safety of an animal you care for?

There was a thread on here the other day, someone was very upset her cat had drowned in her neighbour's pond. Of course that is sad, but the thread was ENTIRELY critical of the neighbour for not covering the pond. Not of the owner allowing the animal to roam into a hazard.

It's not loving to have an unsupervised animal drown. Poor thing must have been terrified.

It's selfish to keep any animal inside as a companion animal. And it takes effort - you have to provide environmental enrichment and exercise and company. I don't see that an indoor cat with supervised outside exercise time is any different to a dog, or a goat or anything else.

There's a bloke round me with a parrot with a harness. He takes it out for a "walk" on his shoulder and lets it fly in the park. That bird would fly 30km in the wild, it lives in a bungalow - that's selfish. But, it's safe and cared for and he clearly does love that parrot. It's a bit bonkers to my mind, but fair enough, the bird's husbandry is exemplary.

Letting cats roam is a social convention. We just turn a collective blind eye to the ones dying in agony by the side of a road. Because we love them so much.

Makes no sense to me.

There was a moany thread on here the other day about people having cats on leads in the park. That's wrong too apparently. Can't win.

I would 100% take a dead cat to the vet. As a cat owner I would want to know my cat was no longer with us & would to be able to collect him to bring him home to bury

If you have FB and see a deceased cat, you can post here (photos can be posted too so to show markings) and a volunteer will go and collect the cat in your area as we have volunteers all over

@Sparklingbrook

There was a moany thread on here the other day about people having cats on leads in the park. That's wrong too apparently. Can't win.

I guess people have different opinions on things. Same with anything else

I saw a dead cat being hit again so I pulled over and picked it up - only it wasn’t dead it was still alive and died in my arms. It was in a very grim state and so I rearranged it to look as good as possible and placed it on a good towel I happened to have in the car and wrapped the towel over it. I knocked on a few neighbours doors - no one knew the cat. I left a note to say I saw it was hit and killed instantly and moved it to the side. I thought I went above and beyond tbh. I wouldn't have taken it to the vet. I went home and had a stiff drink and congratulated myself whilst trying not to feel ill.

I dont think that vets wan't to be presented with any dead cats, although I know a few people who have done such a thing, as they thought this was what you had to do.and the vets would then obviously dipose of the animal, but vets are always busy, and they would prefer not to partake in receiving a random dead cat.

Years ago, a cat of mine was run over and killed by a car,in the village were I lived then. The person who found my cat in the road, recognised my cat, and knew it was mine, so called round to tell me he had found it Some one who didn't know me or the cat, would have left him dead near the road I assume.

So, in posting this, OP-you will have made people think about what they would do if they saw a dead cat. By reading the replies, those same people will be thinking that taking a dead cat to the vet would incur either a hefty bill for them, or for their owner, if found.

I suspect by posting, even less people will take a dead cat to the vet now.

I guess people have different opinions on things. Same with anything else

Exactly @liveforsummer, that's what this topic relies on after all.

@CoastalWave

Wow i'm quite surprised at how many non cat lovers there are!

1. You'd take it to the vet to be scanned for a chip. Then it can be ruined with its owner.

Why would you all prefer a cat to be left rotting to be eaten by wildlife?? Is that how little people value cats?

I'm not sure the person who posted wasn't the person who hit the cat in the first place.

Cats need to be taken to a vet. Vets do not charge to dispose at all (or they shouldn't) It's worth knowing which local vet can help.

Would everyone who has replied do the same if they found a dead dog?!

I'm a cat lover, I have 2 and I've had a previous one run over. We found it on the side of the road where it had been placed, presumably by the person who had run it over. I don't think they should have taken it to the vet. It was close to home as cats generally don't roam more than half a mile.

No, I would not take a dead cat to the vets.

I would move it to the roadside if I hit the cat... just to see if dead. If still alive, I would obviously take it!

I couldn't even begin to put a number on the number of posts on the 3 local Facebook pages I'm on about dead cats on verges or someone who hit a cat in their car but it ran off but might be injured. There are so many cats around - they have no road sense whatsoever. In my small street there are (I'm told by cat loving neighbour) no less than 6 black and white cats - in addition to the other colours. I couldn't even find out who a dead cat belonged to on my street never mind on a random road further afield.
YABU if you think everyone should go out of their way to reunite these (previously) roaming creatures, who have no respect for other peoples' gardens or their own safety, with their owners.

If it was injured I'd take it to a vet, definitely dead I'd leave it on the verge. Owner would be looking for it and at least have a chance of knowing what happened to their pet. And I don't want to pay the vet for disposal.

But that's the point. Why would you take a clearly dead animal to the vet so the owner gets a lovely big charge? It wasn't the owner who had taken the cat.

Because that way, the owner gets closure? I mean, why on earth wouldn't you?

I then went to retrieve my dead cat, brought him home, and buried him in my garden.

@longwayoff

If it was injured I'd take it to a vet, definitely dead I'd leave it on the verge. Owner would be looking for it and at least have a chance of knowing what happened to their pet. And I don't want to pay the vet for disposal.

You don't have to. If you can't do anything else then move to side of road but I've linked a FB group above, literally one pic or "x colour cat, X road/town, left by verge" and I or someone else will go and collect and take to the vets

someone found my beautiful boy dead in their garden. He had suffered a heart attack and I am eternally grateful for the kindness of the man who took him to the vet so that they could scan him and phone me.

The vets checked him all over to try to determine the cause of death so that they would be able to let me know what had happened.

The vet absolutely treated him and us with kindness and respect. He was held while we came down to say goodbye to him, they had him wrapped in a blanket. They cut some fur from him to put in a vial for my children. They allowed us into a room to see him and hold him, and although it was devastating, it really helped to see him.

They arranged a cremation and filled in the forms for our pet insurance. They didnt charge us anything for any of this - just the fee for the cremation and return of ashes. My boy was my son's best friend, he was always there for him during lockdown and losing his grandmother to covid. He was a huge part of our family and without the kindness of this man I would never have known what had happened and always feared the worst. He was close to home, but not close enough that I would have come across him. I dont know that I would have seen any posts on social networks. I wrote to the man and thanked him as he made a really difficult time so much easier, and the vet was happy to contact him and ask him if that was OK

Vets DO want to 'deal with dead cats'.

@fairylightsandwaxmelts

But that's the point. Why would you take a clearly dead animal to the vet so the owner gets a lovely big charge? It wasn't the owner who had taken the cat.

Because that way, the owner gets closure? I mean, why on earth wouldn't you?

They got closure in the way of a £100 bill. Which caused all sorts of grief for them.

Whereas what generally happens locally is it's put on Facebook and the owner then goes and collects the animal from the side of the road and deals with it. So they can get closure without a bill.