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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

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

646 replies

CoastalWave · 07/01/2022 13:43

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?

OP posts:

PurpleDaisies · 07/01/2022 15:46

Sorry about your lovely cat @NettleTea.

I would treat a dead cat in my garden differently to one I came across in the road. I would expect it to belong to a neighbour so I’d try and find the owner through Facebook etc.

NettleTea · 07/01/2022 15:46

oh, and you dont have to pay the vet for disposal either, if you just bring it in. Even as an owner we only paid because we wanted cremation and ashes. Ive made him a statue to put them in

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

ScholesPanda · 07/01/2022 15:47

I would try to make time to take an injured animal to a vets. I wouldn't for something that had already died.

Gargellen · 07/01/2022 15:48

I have worked for vet practices for over forty years and the number of times people have brought dead cats in for scanning post RTA would be ten maximum.

If I hit a cat and I had the time I would take it to a vet but there is a lot to be said for leaving it somewhere prominent for identification by the owner as so few of them have microchips and of those, so much of the information stored at the database is OOD.

Personally I would rather my cat be left on a bank and the finder posted on socials. I think that is an appropriate response.

The laws relating to cats is different to those relating to dogs.

FixTheBone · 07/01/2022 15:48

Wouldn't even cross my mind to take it to the vet.

I would definitely swerve to avoid hitting it again though.

Lovemusic33 · 07/01/2022 15:49

@NettleTea

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'.

Sorry for your loss. I would want someone to do the same if they found my cat. It upsets me when I see on Facebook that someone’s lost their cat, surely by taking it to the vets it means the owners will know what happened and can stop wondering if their cat is going to return?

I understand that someone maybe too busy to drop a cat off at the vets, then they should leave it where it will be found or attempt to find the owner on local Fb page. If you have the time then do take it to the vet.

NettleTea · 07/01/2022 15:49

@PurpleDaisies

Sorry about your lovely cat *@NettleTea*.

I would treat a dead cat in my garden differently to one I came across in the road. I would expect it to belong to a neighbour so I’d try and find the owner through Facebook etc.

thank you. It still hurts, In fact even typing about it has made me cry again. God I loved that big nosed monster

oakleaffy · 07/01/2022 15:49

No, I’d not take a dead animal to vets- what can they do?
However I have taken a very badly injured cat to the vets- I could feel the bones moving under my hands - my dogs found him- I flagged down a car who gave us all a lift to vets
Cat sat on my knee, dogs good as gold
Cat had been hit by car and in clinical shock
Gums were white.
He survived.
Owners were traced via his collar tag
They were very grateful to my dogs who found him
I’d never have noticed had they refused to return to my call~they were standing over poor Henry, looking in my direction.

BertramLacey · 07/01/2022 15:52

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

I've taken cats to the vet when I've found them still alive but hit by a car. However, once an animal is dead it really would depend where I was going and how much time I had. If I could, I would probably pick the cat up and take it to a vet but where I am many are feral and so wouldn't have an owner anyway. I'd be more likely to put a post up on Facebook with a description and location.

Yes, I would rather an owner knew what had happened and was able to do what they needed to do. But what do you think happens to dead wild animals? Nature is cyclical. Dead animals are nourishment for others. I love cats, but once an animal has gone, it's gone. I'd rather people focused on driving carefully and minimising the chances of hitting them.

jeaux90 · 07/01/2022 15:52

I am no cat fan, but I have taken an injured cat (ran over by someone who then stopped, got out and stared at it) to the vets.

Would I take a dead one that I hadn't ran over there, no.

liveforsummer · 07/01/2022 15:53

Vets DO want to 'deal with dead cats'.

That's a hugely sweeping statement. 'Vets' are all individuals with varying opinions and working practices. Some will do it, some won't. Some will be employed by stricter management and be unable to. None of them will particularly 'want' to as it's taking away from their regular paying clients.

OhGiveUp · 07/01/2022 15:53

No. What's a vet going to do with a dead cat?

MaybeHeIsMyCat · 07/01/2022 15:54

@OhGiveUp

No. What's a vet going to do with a dead cat?

Scan it, contact the owner, keep it usually for 7 days, post on social media I've lost count of how many I have collected and taken to the vet now. One bad week I did 4

ChloeCrocodile · 07/01/2022 15:55

Not unless I'd killed it myself (by accident obviously) or if it were one of my own cats - I 'd want cremation and ashes. An injured pet of any kind and I'd take it to the vet.

3scape · 07/01/2022 15:56

Cats get killed on roads because owners are negligent and dgaf about their pet. I'd just report a dead animal to the dept of the council that get stuck with dealing with removing dead wildlife. I like to think they'd tell the owners but it's not like they're going to bat an eyelid is it.

shakinsti · 07/01/2022 15:56

If I was able to, I would. But there are lots of reasons why I might not be able to. I certainly wouldn't do it with my DD in the car, I know she wouldn't cope well with it. People might be going somewhere that they can't be late- school run, work, catching a train, appointment etc. Stopping at the vets could easily add an hour on to their day. It's not fair to expect everyone to do it regardless of their situation.

bcc89 · 07/01/2022 15:56

@Bigboysmademedoit

Some very good responses on this very judgemental post. If you choose to let your ‘pet’ roam wild then you cannot expect others to lift its corpse, contact you etc. Your choice, your responsibility.

What if this was my house cat who got out? He is blind. He is very looked after, loved and wanted. He is home with me every single day. If something happened like he accidentally wandered off and couldn't find his way, for any reason, despite how careful I am... Would you leave his body in the road, just because most people have outdoor cats? I would be devasted to think anyone would have thought I didn't care about him!

It isn't black and white like you think.

SchadenfreudePersonified · 07/01/2022 15:56

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

Yes, and have done so twice - stopped the car to pick up a crushed cat in the road that I've noticed as I was approaching.

Why? Because that could be someone's pet, and it may have an identichip. If it were my cat I would rather know the worst, than worry that it was lost, or lying injured and in pain somewhere, and spend weeks searching and putting up notices.

One of the cats was chipped. The other wasn't. Vet disposed of the bodies.

YuleiamsaidI · 07/01/2022 15:57

Yanbu,My cat was put on a grass verge,I couldn't pick him up myself,luckily a friend came with me.

CoconutQueen · 07/01/2022 15:58

No of course I wouldn't take a dead cat to the vets

YABU OP

garlictwist · 07/01/2022 15:59

I'm afraid I would just leave it where it was. I am not an animal fan dead or alive and wouldn't want to touch it.

Furries · 07/01/2022 16:00

@FixTheBone

Wouldn't even cross my mind to take it to the vet.

I would definitely swerve to avoid hitting it again though.

Oh, how funny, stop my sides from splitting!

There’s a big difference between not giving a toss and being a goady cunt.

Sparklingbrook · 07/01/2022 16:01

There's a post on my local FB today saying a cat has gone missing from outside the vets as they escaped from their carrier on the way in.

SchadenfreudePersonified · 07/01/2022 16:01

This happened to a friend's house cat. 10 years old - had never been across the doors. Somehow managed to dart out of the house on bonfire night of all nights.

There were five of us looking for him in the streets for days, and scouring FB etc for weeks but there was no sign at all, poor thing. I can't imagine how frightened he must have been. I just pray that someone took hm in, but it's more likely that he was run over or died of shock. He had no street sense, obviously - hadn't even seen a car since he was brought to the house in one.

Footprintsinthegrass · 07/01/2022 16:02

If it was dead I'd rather leave it for wildlife to eat, cats are always eating birds etc, just the circle of life

If you want to let your pet roam it's the risk you take. I thought, but may be wrong, that legally you must report if you hit a dog?

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