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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
bcc89 · 07/01/2022 18:54

@XelaM

If they are valued family pets, they should not be roaming the streets
What if they're indoor cats that accidentally got out?
Original poster
CoastalWave · 07/01/2022 18:54

@Fraternaltwin

No vet would thank you for giving them a dead cat. It’s not up to some random member of the public to take it to a vets. You’re being completely unrealistic.
The vet absolutely thanked me for bringing him in. I obviously phoned up first. They were more than happy to help and said they wished there were more caring people around instead of just ringing the council to dispose of the body (who by the way, DON"T check for a microchip so will just bin the cat and the owner will never have closure)

They have found the owner who will now be able to grieve properly .

Vets scan for a microchip.

Or you know, I could have just thought, fuck this, not my job, how grim, euuu, leave it there to rot.

Looks like 90% of the general public just think it's someone else's job.

OP posts:
Holeyscarf · 07/01/2022 19:02

I picked up a cat that has been reported as dead in one of my local roads. I went to get it and it was still alive, heartbreaking that it had been left for hours. The vet put him to sleep, I still am haunted by him crying in the back of my car. People just don’t want to get involved- the number of social media accounts it has been posted on and everyone assumed that someone else would deal with it.

jetadore · 07/01/2022 19:05

That’s some vet if they’re resurrecting cats!

Original poster
CoastalWave · 07/01/2022 19:05

@Holeyscarf

I picked up a cat that has been reported as dead in one of my local roads. I went to get it and it was still alive, heartbreaking that it had been left for hours. The vet put him to sleep, I still am haunted by him crying in the back of my car. People just don’t want to get involved- the number of social media accounts it has been posted on and everyone assumed that someone else would deal with it.
Thank you for caring. That must have been awful for both him and for you. That poor cat :( :( That's exactly it. Everyone just presumed SOMEONE ELSE will do something. If just one person makes a difference a day, what a different world we would be living in.
OP posts:
Porcupineintherough · 07/01/2022 19:05

@AllThingsServeTheBeam I remember when people had the same attitude about dogs. Turns out that was mostly about their owners convenience too.

Chely · 07/01/2022 19:06

Nope.

Original poster
CoastalWave · 07/01/2022 19:06

@jetadore

That’s some vet if they’re resurrecting cats!
It's got nothing to do with that. It's so that the cat can be scanned and the owners can be informed. If the council collect a dead cat, they are simply binned.
OP posts:
coogee · 07/01/2022 19:07

I’m very thankful to the kind person who found my cat dead in the road and moved him to the verge. They did post it on the local Facebook but we had found him by then.

KissTheHostGoodbye · 07/01/2022 19:07

No I wouldn't

Holeyscarf · 07/01/2022 19:09

@CoastalWave I was pretty horrified when I got there, I could see why some people thought he was dead but not one person stopped to check. Always someone else’s problem. I talked to him all the way to the vets, gorgeous big ginger boy.

teaandchocolate1 · 07/01/2022 19:10

But if the cat is dead, why would you take it to the vet?

Am I missing something?

Sparklingbrook · 07/01/2022 19:10

@jetadore

That’s some vet if they’re resurrecting cats!
Have you RTFT? it's for the vet to scan for a microchip and contact the owners, not to bring the animal back to life.
Sparklingbrook · 07/01/2022 19:11

@teaandchocolate1

But if the cat is dead, why would you take it to the vet?

Am I missing something?

Yes.
workingtheusername · 07/01/2022 19:11

@CoastalWave I've never been in this situation so never thought about what I'd do. After reading this I would definitely go to the vets.

PineappleTart · 07/01/2022 19:13

I mean this kindly, you did a lovely thing for the cats owner. BUT you have no idea what the person's circumstances were. Should they have rushed past and just hoped that someone else had the time/ facilitates to stop and take to a vet?

Gwenhwyfar · 07/01/2022 19:13

No. The cat is already dead so I wouldn't have thought that the vet could do anything.
You mention scan for owner - OK, but I wouldn't necessarily think of this.
I don't have a car, so would I carry a bleeding creature in a carrier bag on the bus or what?

Bouncer500 · 07/01/2022 19:15

You do NOT move a dead cat other than to the side unless you know who it belongs to. If you move the cat like the driver who killed mine did the owner may never find out what happened.

worriedatthemoment · 07/01/2022 19:17

@chaosrabbitland you were the one who said it wasn't fair to keep them in , I was saying not fair they are out
Funny how car owners never see cat shit, its because they tend to go in peoples gardens so owner of house has to deal with it .
However you look at it if you have a pet it is your responsibility not someone elses and that includes taking it to a vet
Someone even moving it and posting on facebook is something it saves cat getting more squished , expecting people to put them in car and take them to a vet is expecting too much , nice of someone does it but to expect it as standard no ,
Your pet your responsibility

worriedatthemoment · 07/01/2022 19:18

** cat owners

Holeyscarf · 07/01/2022 19:20

This is crazy, I am not even fond of cats but surely people have a basic sense of kindness? Would I not help someone because another human has been violent? Same analogy about cat shit. Yes I agree that lots of cat owners seem oblivious to the mess but that justifies not doing anything?

Some people are just horrible and looking for any excuse to justify that.

sleezeandwineparty · 07/01/2022 19:23

No.

Butchyrestingface · 07/01/2022 19:26

@Holeyscarf

This is crazy, I am not even fond of cats but surely people have a basic sense of kindness? Would I not help someone because another human has been violent? Same analogy about cat shit. Yes I agree that lots of cat owners seem oblivious to the mess but that justifies not doing anything?

Some people are just horrible and looking for any excuse to justify that.

Is this your way of saying you WOULD take what remains of Tigger to the vet?
Original poster
CoastalWave · 07/01/2022 19:32

@Bouncer500

You do NOT move a dead cat other than to the side unless you know who it belongs to. If you move the cat like the driver who killed mine did the owner may never find out what happened.
If your cat is chipped (like they should be) of course you would find out. That's the whole point of taking them to the vets.

Would you rather I had also left the dead cat there? What about the owner finding it 3 days later after being half eaten by a fox? Or as an owner would you rather view your lovely animal looking fairly presentable at the vets?

Your post makes no sense.

OP posts:
Original poster
CoastalWave · 07/01/2022 19:35

[quote workingtheusername]@CoastalWave I've never been in this situation so never thought about what I'd do. After reading this I would definitely go to the vets.[/quote]
If just ONE person thinks differently, then the amount of abuse I've had on this thread will be worth it, thank you.

You just ring a local vets first, check they're happy to check for a chip.

They generally will keep a dead animal for a week if an owner can't be found (ie no chip, or out of date details) and then send for communal cremation along with any other animals they are sending.

Gives the owners who have lost a pet some chance at closure.

Just a couple of points - no, of course I'm not suggesting people scoop up a badly squashed animal off the road. Anything that doesn't even resemble a cat at all does need to be reported to the council.

I'm talking about cats that have minimal injuries that can be easily moved to a much safer place so they don't get eaten in the meantime.

OP posts: