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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:
RichardMarxisinnocent · 07/01/2022 14:37

I love cats. But I don't have a car so would have no way of getting it to the vets.

britneyisfree · 07/01/2022 14:38

No. And no to your second question too.

Lovemusic33 · 07/01/2022 14:39

Depends, if I was on my way to work I wouldn’t want to be taking a 30 minute detour to the vets making me late? I would probably just leave it on the side of the road and post on my local Fb group. If I had time I would take it to the vets.

maddy68 · 07/01/2022 14:39

Too late for a vet.

NowEvenBetter · 07/01/2022 14:39

(I was replying to whoever it was wittering incoherently about how cats let out to stray should have legal protections 🤦🏻‍♀️😂)

bcc89 · 07/01/2022 14:39

@tigger1001

I know locally the vets would charge so am guessing people don't want a charge for an animal that's not theirs. And many owners would prefer their dead pet not to be taken to the vets if possible as the vet would charge the owner if known.

Don't see the point of taking a dead animal to the vets.

Also, you are aware that not everywhere has a local vet? Is whoever finds the animal supposed to drive around with a dead animal in their car?

Whoever found the cat put a notice on Facebook so the owner could be found. That's a perfectly reasonable thing to do

The vet does NOT charge when you take in a dead animal.
MatildaJayne · 07/01/2022 14:39

I came across a dead cat on the road once. I stopped my car and moved him to the pavement. He'd obviously been recently hit by a car but was definitely dead, poor thing. I was worried about his body being squashed by a car and thought I was doing a kind thing. I didn't hide him though and this was before chips in pets were a thing.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 07/01/2022 14:39

I know locally the vets would charge so am guessing people don't want a charge for an animal that's not theirs. And many owners would prefer their dead pet not to be taken to the vets if possible as the vet would charge the owner if known.

Are you in the UK? As far as I know none of the vets around here would charge. I've taken injured birds and hedgehogs to my local vet as well. As for the owners not wanting to be charged surely anyone who cared for their pet would want to know what happened. If they don't they shouldn't have a pet.

Sparklingbrook · 07/01/2022 14:40

Generally if someone posts on local SM that they've moved a dead cat onto the verge or whatever there's a flurry of posts volunteering to go down and take the cat to the vet to be scanned. So there's no shortage of people willing to do this where I am.

gsaoej · 07/01/2022 14:40

If I am driving then I most likely need to be somewhere.

fairylightsandwaxmelts · 07/01/2022 14:40

@NowEvenBetter

Ah, got it. So you’d want legal protections for cats, but for them to not have to have any owner responsibility to prevent the animals from straying. Nope. 😄 it should be an offence for people to let their cats loose in to traffic, and decimate native species. Plus all the regulations around dogs, if you want ‘equality’ for an invasive species.
Personally I don't think cats should be allowed out to stray - as I said, mine are indoor only but at the end of the day they're animals, not robots and they can escape, just as dogs can escape and run off from their owners to get hurt too.

I can't imagine just leaving any animal (let alone someone's pet) to die on the side of the road just because I disagree with the law, though :)

Porcupineintherough · 07/01/2022 14:41

@PinkSparklyPussyCat

To all the people saying why would you take a dead cat to the vets hasn't it occurred to you that the vet could scan it and contact the owner so they know what's happened to their cat?
Yes it has occurred to me but it's also occurred to me that people who let their pets roam around traffic probably 1. Arent really that bothered about them 2. Can probably guess what's happened to them once theyve done the whole "has anybody seen this cat/please check your sheds and outbuildings" thing w no luck .
mam0918 · 07/01/2022 14:41

In all the time I worked at a vets no one ever brought in already dead animals - the vet would have looked at you like you had 2 heads, we dealt with LIVING pets and were very busy.

Clinic in the morning then pharmaceutical checks, paperwork and body removals in the afternoon followed by surgery in the evening and then post recovery overnight - zero time for playing detective to already deceased animals.

Surely a dead animal on a road is an animal control (who deals with missing animals), a local animal charity or possibly a police issue but nothing to do with vets.

Granted it was 15 years ago but I don't remember ever scanning a chip either unless it was one we were placing to check it worked and was situated correctly.

Stays etc... go to the animal warden to be scanned and held it wasn't our job to scan it and track down owners we just offered the service to place them.

elelel · 07/01/2022 14:41

@PinkSparklyPussyCat

To all the people saying why would you take a dead cat to the vets hasn't it occurred to you that the vet could scan it and contact the owner so they know what's happened to their cat?

No, it didn't occur to me. It wasn't until someone mentioned it that I realised.

AcrossthePond55 · 07/01/2022 14:41

@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?!

No. I wouldn't take a dead animal of any type to a vet. Would you take a dog or is your 'compassionate care' only for cats? Are you a 'non-dog lover'? BTW, we have both. What about squirrels, foxes, deer, or badgers or any of God's critters? Are they not deserving of compassionate care, too?

I'm in California. If we see a dead animal in the road we call Animal Control and they come and retrieve it. If it's a road hazard, like a deer or other large animal, we would call the Highway Patrol. Does the UK not have similar?

Sparklingbrook · 07/01/2022 14:41

@PinkSparklyPussyCat

I know locally the vets would charge so am guessing people don't want a charge for an animal that's not theirs. And many owners would prefer their dead pet not to be taken to the vets if possible as the vet would charge the owner if known.

Are you in the UK? As far as I know none of the vets around here would charge. I've taken injured birds and hedgehogs to my local vet as well. As for the owners not wanting to be charged surely anyone who cared for their pet would want to know what happened. If they don't they shouldn't have a pet.

Same here. No vet has ever charged me for scanning the body (or a live stray) or for leaving a cat with them.
thewhatsit · 07/01/2022 14:42

Unless I had killed the cat or unless it was my cat, I wouldn’t be touching it frankly.
I don’t see why it was your job to move it just because your friend found it.

tigger1001 · 07/01/2022 14:42

@PinkSparklyPussyCat

I know locally the vets would charge so am guessing people don't want a charge for an animal that's not theirs. And many owners would prefer their dead pet not to be taken to the vets if possible as the vet would charge the owner if known.

Are you in the UK? As far as I know none of the vets around here would charge. I've taken injured birds and hedgehogs to my local vet as well. As for the owners not wanting to be charged surely anyone who cared for their pet would want to know what happened. If they don't they shouldn't have a pet.

In the uk yep!

A friend of mine got a call from the vet as someone had handed their dead cat in and they were billed £100!

afizzysweet · 07/01/2022 14:42

No I wouldn't take a cat to the vet unless I hit it. It would take over an hour out of my day to go to the vets, and if I'm out in the car, it's usually because I have other places to be.

The person probably moved it so far to prevent further damage.

bcc89 · 07/01/2022 14:42

@mam0918

In all the time I worked at a vets no one ever brought in already dead animals - the vet would have looked at you like you had 2 heads, we dealt with LIVING pets and were very busy.

Clinic in the morning then pharmaceutical checks, paperwork and body removals in the afternoon followed by surgery in the evening and then post recovery overnight - zero time for playing detective to already deceased animals.

Surely a dead animal on a road is an animal control (who deals with missing animals), a local animal charity or possibly a police issue but nothing to do with vets.

Granted it was 15 years ago but I don't remember ever scanning a chip either unless it was one we were placing to check it worked and was situated correctly.

Stays etc... go to the animal warden to be scanned and held it wasn't our job to scan it and track down owners we just offered the service to place them.

I find this very odd, having also worked at a vets.
Sparklingbrook · 07/01/2022 14:43

I might attempt a dog, but depending on size I wouldn't be able to lift it. That said, I have never in all my years encountered a dead dog at the side of the road...

afizzysweet · 07/01/2022 14:43

I'm in California. If we see a dead animal in the road we call Animal Control and they come and retrieve it. If it's a road hazard, like a deer or other large animal, we would call the Highway Patrol. Does the UK not have similar?

You call the police for deers and dogs. You are meant to report it if you hit livestock although I don't actually know who to. Cats are classed as semi-wild so you don't have to report it.

WakeUpLockie · 07/01/2022 14:44

Aren’t deer wild?

mam0918 · 07/01/2022 14:44

@PinkSparklyPussyCat

I know locally the vets would charge so am guessing people don't want a charge for an animal that's not theirs. And many owners would prefer their dead pet not to be taken to the vets if possible as the vet would charge the owner if known.

Are you in the UK? As far as I know none of the vets around here would charge. I've taken injured birds and hedgehogs to my local vet as well. As for the owners not wanting to be charged surely anyone who cared for their pet would want to know what happened. If they don't they shouldn't have a pet.

They go in the death room... we weren't allowed to accept money for wild animals so they are put in a dark quiet side room to die naturally.

Those birds and hedgehogs do not survive - your better off taking them to wild animal charities (RSPB etc...) because private vets can't/won't save them.

Medievalist · 07/01/2022 14:45

it's also occurred to me that people who let their pets roam around traffic probably 1. Arent really that bothered about them

Not true. Personally I think a cat allowed to roam with the risk of having their life curtailed is better off than one having a longer life cooped up indoors.

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