Grim find in garden. Not sure what to do....

[VelvetStrider]

I've just been out in my garden, and lying there on the grass is what looks like the remains of an animal's leg. It has been eaten down to the bone, but from the size of it and the traces of fur and claws left at one end, it looks like it could be from a cat. I know we have foxes and badgers in the garden, the foxes are often around even in daylight hours.

Would it be possible that our local wildlife could have killed and eaten somebody's pet cat? Would they be able to catch a healthy animal, or perhaps attack an injured cat (we live on a main road)?

To make matters worse, a lost cat leaflet was put through our door a few days ago.

I'm not 100% sure it's a cat's leg due to the condition (could be somebody's cooking waste I suppose although I can't think what other animal it could be) and I don't want to upset the lost cat's owner unnecessarily.

I can't find any other 'evidence' except a couple of small pieces of fur. What should I do?

I don't think there is much you can do. I guess you could take the limb to the vet to have them see if they think it is feline (they may think it is an odd request). Not sure if it would be more upsetting for lost cat owners to find out of their cat's potential demise this way? Plus you could never match the limb to the cat apart from colour IYSWIM. You could contact the owners on the leaflet and discuss it with them - might be a hard conversation.

I'm trying to think what I'd want to happen if it was my cat. I expect I'd prefer to think the cat had run off and found another home somewhere, rather than have to go and inspect a mutilated body part that may or may not be part of the beloved moggy.

I don't think you can do anything - you don't know if it is a cat bone, and even if you did, you still don't know it's their cat. Not a great situation, but there you are - nature, red in tooth and claw.

Local wildlife could have caught and killed it but I reckon it's more likely that it was hit on your main road, died quickly and was eaten by the wildlife as carrion.

You've no way of identifying it - after all, even if it is a cat it could be a local feral animal and not the missing mog. I'd just quietly bury it (or otherwise dispose of it) and keep your own counsel.

Such a shame.

You say there were a few bits of fur as well ... depending on the colour of the fur, does help you work out if it is the cat from the 'lost' poster? Agree about not upsetting lost cat owner unnecessarily.

Agree with cozie - it's probably been hit then eaten afterwards, which at least is better than it having been attacked, iyswim. Nothing you can do, I'm afraid.

well...you could bury it, then contact the people saying you had found the remains of a cat and it was now buried.

They are unlikely to ask you to dig it up. You could say you assumed it had been hit by a car and was in a bad way.

Yeah, don't do that - their cat will likely wander home

And you will have buried a chicken leg

lol

sorry

The fur is white and dark brown. Missing cat looks like tabby and white.

I don't think I'll contact the owners unless I find any more bones. Hopefully they have found their cat and this is just a coincidence. I know I'm going to be keeping my cats safely indoors though!

Bloody big chicken Laurie!

I once found a mummified cat under my sitting room window. It had obviously been there for ages and was a skin covered skeleton. Quite horrid.

Oh Neo that's horrible, I hope it was outside the window in the undergrowth and not inside, tucked down behind the sofa!

Neo had you not cleaned for a while?

it was OUTside and in some long grass. I just never went in that area as it was hard to get to. Different house than I'm in now. Bit rambling.

Our cat was killed and his body taken off by a fox. The woman who saw him was more than convinced that he was dead before the local wildlife got to him. I'm sure it'll be the same if it is a cat's leg you've found.

We've never got our boy's body back and thinking about it I'd only want a body if I could be sure it was him. I don't think you'd be helping your neighbour to tell them what you've found.