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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

10mo kitten runover today

37 replies

Sportacus17 · 05/03/2024 21:29

Found our 10mo ginger boy on the road today. Completely squashed and mutilated and just left there. I had to take him to the vet for scanning as I couldn’t 100% tell if he was our cat. He was.

we live in a village with 20 mile an hour roads and fields / forests surrounding our house … I hoped he would be okay and he was desperate to get out so I started letting him out a couple of months ago.

I feel so so so guilty. My 2 little girls loved him so much. He followed them about, always sat near they were, sat on the table while they were crafting or doing homework. When they wake up the morning the first thing they do is open their bedroom door and he runs in for snuggles.

I’ve known about this all day but didn’t tell them until after school. They were so gutted. The older one cried herself to sleep. They have lost so much so quickly and I don’t know what to do to help them.

we had a little funeral in the back garden (don’t worry they didn’t see the body, I left that at the vets). We just buried some of his toys wrapped in his favourite blanket, and a little goodbye card the girls made.

I am crying as I type this… I just don’t know what to do for them. Tomorrow morning will be awful. He really was the most beautiful, affectionate cat.

OP posts:
Resilience · 05/03/2024 21:31

I'm so, so sorry. It hurts so much doesn't it.

Try to take some comfort from the fact you clearly have him a great life, that he would have loved having the freedom to explore the outside world and that the end sounds like it was instantaneous. Flowers

ella142 · 05/03/2024 21:31

I'm so sorry for your family's loss. You didn't do anything wrong, you let him have a full life including the enrichment cats get from being outside. It may have been short but it sounds like he had a lovely life, full of love.

lozrox90 · 05/03/2024 21:33

I'm so, so sorry. It's awful losing a pet, especially in such horrible circumstances - they become such a big part of the family. It's not your fault, please don't feel guilty. He sounds like he had a wonderful few months with you so please take comfort in that. ❤️

BoobyDazzler · 05/03/2024 21:37

It’s heartbreaking isn’t it, I’m sorry for your loss :( I lost one of mine on the road outside my house just before Christmas and we were all devastated.

FormerlyPathologicallyHappy · 05/03/2024 21:39

I lost mine on the road too. We live on a quiet street with speed bumps and it still happened.

Original poster
Sportacus17 · 05/03/2024 21:49

Thank you for your kind words. I definitely think we’d have all gone insane had I tried to keep him in. I’m so sorry to that some of you have gone through similar recently.

I just don’t know what to do….I feel as though I need to fix this but can’t. I suspect the children will want to replace him fairly soon as he will leave such a big hole. I will urge against… and am also unsure about getting a cat again in the future. I’ve had two run over now… one in a much busier/built up setting. Just goes to show it can happen anywhere.

OP posts:
Original poster
Sportacus17 · 05/03/2024 21:51

One “positive” is that I am certain it was quick/instant. He lay where he fell and was very very badly damaged.

OP posts:
Caravaggiouch · 05/03/2024 21:56

I’m so sorry. You did nothing wrong. We also live on a quiet 20mph road and one of our cats was run over a few years ago. She was so fast I can only imagine it was someone speeding considerably.

Original poster
Sportacus17 · 05/03/2024 21:59

@Caravaggiouch sorry it happened to you to. Yes - this happened in the early hours of this morning so I think it was someone speeding. Who then just left him on the road and drove off

OP posts:
Fairymother · 05/03/2024 22:02

We lost our 2 family dogs to old age pretty close together. My kids grew up with them. They have been around since before i had kids, so my kids didnt even know life without them.
You cant fix it. Just be there for them and support however they need. It can take a long time to heal. It happened to us 3 years ago, weve had a new dog for a year now and my DD still gets tears when she talks about them sometimes. She comes up to me randomly saying she really misses them. DS talks about them a lot too. More in a happy “Remember when insert funny story” way.
Its just really really sad and you cant do anything to make it better.

Imafirestartertwisterfirestarterheyheyhey · 05/03/2024 22:02

I’m so sorry, we lost our kitten in similar circumstances a couple of years ago and we were heartbroken. 💔 Give yourselves time to grieve and look after yourselves.

Scampuss · 05/03/2024 22:07

So sorry Flowers

(Perhaps if you do decide to have a cat again, you could look at adopting an older streetwise cat from a rescue)

Sillybillymillyvanilly · 05/03/2024 22:21

I’m so sorry this has happened to you.

We had this happen to our cat last year. He was only 13 months old. We live on a cul de sac off of another cul de sac and assumed he would be ok. No cars come down the road after 8pm. He decided to stay out a little later and was hit and killed. I was heartbroken. We hadn’t intended him to go out but it would have been cruel to keep him in. He was so happy out there just mooching around.

We have a new cat now and need to soon decide if we will let her out. I really don’t want to.

Original poster
Sportacus17 · 05/03/2024 22:23

@Sillybillymillyvanilly oh that’s so sad…. It’s a really tough one with cats isn’t it, so hard to know what to do.

OP posts:
QueenCamilla · 06/03/2024 02:45

@Sillybillymillyvanilly
I've had two house cats - one lived to see 18 years, the other one 20. Both neutered/spaded and actively scared to go outside, as much as they enjoyed hassling the birds outside the window.

My acquaintance have netted over their garden.

If adopting a kitten, my local rescues give preference to house-cat families.

Nothing cruel about keeping your pets safe.

Carsarelife · 06/03/2024 08:22

We lost our just 1 year old in November. He was still a baby really. He took got knocked by a car but not squashed. My DD was so sad. We kept him in for 6 months then started letting him out at 6 months old. We were all so sad and live in a side road 20 mph not even a main road.
We have another kitten now and not sure if we will start letting him out or not as don't want same thing to happen.

lifebeginsaftercoffee · 06/03/2024 09:04

Oh I'm so sorry OP, it's heartbreaking Flowers

It's controversial on here but have you considered a catio or cat-proofing your garden for any future cats?

People argue it's not fair because it's not the same as roaming but for me it's the best of both worlds and allows them outside access without the risks of getting lost or injured.

Julianne65 · 06/03/2024 09:09

How awful for you. I'm so sorry. It must be very traumatic. You didn't do anything wrong letting him out. Lots of people in our street let their cats out at night. My parent's cat was always left out at night. It was just a horrible accident.

CatChant · 06/03/2024 09:12

I am so sorry. It’s a cruel way to lose him. I can see why people want to keep them indoors but they do love being outside so very much. I wish car drivers were more careful.

Try to remember he was happy and loved for all his life. We lost a much-loved young cat in the same way when I was a child and I have never forgotten him.

aband · 06/03/2024 09:32

I have a 5 year old cat and a 6 month old kitten.

The kitten was desperate to go out from 3 months. I couldn't wait to get his jabs and neutering done.

They are both in and out all day but the kitten absolutely loves being out.

You can't really stop them.

So sorry about your kitten.

Sleepmoreplease · 06/03/2024 09:42

So sorry for what happened to your kitten, it's awful. If it makes you feel better, the driver was probably unaware rather than callous, especially in the dark.

I would consider a few options:

  • Keep a future cat indoors
  • Keep a future cat indoors until they are over around 2 years, ime they just seem to get a bit more sense then and also roam less / are less adventurous if they have become accustomed to being a house cat in their "formative" years
  • Keep a future cat indoors at night (so feed at 5pm then shut the cat flap for the night)
  • Cat proof your garden
  • Adopt an older cat that is less adventurous, or possibly even already accustomed to being a housecat (helpful I think for roaming even if you do decide to let the cat out)
  • Adopt a breed which is known to be non-adventurous or well suited to being a house cat (but wary some of these have even less road sense!!!)

I'd also really suggest getting 2. I think they entertain and keep each other company, especially important if kept indoors.

Your other option would be to get a different kind of pet for your children. Guinea pigs. Or chickens.

missshilling · 06/03/2024 09:53

I’m so sorry. We found our last one at the side of the road at just over a year old. Thankfully, some kind person had found him shortly after it happened and moved him to the verge. She posted up the bad news on the local Facebook page but we had already found him on our way to work.

We also live in a quiet village. In some ways I think that may be worse as they don’t get used to traffic. He was a rescued as a feral kitten so had always been outside and that’s where he spent most of his time. On his own or with my husband. It was a couple of years ago now and I would like another cat but my husband still hasn’t got over it.

Jasmin1971 · 06/03/2024 10:27

I am so so sorry

Original poster
Sportacus17 · 06/03/2024 17:28

Thank you everyone :-(

OP posts:
lifebeginsaftercoffee · 06/03/2024 17:32

I wish car drivers were more careful.

Sometimes they just run out and there's nothing you can do to prevent it. I had a cat run under my car once while I was moving - luckily I was only going about 2mph but it scared the life out of me.