I ran over a cat 🙁

[Buttons0522]

Cat came out of nowhere and went under my wheels. I had my children in the car but pulled over as soon as safe and ran back up the road to it. It was not in a good way. Rang bell of the first house and asked for a towel and the lovely lady came out to help me. Another car must have stopped nearby as a man appeared and when I said ‘I don’t think I can do this’ he took over and picked up the poor cat for me with the towel and said he would take it to the vets. Another car stopped and the checked that I was ok. Thank you for kind people. I don’t think there is anything the vets will be able to do for the poor thing. I feel terrible, my youngest DC is really upset too. If I contact the vets I know they’re heading to will they be able to put me in contact with the owners? I suppose not due to GDPR. Is it a wise idea to try to find them to apologise? There was nothing I could do but I feel so guilty 🙁 Will it cause them more pain to hear from me. I’m hoping kitty was chipped or had a tag. Had I not had the kids in the car I would have knocked on some more doors to find the owners 🙁

You stopped and did your best, which is a lot more than many do in the circumstances and I am sure the owners will be very grateful to you for that. It will have been a horrible shock for you all. I think call the vet and leave your details so the owners, if found, can choose to contact you but you have to leave it to them. If kitty isn't chipped they may put out a social media post to try and find them.

You did your best, accidents happen. This is the risk you accept with cats that are allowed outdoors.

You did what you could. Cat owners that’s allow their cats outside have to accept this is always a risk

I did this once, it was 4am in the morning I was on way to the airport. This time the cat was definitely dead so nothing I could do and couldn't even knock on doors at that time. It was 20 off years ago but I still think about it.

My daughter saw a van hit a cat. She got out and got a bag from a house and took the cat to the vets and they contacted the owner as it was chipped. I first saw the story unfolding on the "nextdoor" website as the owner was trying to find the person who'd taken the cat to the vets. I was able to put the owner in touch with my daughter and the owner was so grateful. The cat had died but at least the poor owner knew what had happened. My daughter has three cats so was pretty distraught.

Thank you for your supportive comments. Still feel very sad and not quite myself. I have a new found respect for vets and their teams dealing with RTCs as that is not an image I hope to ever have to see again. I have called the vets it was taken to and it is passed, but they did find a chip so can contact the owners. I didn’t leave any details but will keep an eye out for any posts on the local groups in case owners want answers.

I did once. Only thing I’m aware of ever having hit. It was a fast road and I couldn’t stop- it dashed out between standing oncoming traffic. I think about it, and am very wary driving in similar situations even though there’s no way I could have avoided it.

You were very kind and thoughtful to stop to try and help the cat and its owner. You were not obliged to do that and did way more than I would have done quite honestly.

The cat owner chose to take the risk and their choice put you and your children in this horrible position. Despite that, you still did everything possible to care for the cat and its human’s feelings. You should feel proud of yourself. You have nothing to feel guilty for.

It’s not your fault OP. I love my cat dearly but it’s a risk we all take when we let them out. You sound like a kind person to get out to help it and care so much. Try not to beat yourself up.

I took a little walk with the dog tonight to where it happened and to try and identify the random house whose door I knocked on in a panic! I wouldn’t want to intrude so would never knock on, but if I ever see the lady in passing I’ll thank her for sure. I keep replaying some pretty awful images in my head, hope I can sleep tonight. Had a long chat with youngest DC at bedtime about it all as think he needed to decompress.

Oh how sad but accidents happen and thankfully you did the right thing taking it to the vets so many people are out looking for their cats who have no idea that they may be deceased 😢

I'm so sorry, but you did the right thing by stopping. It's good that there were other kind people around too to help.

I know how you feel. I hit a cat years ago, but it ran off although I'm sure it must have been badly injured. I stopped, checked hedges and knocked on a couple of doors but I couldn't find the owner and it was a road with lots of houses either side. I still feel awful all these years later that I dont know if the cat survived and the owners may never have known what happened to it.

At least in your circumstances, the cat was taken to a vet and hopefully was chipped so the owners would be contacted.

You did all you could.

You poor thing, it's horrible but accidents happen and you did what you could. I once hit a seagull (it sort of flew into my windscreen and went under the car) I don't even like seagulls but it left me shaken and feeling awful that I'd killed a living thing. Be kind to yourself 💐

My cat recently got hit by a car. He some how dragged himself to our backyard and my husband found him there bloody and dead. The thing that upset us the most was that whoever hit him didn't stop. As a cat owner we know the risks of letting our cats out but let them so they have the best quality of life. But for someone to not stop is horrible.
You did the right thing.

Oh OP, I would feel exactly the same as I love cats.

I remember a few years ago I was driving to work at 6am and I had to swerve as there was a cat lying in the middle of the road that was dead and he had obviously been run over. It was 6am when I drove past the cat so I assumed it had happened overnight but there’s no way the driver couldn’t have known they’d done it, and I was so upset the cat hadn't even been moved to the side of the road. He was so badly injured 😞

I pulled over and wrapped him in a blanket from the back of my car and moved him and put him under a nearby hedge as it was too early to knock on doors or take him to a vets, and I was in my way to work, but I did take the cat’s collar off which thankfully contained his owners details. When it was my break time I phoned the owners and explained what had happened and it was heartbreaking 😞 But they went to collect their cat and they were so glad to have him and be able to bury him, and that night on my way home from work I took the cat’s collar to them which also meant a lot to them.

My friend’s cat was ran over and killed a few months ago and she found out when the vet called her as her details were found in the cat’s microchip. He’d been found in the road whilst still alive and the couple who had driven past him had bundled him up in their car and taken him to a nearby vet in the hope he could be saved but sadly not. It meant so much to my friend that the couple had stopped and tried to help. They had left their details with the vet, who passed them on to my friend, and when she spoke to them it gave her such comfort knowing that her cat had been cared about by strangers.

What happened was an accident but you acted compassionately and that will really mean something to the owners. I have a cat and if God Forbid she ever gets hit by a car I would find such comfort in knowing that the people who did it, or the people who found her, cared enough and were humane enough to want to do the right thing and felt like she mattered.

As has been said, this is a risk with having outdoor cats, but knowing that you cared enough to stop and get help, and that you wanted to get her to the vets and the owners be found will bring them some comfort, because it shows that you know their cat was important, it was valued and it was loved x

That's really sad but you did everything you could. You could pass on a note to the vets to give the owners if they accept it? But they may not wish to have correspondence with you.

If you talk about how bad you feel they make take it the wrong way. Like you're trying to get sympathy while they're bereaved for the poor fella.

I know you don't mean it that way but it could hit the wrong note.

Many years ago someone ran over my cat. The driver was so upset and I ended up comforting him.

I was so grateful he had told us what had happened and still admire him for knocking on doors to find the owner of the cat.