A dead cat

[Heather Wallace]

My partner and I where coming home from shopping tonight and there was a dead cat on the road. The thing is I can't get it out of my head, the vision of this black and white body lying there. The person who done it didn't even bother to lift it up and put it at the side if the pavement. Derek asked did I want to go back but we didn't have anything to put over it.

I just thought to myself that he /she won't be home tonight. That some poor owner may never ever know what Happened to their beloved pet.

Has anyone else ever experienced this. All I can say is, it's a cruel world!

[4 feline house]

Yes, I have, and the funny thing is that even though it happened about 8 years ago, I just recently thought about it again.

I, too, was driving down the road and saw a dead cat. He also was right in the middle of the road. I was going home from my parents (at that time we lived on the same street about 3 blocks from each other). I got out of the car and he was still warm but I saw no breathing and could not feel a pulse. I had some newspaper in my car so I spread some out and put him in my car and drove back to my parents. Of course, I was boo-hooing the whole way and I scared my parents when I busted back in the house in a full-bore bawl. My mom came out and looked at him when I said I thought he was still alive but she said he was dead. My dad dug a grave and when I went to lift him out of my car I saw a little urine and feces on the newspaper. That's when I knew that he had been alive when I put him in my car and he passed while we were digging his grave. I knew that since he was minutes from death when I saw him there was nothing I could have done for him, but I really wished I would have at least gotten him out of the back of my car and stayed with him during his last minutes. He was a very large muscular pure white cat, and I couldn't help but notice he was not neutered and had no tags.

I know how you feel, Heather, the anger and the helpless feeling. I'll say a little prayer so that maybe your anguish will be eased. And bless you for being so caring.

[Kirsten]

Heather, I can totally understand your thoughts.
Last January, I saw a cat being hit by a car, the driver didn't stop. I stopped my car to look after the cat, she had very bad injuries and didn't want to be touched. So instead of taking her to the vet, the only thing left for me to do was staying with her until she passed over. It took only a few minutes, but to me, it seemed like eternity when I sat there close to that poor dying baby, helpless and crying. I was devastated after that, and I asked the people walking by if they know this cat and her owners. Nobody did, so I decided to leave the dead cat there on the pavement that the owners might have a chance to find her. I was also imagining that somebody was waiting for her, and that somebody would miss her terribly now. (I lost a dear cat friend, my Katz, in 2000, so I know exactly how much this hurts)
I couldn't get this picture out of my head for a very long time, for a couple of days, I even had problems to look at my own cat Luna because I always saw that poor dying kitty instead, and I'm still avoiding to drive the road where she died.
I talked to my online buddies about this and it helped a bit. Together with some friends, I dedicated her a page on my virtual pet cemetery (http://www.angelfire.com/ks2/petcemetery/angel.html). They called her "Angel" and it was so heartwarming to see that this little creature touched so many people's lives around the world.
Now I'm imagining her playing with my Katz at the Rainbow Bridge, and when a friend's cat, Paula, was hit by a car weeks later and survived without severe injuries, even though the driver claimed to have rolled over her, I liked to think that "Angel" was there to be Paula's guardian angel that moment...

Kirsten

[sasvermont]

I was once just one car behind the car that hit a kitty just down the road from where I was living. I stopped (lots of traffic...) and took a blanket from my trunk and placed the cat (still breathing, but in shock) on the blanket. It had tags and was living only right across the street from where she was hit. It just so happened that the Priest from the church on the other side of the street came out. He gave the cat his offering of a prayer...and then the owner arrived. As it turned out the kitty had been hit before - and this was it's last time to tangle with a car. The kitty was named Rosey....several years old. The owner washed my blanket and returned it a week later, thanking me for taking such sweet care of his kitty for it's last awful moments of its life... My biggest concern is why the owner let the cat wander into the street, again! Cats and traffic (cars, trucks etc.) do not make good friends. I also have lots of concerns about other predators wanting kitties to be part of their food source. Folks need to keep track of where their pets hang out and wander. I guess we are all entitled to believe what we want to about freedom for our pets. I KEEP MY PETS OUT OF HARMS WAY.

I will never be able to get the imagine erased from my mind and it makes me think twice about letting my cats out to play. I keep them on a very comfortable screened in porch and they love it.

[ December 15, 2001: Message edited by: SasVermont ]

[ December 15, 2001: Message edited by: SasVermont ]

[ December 15, 2001: Message edited by: SasVermont ]

[Heather Wallace]

It's Heather again. Just want to say a big thank you to all who have responded to the topic I posted. Your words have meant a lot to me. THANK YOU.

[tatsxxx11]

Dear Heather. How terribly sad. And like you, this happened to me just last week. I as I drove up the road, seeing a lifeless, furry body at the side of the road, I knew that this time, it was not a poor squirrel, or raccoon or skunk. My stomach sank and the tears came instantly. I thought exactly as you did. Someone, this very moment, is looking for their speical furkid, calling her name, asking neighbors, walking the streets. My heart was breaking. I knew I would not be able to get the vision out of my head for days. The road was a 4 lane highway and very busy, so I could not stop. I used my cell phone to call our animal control officer. They are very good about getting to the scene of an animal accident immediately. I left my name and phone number and a description of the kitty and the location. Later that afternoon I received a call that the kitty indeed was "gone." But thankfully, this girl had on tags and the family was notified. It is still haunting me days later. I am so sorry you had to see this. I know how you cherish all creatures. It is so sad. And one of the main reasons I will never again allow my kitties to go outside. It is just too busy here with traffic; and coyotes.

[twirlbird]

This story reminds me of what happened to my favorite kitty Starlight. Starlight was an outdoor cat, but our neighbourhood was pretty safe and she knew when to look(i know that this is know excuse but i was like 8 and where i am from people are now only getting the spay your pet message) and me and my mom were sitting in our front lawn and she went to cross the street, and up comes a driver not paying attention(speed limit is 30 kms and the light had just turned red...) starlight was runover...now the owner stopped but i guess that was cause i was screaming my head off and my mom was runing for the street. We got Starlight and ran down the street to the vet(one of the only benefits to living were i do--vet clinics everywhere), but her injuries were to severe and they had to put hre down...I have never gotten over it...and its hard to forget when an animal dies, a human could have prevented it.

[BigCharles]

Originally posted by Leah S:
My dad dug a grave and when I went to lift him out of my car I saw a little urine and feces on the newspaper. That's when I knew that he had been alive when I put him in my car and he passed while we were digging his grave.

Umm ... Leah ... I hope you take this in the comforting sense that I mean it. You could be wrong here. I am going to be very terse here, which is unusual for me. There are many processes that happen in a body, cat, human, otherwise. Not all of them stop at the moment of death.

I think that you can take heart in knowing that the little one that you described had passed the point of feeling any pain by the time that you had arrived.

[4 feline house]

BC - I have worked in a vet's office previously and currently work in the medical field - in fact, at the present time I am employed at a hospice. (***Graphic language alert for the squeamish***) I was referring to the fact that often, at the moment of death, the bladder and bowels evacuate. However, your explanation is just as valid and just as likely.

I myself have been on the verge of death, so I know for a fact your other point is right on target - the little kitty was most assuredly not suffering anymore - he was already way too gone for that. But my dad has a strong belief that no one should die alone, and I guess I've always held to that, even for animals, and for that reason I wish I had been petting the little guy when he went, no matter when it was.

Thanks for your comforting words. They are appreciated.

[Renebo]

YEAH, I HAVE EXPERIENCED IT. IN FACT, IT WAS MY CAT. ONE NIGHT AFTER COMING HOME FROM MY DANCE CLASS, I HEARD MY DAD CUSS, AND THEN STOPPED THE CAR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. I PICKED HER UP AND CARRIED HER HOME. IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED ON THE STREET BEHIND MY HOUSE. NOW WE LEARNED OUR LESSON AND USE INVISIBLE FENCE. IT REALLY WORKS. MAYBE ONCE OR TWICE THE CAT GETS A SHOCK, BUT THEN KNOWS REALLY WELL WHERE THE BOUNDARIES ARE. BUT I KNOW MY CAT IS OVER THE RAINBOW BRIDGE.............

[Connor]

Awwwww...this is all making me very sad, but i think the cat(s) spirit will be passed on into another, fairer, dimension!hopefully....