I wish people who owned cats would keep them inside

[Lobodeb]

One morning years ago, I went out to start my car, heard a scream, then silence. Someones cat had crawled inside my engine. I felt just awful... My younger brother one day almost totalled his car, and injured himself avoiding hitting someones car ( still see the marks in the tree he hit..)

You know, I've heard of cats/animals doing this. I used to make it a point to honk my horn and wait a minute before I started my car to give the creature time to get out and I somehow got out of the habit. Maybe I should start again.

[borzoimom]

good point... I do up here on this mountain, close my vents to keep a snake from getting in the car.. ( shivers.......)

[pitc9]

I'm so sorry you've had to go through this.
How sad all the way around.

I wish my neighbor would keep their cat inside so it would stop peeing on my firewood that I burn IN MY HOUSE!!!!!
My dogs have almost caught it twice, and like yours, my dogs have a Veeeery high prey drive and are not wanting to play with the kitty.
It will kill me to see that, but I'm quite sure it will happen one day.

[Vela]

I'm so sorry you've had to go through this.
How sad all the way around.

I wish my neighbor would keep their cat inside so it would stop peeing on my firewood that I burn IN MY HOUSE!!!!!
My dogs have almost caught it twice, and like yours, my dogs have a Veeeery high prey drive and are not wanting to play with the kitty.
It will kill me to see that, but I'm quite sure it will happen one day.

Oh I hope they never catch it. It was the most horrble thing I have ever seen in person, much worse than the episode today, as bad as that was. I will never ever forget the scene in my backyard, it was like something out of a horror movie, and I'm not exaggerating.


Thank you for the words of comfort, it will pass I just feel really bad it happened at all. I guess in the end I hope it was feral and not a loved pet who accidentally got out, but it still doesn't feel any better at the moment=(

[K9soul]

I'm so sorry this happened to you. I know how excruciatingly upset you were when the cat was killed in your yard too. People risk lives, both their pets' and other people's, when they let their pets run and roam. I have been fortunate enough not to have hit anything myself to this point, but I have witnessed both cats and dogs hit and the images are seared into my heart forever. Sometimes, an animal is out by accident, but all too often it's just people who don't care or don't try to contain them. Where I grew up in Missouri, roaming cats and ferals were practically in epidemic proportions it seemed. Here in MN, I have not seen nearly as many.

The one you hit may have been a feral if it darted out of a field but there's no way to know. Irresponsible pet ownership hurts so many, first and foremost the pet of course, but your case is a perfect example of how much it can hurt others too.

[TFTpwnsYou]

I know how you feel on this one. We have a lady right across the street had like 20 cats I swear. At least once a week there would be one in the road. Although now I only see a couple running around compared to the who knows how many adults, and then there were like 2-3 litters of kittens. I'm wondering if one of the other complaining neighbors had a shelter or something come get them. You can't help but feel bad, but then again it's not your fault somebody's cats(s) are running loose.

[BC_MoM]

I'm so sorry, Vela. I agree with you. Not only are they in danger, but they tend to be nuisances as well, some cats.

Mom loves gardening, but is constantly finding crap from cats in her flower beds and nothing she has tried will keep them out.

How would people like it if we let our dogs just run around wherever and not pick up their crap?

[catnapper]

So sad. We have a lot of barn cats around here that don't belong to anybody and I see a lot of them on the side of the road.

I once ran over a squirrel.... I felt awful and my mind constantly relived the thump-thump sound as my front and rear tires went over it. I can not imagine the grief and guilt I'd feel for a pet.

I hate when poeople have indoor/outdoor cats. My area has LOTS of people who live in the city and country and let their cats out. They don't stop to think of the obvious injuries like getting run over or attacked, nor do they think of the other issues like poisons, viruses, or mean people who's torture their pet.

[DrKym]

Vela I am so sorry! How scary and sad . Our neighbor has a 3 legged cat thats indoor/outdoor and 2 labs that live in a pen in her yard, she lets the labs run loose around midnight till she gets up in the morning. Needless to say everytime we hear tires squeal or a bang we freeze. We have tried to educate and have called HS etc. but seems some ppl really don't GET it. . We all deal with trash ripped up, flower beds dug up, dog and cat poo that isn't ours etc. Btw the cat lost its leg by being caught in an engine last year,he went in it to warm up. She paid the vet bill and he was back outside in a week.