I'm so sad...why cats should be indoors, even in the country

[Tina B and crew]

I live in a pretty rural area, but even rural areas need roads. I'm heartbroken after a cat darted out in front of our car last night and ended up dead on the road. There is nothing we could do (my husband was driving) it was dark and the cat was black. It simply bolted into the road right into our cars wheel. Even if he slammed the breaks at full force it wouldn't have prevented it. We brought the cat home with us, and yes I checked to make sure it wasn't alive or could be treated. There was no sign of life. I sat on our steps and held it, crying my eyes out. It's such a waste. What do you do in a situation like this? Do you try to find the owner? I recall once finding my neighbors cat that had been hit by a car and she got mad at me! Even though I didn't do it. My DH has went to one neighbor who we know owns a black cat to see if it is theirs. I pray it isn't...if it isn't I think we will bury it in the woods behind us. I feel bad, but if someone didn't care enough to have their cat in at 11pm then it's not my job to drive all over the country side and find the human who this cat depended on, is it? I don't know...I'm just terribly upset by this.

[Marty]

Aww...I know how you feel. Several years ago, I was on my way home from work at 2am and a black puppy/dog ran into my car. It wasn't a terrible neighborhood, but had been written up in the paper as having some gang activity. No way was I going looking for the owners... I couldn't sleep that night, tried to convince myself it was a stray, but had a gut feeling it was someone's pet. Oh how I wish everyone was a responsible owner and kept their pets out of harms way....

[momPaws]

Tina- I feel bad for you...it wasn't your fault. Happened to me years ago and cat altho hit ran away and disappeared into the bushes...I felt awful like you. If the owner kept the cat indoors that wouldn't have happened.

[Tina B and crew]

Thanks....I buried the kitty on our property. We decided not to bother trying to find the owners. I'm truly sorry that someone may be missing their cat right now, but if it had been inside it wouldn't have happened. It was a very difficult thing for me to do...I cried my eyes out for the poor thing

[Traci]

Tina, I personally don't feel you are/were obligated to find the owner. And I agree with you, had they kept kitty safely indoors, this could have been prevented.

Since it is a rural area, it would have been exceptionally difficult to find the owner, and even if you did, chances are, the owner wouldn't take future measures to keep any other pet indoors for that matter, unless words of wisdom toward educating were accepted and taken to heart (not likely).

Thank you for caring so much, and for caring to give this kitty a place of rest. Bless your heart.....(((HUGS)))

[Tambrey]

Tina...we too hit a cat last year, less than a year ago...during winter...it darted in front of us, it was dark, and we were only driving maybe 30mph...is ran into the ditch and I prayed and cried...however, it was laying on the roadside the next day...I felt awful...

and quite a few years ago, we also took a cat that we watched get hit right at the main intersection in our town once...he did not die right away...I held him in a box on my lap while my husband made phone calls trying to find a vet on a friday night during high school football season...I hate to still think about it...but we could not find a single vet willing to come in until after the games were over, and we could not stand to see him suffer any longer (another 2 hours or more)...he had massive head injuries and raspy breathing...I knew he would not live anyways...so we did the only other humane thing we could think of, rather than make him suffer for another 2 hours...and we asked a friend with a gun to help...
we buried the cat we named Angel that night...but at least his last hour or so he felt loved...he felt gentle hands holding him, and a gentle voice talkig to him...if he was even counscious of my hands and voice...and he did not feel that final pain...our friend was good and true...
that poor Angel still haunts me and I still wonder if there was anything else we could have done...it is hard to forgive ourselves sometimes for things that have happened or things we did not even have control over, but still feel bad or guilty for...

I pray that you will soon find peace knowing that there was nothing else you could have done...and knowing that this little Angel is running free and safe for all eternity now...

[Tina B and crew]

Thank you for the reassurance Traci and Tambrey...the more days that pass the more I get angry. But that is the mentality of most folks that live out here in the country...cats belong outdoors where they are "happy"

I'm going to build a cairn over the cat's grave, partly out of necessity (the ground here is so rocky I couldn't bury it very deep), partly out of memory for the kitty. I did put my hands on it before it passed on, it was purring...trying to comfor itself in a time of pain I suppose...within a minute or two it was gone though. Like you Tambrey, I spoke it it gently...told it I was so sorry. I wanted to hold it close to me but couldn't. I told it I was sorry as a buried it yesterday...