Conference misery::feline_v1

Please remember that cats can be hit without making significant sound or
impeding movement of the car that hits the cat....a driver who is tired from
work and trying to get home might not know that the cat was even hit.  this
is a sad example of why I try to make my home as comfortable as possible for
my 4 furry housemates, but they don't go outside.  Many years ago, I walked
outside one crisp autumn morning in New England and found my beloved Prince
Charming dead in my front yard where the car that hit him had thrown him.

It is kind of you to stop, and it is so sad that others don't value the life
of a cat enough to stop when they see a cat get hit, but sometimes they
really don't know they've hit one.

	Good luck and speaking as someone currently looking for a lost cat -
thank you so much for your caring in being willing to do what you are doing.
I know it is hard on you and takes time that you probably can't easily take
away from other things.  You're exactly right - if this was someone's pet
they would most certainly want to know and not sit and wonder what happened.
Take it from me.

Brian

      I understand your anger.  For a person to knowingly hit an animal
    and leave is unforgiveable.  But maybe the person didn't realize it.
    If the cat was black, driver was tired, had the radio blasting, etc.
    they honestly may not know what happened.  I always try to take that
    into consideration when something like this happens.  There are other
    reasons someone may not stop too.  Like the fact that it is a very
    busy street and it would endanger the driver and others too to try to
    stop.  Or maybe the person was afraid. Or on their way to a hospital.
    Or late for work and planned to call animal officer as soon as possible.
    Of course, the person could be the same type of person that hits a
    human and leaves too,  but it's easier to try to reason that just
    maybe they honestly didn't realize it.

    I'm so sorry. I know how you felt sittin there, but try to remember
    that he left this world being comforted & consoled. I'm sure he
    appreciated it.
    
    Bonnie

    That happened to my sister an I one afternoon.  We where driving down
    the road and we saw a cat running across the street and sure enough
    it went right under the tires of the car in front of us.
    We pulled over to see if we could help the cat and we walked over to
    the houses of the yard the cat ran out from trying to find the owner.
    Which no one was home at any of the houses.   We went back to the cat
    an someone else had pulled over and gave us a box to put the cat in
    so we could bring it to the vets (which was right down the street).
    When we brought the cat in we told the girl behind the desk what had
    happened and that we tried to find the owner of the cat.  Well she 
    went over to the box and she reconized the cat.  It turned out that it
    belonged to one of the vets that had worked there.   She said that
    owner wasn't there at that time and that she would break the news to
    her....    
    It's an aweful feeling seeing something like that happen.  But
    sometimes you can't help wonder if the person that hit the cat relized
    it or not, or if they just didn't care...  

    I feel for you.  I had something similar happen, but I KNOW FOR A FACT
    that the car that hit the little guy knew it, and just decided not to
    stop.  I stopped, cried my eyes out as I comforted the little thing,
    and another nice woman pulled over to help ME!  I brought the cat to
    my vet for a decent burial (I just couldn't leave it on the side of the
    road...so impersonal) and tried locating the owner, but to no avail. I
    believe these things add up in the here-after.  If the driver knew
    he/she had hit the cat, but decided not to bother to stop and help,
    that driver had better watch out at the pearly-gates for the dump truck
    with the cat behind the wheel!!!!  This thought always causes a wicked
    little smile at the image (maybe this would be a great "Far Side"
    comic...anybody know Larson?).
    Sarah
    

I want to thank those of you who have replied so far.  I guess because of 
feeling angry and not to mention, a bit sorry for myself, I never considered 
all of these other things (like the driver not knowing, etc.)  

Just to update you, I haven't found the owner yet.  No calls on the signs that I
put up.  I also looked in the paper this weekend in the lost and found, but
didn't have any luck.  I won't stop trying.

Again, thank you all for caring.  

    I can also sympathize with you.  I had the unpleasant task of picking
    up a beautiful white cat that had been hit on Rt 37 in Braintree.  I
    went back to be sure the cat was dead and it was wearing a collar and
    tag.  It hadn't been dead long either.
    
    So I picked him up and brought him home and called his people.  The
    man said he didn't know what to tell his 6 year old.  I didn't say 
    much except that I'd lost a cat to a car once and that was why my
    cats were not allowed to run free.  
    
    Unless you know for a fact that the driver deliberately hit the cat
    or knowingly kept on going, its better for your sanity to interpret
    his behavior as due to not knowing he hit a cat.  Maybe this is 
    silly, but I'd rather feel positively about others for my own peace
    of mind.
      Nancy DC
    

    I, like Nancy, keep a positive attitude.  This DID happen to my mom
    once, who is a real cat lover.  She was on the way to the store to buy
    bread and when she parked in the parking lot a woman came over to her
    and said, "I saw you hit that cat back there and I want you to know
    that if you have any problems I will stand up for you, as there was
    nothing you could have done about it.  He just raced between your
    wheels and got hit."  My mom was incredulous because she claims she
    never even felt a bump!  On top of that she was devastated, as she
    loves cats.  She went racing back to the scene and there was the
    family.  They yelled, and she came home in tears.  I'll never forget
    it.  
    
    The other day, I found a dead black cat on Farm Road in Marlboro.  He
    was so badly mauled, I knew that if I were his owner I would not want
    to see him like this.  I stopped and found a neighbor who helped me.
    
    The worst part of the whole situation is that the owner wasn't home.
    She wasn't home because that morning she had had to bring her dog to
    the vet to be put to sleep.  Imagine going thru one trauma only to come
    home to find your only remaing pet dead?  I felt so awful.  I just
    wanted to race to the humane society and bring her back a black kitten
    in a box.  But knowing this really wouldn't ease the loss, I just went
    back to work.  
    
    But I never stopped thinking about it...all day and the next.
    
    Nancy

    I had the same thing happen to me too.  As I was walking home one
    day, a woman approached me and said she had just hit a cat and did
    I know anyone who owned a black and white cat.  Unfortunately, I
    did know the owner, and while we were standing there, we tried to
    warn off a truck but he just barrelled right over the poor cat (who
    lived for another half hour after that!).  So I think that people
    just don't pay attention ( or just don't care :-( ).  I mean, how
    do you not see two people waving frantically??!
    
    My sympathy goes out to you and the kitty; it's a horrible thing
    to have to go through.
    
    	mc