ran over a kitten today...GET YOUR CATS FIXED! (1 Viewer)

[Michael St. Clair]

Today, backing out of my driveway, I ran over a stray kitten and killed it. Even worse for the cat it took a couple of minutes to die, and it was a horrific scene. It will take a few days for me to get this awful sight out of my mind.

By all appearances this cat was a stray...it had no collar. I saw it and a fully grown one (mama?) running around the neighborhood for the very first time last night.

Please, please spay/neuter your cats. There is always a chance they can get out (and some even let them out). And regardless, more fixed cats = less unwanted cats = less strays. Both of these cats seemed stray to me, and I really hate for things like this to happen.

 

[Lew Crippen]

I’m sorry to hear of the accident Michael.

There are some passionately held view on neutering cats (and other pets). Texas requires that animals that get into the system be neutered, and as our three Siamese were all rescued, they came to us already neutered, so we don’t have to consider the question.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

I know that some people don't like neutering, and I don't want to get political.

But for every stray that gets adopted in my county, three get put down, and who knows how many get run over. This cat suffered tremendously before dying. I can't see any way to reduce this suffering and loss of life without trying to keep the population in check.

We have bred these animals for domestic use and I feel that we have a responsibility to not unleash them into the urban environment, and that's what our carelessness has caused.

Perhaps if we were collectively smarter we could keep them under control without neutering. But our society as a whole seems very careless about animals. I'm sure most of you know some very neglectful pet owners.

 

[Ted Lee]

do unfixed cats roam around more or something?

both my cats are fixed and chipped, and i know they roam around my immediate neighborhood, but i really don't know just how far they go. i do know they go inside my neighbors homes though cuz the neighbors have told me so - hoku is like the community pet.

personally, i'm all for fixing animals. there's wayyy too many of them already ... and there always will be. there will never be a point when all citizens are disciplined enough to fix every pet they own. so, for those of us who do, we're just barely staying ahead of the curve.

 

[Chris]

Absolutely. If you've got something to roam around -for- you'll do it. Unless your cat is a farm mouser, if it's fixed, then it's not hunting around for ... well, you know (wow, I could have fallen in for a cat related line, but chose not too

Anyway, get your cats taken care of.. I've had the unfortunate nature of taking a few strays out.. outside of creating tons of strays, strays are disease hounds and not good in general.. as seen above.. if a cat has been stray to long, even if it stays semi-healthy, it makes it difficult/impossible to make it a worthwhile house cat.. and then it's bound to be put down.

 

[StephenA]

Michael St. Clair: I had a similar experience once. My mom and I were going down the road and slowed down so a cat and her kittens could run across the street. All of a sudden another car came speeding down the opposite lane and ran over the last kitten that was lagging behind. The kitten was twitching and suffering and person driving kept on going like nothing happened. Things like that never leave your mind. I feel sick even thinking about it.

 

[MarkHastings]

I think the point is that fixing a cat will lead to less strays. The strays are apt (obviously) to roam around more so than cats that are pets.

Also, kittens of pet cats will be taken better care of. Kittens of strays are on their own and would probably put themselves into more danger.

 

[Mitch Stevens]

This reminds me of the time I was walking around my kitchen looking for something to snack on.

As I was walking back and fourth (not looking at the ground) I felt something very squishy under my feet. I immediately jumped back and looked at what I had steeped on.

It was a baby mouse, and I had squashed it to death. It was all flat with blood coming out of it.

I felt SOOOOOO terrible to have killed this mouse, and at the same time I was extremely disgusted by what it looked like. I literally was unable to eat for 4 days after that. Every time I looked at food, I would think of the mouse and feel like vomiting.