Lost a cat today......: (

Not really my cat but i was as close or closer to careing about it as anyone.

It started the december of 2001 when a couple kittens would sneak into the back room at work some nights to get warm among the boxes. they never hurt anything they just came to get warm. All during last year they would be in a part of the store's lot and would not let anyone get near them but sometimes ate catfood left for them. I have 2 cats and love cats in general as any cat owner would. These would peer at me as I worked and I enjoyed the antics of the twin kittens.

Today was rainy and miserably cold and windy. As I was doing carts i passed two ladies standing by a van in a parking spot. I was accosted by them and when i came to see how i could help them my attention was directed to the front of the van under which ,to my despair, crouched the female kitten.

She had been hit at the intersection I think and the person who hit her kept driving, not noticing . She then limped across the lot and crawled under the van for shelter, not able to go further. How long in the weather she sat shivering with cold and pain is anyones geuss. With a crushed front paw and leg ,broken back leg and back, internal bleeding and a couple other injurys the i dont have heart to tell she watched a huddled uncaring world walk past without stopping. the ladies owned the van and had cats- they were the only ones who stopped.

Animal control was called (later the cops when noone came) and the ladies went inside to stay warm and I was the only one with her in those last moments of waiting. I built a windsheild from what was handy and knelt and spoke softly to her so that she would not die both unloved and alone. I would wish this done for my cats if this ever happened to them.
You don't know what it is like to watch a animal you are attached to die slowly in a puddle of blood and cold rain. noone stopped to inquire to my astonishment and it seemed as if we were invisable. Aparently my soft words had some effect because ahe relaxed enough to attempt to lick her wounds though she was spitting up blood.
Shortly thereafter the Animal Control lady came and took her to the Good Samaritan Vet nearby. Later a call confirmed my worst fears - they had to put her down.
As if i wasn't gutted enough by this 25 minutes later i went out to do more carts and saw her brother searching in vain for his sister in the rain. That was the last straw- I felt bad enough before but the thought that he was never going to play with his sister again was just to much.

you can be sure my cats got extra lubbins (loving) when i got home.

Yes she was a stray but when you see them all the time and then see such a end as this , well...do you blame me ? And yes every one at work said I was stupid to show any feeling for "some carcass". It wasn't a carcass. she was alive and didn't deserve that fate.

I feel pretty rough right now.

My prayers are with you.

Aragorn,

I feel for you. I'm very saddened when I see animals injured or sick. I have also tried to help; a sick raccoon on my street one time , and an injured bird I found in the middle of a road on another, but was unable to get medical attention for either despite calls to animal control, animal shelters, vets and the Audubon society. It seems many people just don't care enough to help an animal they hit, or see afterward, and others capable of providing treatment refuse to do so many times, even if compensated.
I hope that those who critisized you kind act would not feel that way if it were their own pet. People like that do not deserve to have them. It seems that some animals care about humans more than humans care about animals and other people.
I commend you for staying by her side for comfort so at least she would not die alone and hope that there were many more like ourselves that would do at least that much.

Sad, a life gone is a life gone. But rest assured Aragorn, you afforded that kitten a better life that it would otherwise have had without you.

You have shown one of the best sides of humanity, Trevor. (compared to the callousness of a few other people).

=Did you mean also that you have 2 other cats of your own? If you do, give 'em lotsa love, and they'll repay you a thousand times over. Having just lost my 11 year old cat, I'm glad now that I paid so much attention to her,-I adopted her when she was only about 7" long, she thought that I was GOD, mother , and father all rolled into one. I've got lotsa great, fond memories of her-what a character!

lets hope it finds a loving home in its next life

Geoff

I'm very sorry to hear that "your" kitty got killed, but she's crossed the Rainbow Bridge and is in a much better place now.

Trevor,
It's people like you that restore my faith in human-kind. And the folks you work with that said you were stupid....well, they're knuckleheads.

I'm sorry about your loss.

Trevor... I am so sorry that you lost your kitten in such a horrible way. Craig is right though... she's in a better place now over the Rainbow Bridge.

Just so you know you're not alone in what your co-workers thought was stupid, let me tell you a short story...

My daughter was driving home from work a couple months ago and talking to me on the phone (I know... bad daughter! ) when all of a sudden she said she had to go because she thought she just hit a cat and she needed to go back and see if it was ok. She went back and it was laying motionless on the side of the road with blood on it's mouth but it was still alive. She got very upset and called the emergency vet. They said to bring it in. So she went to pick it up and it went nuts on her. Scratching her and fighting her and it bit her on the finger. She got it into the back of her SUV and drove off to the vet.

She called me again on her way and told me her finger was bleeding and she had to take the oil change sticker off of her windshield to wrap around it to stop the bleeding... it's all she had.

She got to the vet and the tech came out to help her get the cat out of the SUV. They chased it around a bit and finally got it in the back again. They opened the back and out jumped the cat and ran off into the night.

So there stood my daughter with her finger still dripping blood and her rescue turned out to be for nothing.

The story doesn't end there. My daughter ended up in the ER that night because of the cat bite. The ER techs handed her a bandaid. They never tested her for rabies or anything and they couldn't even tell her what symptoms to watch for. They told her they would have given her rabies shots but they didn't have any. I got a bill for $350.

A week later, my daughter was looking at the bulletin board where she works... Petco... and there was a picture of the cat. She called the number on the picture and told the people of her ordeal. They laughed and apologized and even though they still didn't have their cat back, they were glad to hear that someone had cared so much.

Don't ever stop caring Trevor...

I realise, that, in a split second, my dog could get hit by a car, in my relatively quiet neighborhood, should she get off her leash, or scoot out the door unexpectedly, but I am a responsible pet owner, and would be devistated if something ever happened to my little Hadley Sue.

However, people that just let their pet roam around, are just asking for trouble.

Sorry for your loss, maybe it's time to adopt a pet of your own, and give that pet a good home!

There are several variations of the Rainbow Bridge.

http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/6851/rainbowindex.html

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance.
His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers.
Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again.
The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

- Author Unknown

Aragorn, of course you did the right thing.
What became of her brother? Are you seeing after him?

Aragorn,
My humble praises go to you.
Having had to give up my dog a couple of years ago, I can relate being with a pet and watching it's last breath.
I'm sure your gesture was noticed and appreciated by the cat...

Few things upset me more than the callous perspective of people who treat me as if I'm overreacting when I fail to conceal my grief when a beloved family pet passes. At my age, that's happened more times than I care to recall.

I never have understood religious theories that declare the species-centricity that people have souls and animals don't.

Originally posted by lemlux:

I never have understood religious theories that declare the species-centricity that people have souls and animals don't.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Lem... I've never understood that either. That's one of the areas where I part company with most conservatives because of their religious beliefs. I'd put the pure heart and soul of any one of my four-legged babies up against most humans that I know.

Originally posted by Sasha:
I'd put the pure heart and soul of any one of my four-legged babies up against most humans that I know.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Same here. I used to have a dachshund named Duke who would only do his business on the sidewalk (and then only when strangers were watching). He was also inexplicably frightened of a carved wooden pig that I had on my bookshelf. And people think animals don't have souls!

James

The cats where as far as i know ate from a bowl of catfood that someone put out for them as well as some water to drink. There are very shy and I never have gotten within 10ft of them though I always look for them to check on them. I do know that we have catfood in the trunk and sometimes leave it for variouse strays. The brother Will not live more than 6 months without the companionship of his sister. I have 2 cats and can't adopt another tho i want to. I will stop in to the store of a cat owner and request that she look out for him when she can. Face it - adoption is near imposible when you have a cat as feral as he is.

thanks for the support and kindness. I appriciat it.

Hi Aragorn,

Glad to see people like you who care for animals. My wife and I now have three cats, Samantha, Sebastian and Simon. All were rescues. I couldn't imagine not being aroung them every day. They each have different personalities and ways of expressing affection.

Simon(british shorthair) came to our back door in search of food. He was very shy and malnourished. We couldn't get close to him. We left food for him so he came around all the time. He eventually regained his strength and began to come to us after about a year. We noticed he was completely declawed and fixed. Somebody had thrown him out. Can't imagine why, he is the most docile cat I have ever seen. Now he sleeps with me every night and never has to worry about a home again.

We found Samantha(tabby mix) in a K-Mart parking lot one evening. She was a kitten. Very scared and soaking wet. We pulled her from under a car and dried her off. Took her home and now she's a Queen.

Sebastian(Mane-coon) was born on the bijou. He is a cajun kitty. He was the last one left of a family of kittens that were beaten to death by a group of children. A woman brought him back here and My wife laid claims to him on the spot. He is the prankster. Always wanting to play with Simon and Sam. Even when they don't want to.

My Mother-in-law is in the same situation but she now has eleven cats and two dogs. All rescues. She has a heart of gold.

I just can't imagine a world without animals in my life. Thanks Aragorn.

Ya' done good, Trev ya' done good.
If there are no animals in heaven, then i'm not going.

Dan