What do you do if you run over a cat?

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Regulator75

Came expecting Chinese food joke, didn't see one.

Everything went better than expected.

Did you come from 1974?

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

She was charged and found guilty. Negligence causing death.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/quebec...peal-1.3450013

I get that she was. I just don't understand why. The two motorcyclists were speeding, and not paying enough attention to stop/evade in time. Doesn't matter why the car was stopped, they'd have hit it with any reason.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by nik-

Did you come from 1974?

Maybe 1975, hence the username.

[GGG]

If I know anything about cat biology it should just come back tomorrow. You might think it's a goner but tomorrow it should be back as Cats have difficulty staying away

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by WhiteTiger

I get that she was. I just don't understand why. The two motorcyclists were speeding, and not paying enough attention to stop/evade in time. Doesn't matter why the car was stopped, they'd have hit it with any reason.

Her negligence in knowingly creating a hazardous situation when there was no cause to do so, and not mitigating the hazard by using warning devices available to her. You don't illegally park on the road whenever you want to and not expect to get in trouble.

[burn_this_city]

I hate people who let their cats roam free, they're so destructive and they end up dead eventually.

[schteve_d]

You did all that you could, and more than most would. I don't think you should have offered to pay the vet bills as it's not your fault and the cat shouldn't have been loose, but it was a nice gesture.

Hitting an animal sucks. I've hit and killed a cat before and felt terrible - and I'm not even that big on cats. I'd be devastated if I ever hit a dog!

[Duruss]

Not fun. A lot of people would havr just kept driving.

[Pizza]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

We're all nothing on the cosmic scale. I mean...it's a cat.

So if you pass, we're all to say "it's just a human"?

c'mon, have a little sympathy

[Deegee]

Originally Posted by WhiteTiger

Can't see why she would be charged or not. It's a shame he died, to be sure, but if he hit her with that much force, he was clearly following too closely and not able to stop in time/react to road conditions. Though I agree that she shouldn't have stopped for the ducks.

If you read the article (or at least the appeal article) it seems to suggest that she stopped her vehicle to collect and place the animals in her vehicle, on a highway. We're not talking about a residential road here. The animals were not in the middle of the road, they were off to the side. Pretty stupid move on her part.

Granted, I take the QE2 daily and every day I hope that I don't need to stop quickly because man do people tailgate on that road. For reasons I do not know.

My cousin-in-law (is that even a thing?) just killed two people who were trying to scare motorists on a highway. He is totally devastated, but faces no legal charges because there was nothing he could do and the police were already looking for these people.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Originally Posted by snootchiebootchies

Donate money to the Meow Foundation in the owner's name?

https://www.meowfoundation.com/donate/

Donation isn't a bad idea, alas I don't know the cat's name or the owner's other than the guy that came out's mother called him by name.

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

You could write a condolences card to them just to show you care.

Having said that, I can see some people taking that as an admission of guilt and trying to claim you at fault. Maybe my faith in humans is lacking, but I'd be concerned if it escalating by staying too involved with the owners.

I doubt that any legal issues would come of it, as the owner was understanding. However, that thought did cross my mind.

Originally Posted by ignite09

Do whatever your conscience says you should do, nothing more, nothing less. The animal shouldn't have been left to run at it's own discretion, but that doesn't mean the family isn't hurting.

Well having JUST put my own kitten down last Wednesday, I'm still a mess so my broken heart feels for this family as well.

Originally Posted by 4X4

I don't know why you'd offer to take it to the vet. That could get really expensive, and it's not your fault at all. I understand why you feel bad, but that's about all you should be doing - feeling bad.

Imagine taking your cat/dog/pet into the vet because you thought they were stressed, and being told they were in liver failure and not going to get better. Then making the decision to end their pain that evening. Afterward having a cat jump out in front of your car and hitting it.

You just want to save a life.

You KNOW the pain the family is going to go through because you're going through it.

Perhaps, if you can help this cat, you'll feel better about losing your own.

I dunno.

If the owner never came out, I was going to take the cat to the vet regardless. I couldn't just leave it there to suffer. (Although ultimately they did die on the street rendering the vet visit moot).

Originally Posted by meritmat

DONT stop in the middle of the damn street, don’t cause a accident over a god damn cat. There was a lady in Ontario that stopped to let a goose/duck cross with her little ones. Somebody ran into the back of her killing himself. I can’t remember if she got charged or not. If that happens pull off the road to a safe stop and see if there’s anything you can do.


http://fox8.com/2014/06/21/woman-fac...ks-on-highway/

Think I’m up to 3 cats, 4ish deer and one dog. The dog one bothered me

A residential side street where I was the only traffic.

Good God what was I thinking?! I'm lucky the President's Motorcade didn't come by!!!!

Originally Posted by schteve_d

You did all that you could, and more than most would. I don't think you should have offered to pay the vet bills as it's not your fault and the cat shouldn't have been loose, but it was a nice gesture.

Hitting an animal sucks. I've hit and killed a cat before and felt terrible - and I'm not even that big on cats. I'd be devastated if I ever hit a dog!

I remember hitting a rabbit once, and couldn't continue to drive (I was 16 and never killed an animal before).

I hit a raccoon. In both instances nothing I could do, they bolted out from the woods.

Then there was the cat yesterday. It was sitting on the lawn, and suddenly bolted.

It sucks extra hard as I just put my own little girl down.

[DuffMan]

Think about it this way, you cared more about the cat than the owners did.

[CaptainCrunch]

Whatever you do don't bury it in the old Pet Cemetery on the hill.

Spoiler!

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Some people in here are huge jerks.

I know, welcome to the internet.

[Canehdianman]

Man, I didn't read carefully enough the first time. Can't believe you offered to pay for a vet. Pretty nice of you, considering that, legally, you don't owe the owner anything. In fact, if your vehicle was damaged, I'm pretty sure you could demand that they pay for your repairs.

[schteve_d]

Really? The guy posts this, posts that he is still suffering over the loss of his own pet cat and is upset over this incident and some of you post pictures and "jokes" like this? Not that it would be ok regardless of the OP, but this is a longtime respected poster here.

I'm disgusted with some of you.

[Canehdianman]

Originally Posted by schteve_d

Really? The guy posts this, posts that he is still suffering over the loss of his own pet cat and is upset over this incident and some of you post pictures and "jokes" like this? Not that it would be ok regardless of the OP, but this is a longtime respected poster here.

I'm disgusted with some of you.

People are dicks. Especially when they feel anonymous.

[Yamer]

Jesus ####ing Christ, some of you are truly pathetic. Exercise some god damned common sense.

I'm so sorry this happened to you. Last year my roommate had a similar incident, and it devastated her. She also couldn't do anything for the cat, and stayed with it on the side of the road until it passed. I couldn't even imagine the kind of heartbreak an animal person must go through when this happens, and I hope I never find out.

And condolences about your little buddy. All the strength in the world right now.

[ken0042]

Deleted some of the worst posts.

I'm not a cat person myself, and in a different context some of those other posts may be considered funny. However not in a thread where somebody is obviously hurting, and is coming here for support.

[Nyah]

Nm.