The worst thing I have ever done to a cat

persi & alley

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 27, 2006
Messages
6,313
Purraise
15
Location
Farmers Branch, Texas
I seem to recall from other people's posts that it is not uncommon to accidentally lock your cat in a closet. Whenever one of the cats is not seen all day, we know that cat must be locked in a closet somewhere.

Yesterday it was 84F degrees in Dallas. So I opened the door to the balcony and a couple (well screened) windows for cross ventilation. At about ten of clock I closed the windows and balcony door.

This morning we looked outside at the thermometer and it was 36F. Quite a drop. I then got on this computer which looks out on the balcony. There was Persi. He was huddled up in the corner shivering even though he has very long hair. When I first saw him, he was not moving at all and I panicked big time.

He is now inside, laying in front of the fireplace.

I feel real stupid reporting this but perhaps some of you have done similar or even worse things to your beloved cat. Come forth, it is confession time.
 

-_aj_-

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Aug 24, 2008
Messages
10,487
Purraise
61
Location
North East England
i guess the worst so far is....sooty got right under my foot and i stood on him luckily it wasnt hard thats about it
 

momofmany

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jul 15, 2003
Messages
16,249
Purraise
70
Location
There's no place like home
Confession time here. Many years ago, I came across a 10 year old unneutered stray cat. "Rocky" had gotten in a lot of fights over the years and I was amazed that he didn't have any health problems. I had him neutered and a friend kept him for me until I moved to my "farm", where he lived a life of luxury. Being on a farm, and having lived outside his entire life, I let him outside, and he went in and out whenever he wanted.

One morning on the way out the door, he was outside on the stoop as I was leaving for work. I usually offered him the option to go inside at these times, but he didn't move, so I shut and locked the inner door. It was a beautiful spring day and I knew he would be fine outside for the day. I closed the storm door and left for work.

When I got home later that day, Rocky was in between the storm door and the inner door. Luckily, this was an old house and the gap between the 2 doors was wider than that on most houses, but it wasn't wide enough for him to really move around. I opened up the storm door to unlock the inner door and he bolted. Poor baby!
 

blast-off-girl

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Aug 5, 2007
Messages
536
Purraise
2
Location
Oakland, CA
The worst thing I've ever done is leave Buster in the car for about 10 minutes in the summer. I was about to leave Los Angeles and head back north to Oakland. However, I had to stop by Kinko's to email a psych report to my boss, which was urgent. It took less than ten minutes. However, when I got back to my car, Buster was panting and I thought he was dying. I started to freak out and squirted cold water in his face, so he could lick it off. He seemed so lifeless and didn't want to drink on his own. Fortunately, he recovered quickly and was fine after that.
 

Ms. Freya

Advisor
Veteran
Joined
Sep 19, 2008
Messages
3,348
Purraise
123
Location
Ontario, Canada
I accidentally locked Freya in the furnace room overnight.


We don't let her in there unsupervised because she could technically get into the walls of the house from in there and of course that means she's fascinated by it, plus it's where we have the rack that we cure our soap on and I was worried she might get into that. Well, our little teleportation cat somehow got past me one evening while I was putting our last batch of holiday-order soap in and I didn't notice her until the next morning when she didn't wake us up for breakfast. I went downstairs to get work clothes I'd left hanging in the laundry room and heard a very pitifull mew from the furnace room - openned the door and our shot Freya, chattering unhappily at me the whole time. She was fine, just realy annoyed, but that evening she promptly snuck back into the furnace room while DH was getting some preserves off the shelf.
 

calico2222

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 9, 2004
Messages
7,731
Purraise
41
Location
Over the river and through the woods...
When Harley was a kitten he climbed into the refrigerator and I didn't realize it and shut the door. DH and I were eating dinner and we kept hearing this pathetic cry coming from somewhere. We looked everywhere (even lifted up the ceiling tiles because he found his way up there once) and finally I realized he was in the fridge! I opened the door and this sad little orange face looked up at me from the bottom shelf...I felt SO bad! He was in there over 1/2 hour before we finally found him. Needless to say, he's gotten over his fascination with the fridge.

My MIL once almost dried one of her cats in the clothes dryer. She was loading the dryer and didn't notice one of the cats crawled into it. I guess it was still warm from the last load. She turned it on and heard this "thump, thump". She said she knew she didn't have any shoes in that load and opened it up and out FLEW her kitty! Once she finally coaxed him out from under the bed she took him to the vet and he was fine. But, I ALWAYS check the dryer now before I turn it on.
 

natalie_ca

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 2, 2006
Messages
21,136
Purraise
223
Location
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Other than stepping on the occasional tail, I did kick Chynna across the room one time. I was walking and she was leading me to the kitchen for her dinner. I stopped to do something on the way and then resumed. Chynna wasn't anywhere to be seen. The next thing I know there is a white blur right in front of me coming towards me. She got to where I was just as I was bringing my leg forward and it was so instant that I didn't have time to stop and I ended up flinging her across the room.

She was ok. A bit skittish because I had never kicked her before, but by the time I got to the kitchen she had forgiven me. I picked her up and gave her cuddles and kisses.
 

pintameez

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Dec 29, 2008
Messages
192
Purraise
1
Location
Alberta, Canada
Yep, that's my worst, too... the dryer.

When Cally (RIP) was a tiny baby, she climbed into the dryer and I didn't notice. I loaded the clothes inside shut the door & turned it on.. and walked across the house before I finally heard "thump, thump" and a very upset kitty noise on top of that. I totally panicked, I FLEW across the house and opened the door... I had to dig around in the wet laundry to find my poor little girl. She was SOOO afraid, she ran across the hose and hid under the bed. I bawled my eyes out, of course, and I sat next to the bed, crying, trying to coax her out, and when she finally did, I cried even harder because she was just fine. Poor little girl. She never climbed in the dryer again, and I made sure all my cats knew the dryer was something to fear, and completely off-limits, after that incident.
 

cococat

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 2, 2007
Messages
4,953
Purraise
12
Location
USA
depsite our best checks our cat gets locked in the food closet often. I think that is her goal however
 

taterbug

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 10, 2006
Messages
2,583
Purraise
32
Location
hills of TN
Poor Persi.
My Lil Bit has been shut in a closet a couple of times, but the most horrible thing I've ever done was shut Booger in the car!! She's such a helper kitty
and LOVES to help me bring in groceries.

I had gotten back from the store and apparently she was trying to make sure I had brought everything into the house. It was late afternoon, around 6 o'clock, if I remember correctly. Around 11 that night I suddenly realized I hadn't seen her and started my search. She wasn't anywhere to be found inside the house! So, I went on the back porch and called and called her. Now, my car sits almost at my back door...and I was standing right next to it the entire time calling her name. After about 10 minutes, up popped this sweet little black and white face in the back window of the car!! She wasn't in a panic or anything!! She must have been napping the entire time, while I was in a tizzy looking for her! Needless to say...it hasn't happened again! And I always check the car after bringing in groceries now!
 

pookie-poo

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 14, 2007
Messages
3,911
Purraise
6
Location
Middle-Of-No-Where Michigan
This happened about a month ago....and it's not the first time it's happened, just the first time it's happened in the winter!

City garbage collection day for my neighborhood is Monday. On Sunday night, I collect all the trash and take it out to the garage, so I can set it out to the road when I leave for work. I can't set it out the night before, because raccoons will rip the bags open and make a huge mess! The back porch is finished off, but not heated. The girls all love to go out there in the summertime and watch the wildlife, or just hang out. At 9 pm, I took the garbage out the back door, through the back porch, and into the garage. I came back inside, closed the door and went to bed. When I got up the next morning, Cleo (as usual) was begging for food and Lola was sleeping on my bed. Maggie was nowhere in sight, but that's not particularly unusual. I got ready to go to work, put on my coat and opened the back door......in bolts Maggie!!! She had been locked out on the back porch from 9 pm till 6 am! It was cold that night, about 38 degrees F. Poor baby!

I now have notes all over the place...even on my alarm clock...to do a kitty head count for the night!
 

abbycats

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 12, 2005
Messages
2,544
Purraise
19
Location
Nebraska
I was playing with Zoey and she tripped me and I lost balance and couldn't stop my fall. Her leg got caught up with me in the fall. She screamed and I freaked out. I thought I broke her leg and off to the vet we went. Her leg swelled up but was not broken. The vet gave her a pain shot and she was ok in a couple days. I felt terrible.
 

strange_wings

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
13,498
Purraise
39
Many years ago I accidentally caught a cat's tail in a door. It did break the skin and bleed but luckily her tail wasn't broken. I felt horrible and partially because of that I now keep a head count of who is where and shut doors a lot more slowly.
 

mbjerkness

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 18, 2007
Messages
7,583
Purraise
18
Location
In the middle of BC
Well I have almost washed Gus in the dishwasher, and I have almost dried him in the dryer
. I almost shut him in the fridge. I have learned to always have a look before I shut any doors.
 

catkiki

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 17, 2005
Messages
4,591
Purraise
66
Location
Somewhere in the US
Just a couple of weeks ago, I came in from work. It has been cold here and I had just locked the screened security door and closed and locked the main door. A few minutes later we heard a scuffling sound at the door. Mike opened the door and out shot Rusty!! She had thought we were opening up the door so she could look out. We are very careful now to make sure no kitties are there when we close up
 

jcat

Mo(w)gli's can opener
Veteran
Joined
Feb 13, 2003
Messages
73,213
Purraise
9,851
Location
Mo(w)gli Monster's Lair
One of Jamie's predecessors spent most of a day and a night shut in a sweater drawer, and Jamie has spent at least two nights in the cellar, and one in the powder room. DH went to work completely unaware that a neighbor's cat was in the car, and had to bring her home after a co-worker asked why his cat was in his car. She, i.e., the neighbor's cat, was also locked in our garage for several hours one evening.
 

lsanders

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jan 12, 2008
Messages
294
Purraise
6
Location
Chicago, IL
When I was a kid, maybe 10 or 12, one of our cats was laying in the sun somewhere in the house. I was using a magnifying mirror for something, and went over to pet the cat, set the mirror (which had a stand on it) down next to the cat. After a couple seconds, the cat started twitching and I looked down and saw smoke coming off the cat's fur! The sun had hit the mirror, reflected onto the cat.....oy. She only had a little, minor burn from what I remember.
 

pookie-poo

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 14, 2007
Messages
3,911
Purraise
6
Location
Middle-Of-No-Where Michigan
Maggie (my challanged kitty) likes to close herself in the bathroom. She'll go into the bathroom, get behind the door, and push the door closed. Don't ask me why! Sometimes she'll be in there for hours! She's done it dozens of times...she never learns! I finally got a heavy iron door stop that I place in front of the door, to keep it open. Privacy isn't a problem, since it's just the cats and I. I guess this isn't really something I've done to a cat....she does it to herself!
 

alleygirl

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 2, 2006
Messages
11,814
Purraise
24
Location
hiding in the bathtub
Riley has spent a few hours in the closet now and then...

Its the closet where Da Bird and some other toys are kept so he runs to it the minute I open it to hang a coat or something. Sometimes he climbs in the back without my seeing him
 

carolpetunia

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Oct 25, 2005
Messages
9,669
Purraise
17
Location
Plano, Texas
When we first adopted Sassy, she was only about four months old, and much, much smaller than she is now (thank goodness). One evening she and Dylan were looking out the glass ("screen") door, and when it got dark, my mother shooed them away and closed the inner door.

A few minutes later, I heard what I thought was a neighborhood cat crying faintly on our porch, so I opened the door and there was Sassy, trapped between the doors, poor baby! Mom felt terrible -- but I was the one really traumatized by it. To this day, I always close the door, open it, close it, and open it once more to make VERY sure nobody's caught in there.
 
Top