How to get over running over a cat?? Help :(

There was nothing else you could do to help it. It is normal to feel like you do. All I can say is that you will lose most of the horrible feelings eventually. It just tells me that you are a sensitive cat lover and would do anything to help any cat.

Welcome to TCS.  If you want some more comfort, send me a PM.

Thank you for your kind words, it is just killing me inside. I went back a few hours later and it was still lying there which hopefully makes me think it was a stray. Which isn't any better, except I didn't break up a family. I might try and go back in the morning and move it, do you think taking it to a vet for the microchip at that time is worth it? Or better just to move on?

I salute and applaud anyone who stops after an accident especially involving an animal. Here, it is mandatory by law to report any accident though injuring a cat may not be considered an accident unless you broke something on your vehicle. I have only ever hit a moose and it haunts me now and then. The curious part was we (I had a passenger -was on my way to a mtg) discussed the problems of people being killed or very severely hurt in moose /vehicle accidents. This one seemed to just come or fall out of the sky aftercdark. I suppose I shd be grateful we are alive and no one -amazingly -was seriously injured but I think about the moose as well. He landed right on the front of the Dodge Durango (a smaller vehicle and I would be dead -)and the front window smashed into smithereens! The vehicle was totalled -had to buy a new one.

I think you handled the situation very well -getting the kittyvto a vet, possibly saving its life. So while I know it is hard, hopefully that can help.

Unfortunately there are no vets open after about 4pm on Saturday nights around here, there are no 24 hour vets for over an hour away, but I wrapped it in a towel and left it under a nice tree, which was all I could really do in the circumstances. I called all the vets in the area I could, even the emergency number but with no response.

Very good on you guys for your efforts to save this cat! I think you did a remarkable job to save it. It's unfortunate that you could not get closure by actually knowing the end result. But you can rest assured that you did the very best you could possibly do AND you left the cat in good hands.

kcatfan said:

Unfortunately there are no vets open after about 4pm on Saturday nights around here, there are no 24 hour vets for over an hour away, but I wrapped it in a towel and left it under a nice tree, which was all I could really do in the circumstances. I called all the vets in the area I could, even the emergency number but with no response.

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At least take comfort that the little one didn't suffer, and you didn't just leave it lying there in the road. The Higher Power sees the pain in your heart and will comfort you.  RIP little anonymous cat.

Wow.  I totally understand your grief.

34 YEARS ago I was driving down a rural VERY dark road and a cat darted out from the brush exactly as I was passing and I killed it unfortunately.

To this day, 34 years later I cannot forget that incident and it still bothers me.

Very difficult thing to deal with.

You have my sympathy.

Now, my wife and I ALWAYS have carriers with us in our cars and we keep bupenorphen at home for our other kids.

We already talked about it and if either of us ever have the misfortune of an animal running out in front of our car and we hit it, we'll

stop, take it to a vet or if not possible, take it home and administer pain meds and whatever we can until the vet opens.

We just can't bear the grief of doing nothing.

Hi,

To anyone who has run over a cat and done something about it - Thank you.

Today is 06.07.2013 and the following happen on the 03.07.2013.

We had arrived home from work about 30 seconds apart. My husband was on the driveway when he hell for me. Our cat diesel had cried for him. He (the driver) had run him over and then put him between our stairs on the side of the house out of the rain. I strongly suspect it was our neighbour who we share a driveway with (who also speeds in and out of our driveway regardless of the fact it is a shared driveway or that we are on a main road. I ran to the house to get some towels etc. We jump in the car and went straight to the vet.

He examined Diesel who was in a bad state, then we had him x-ray. A short time later the vet went over the x-rays with us - explaining the 3 breaks to his pelvis and the fact he was paralysed from behind his front paws back. Even thou the thought of losing him was and is devasting we had to put him down as he had losse his quantility of life.

Diesel was only 6 and half years old. He was full of life. We know because of where we found him the accident had happen in our shared driveway not on the road and the person who had done this knew where he lived. Also he (Diesel) wouldn't cross the road as there is a cat which is 2 to 3 times his size who would come over and torment him at the end of the driveway. Ou neighbour was home way before us and has now been avoiding us. I don't understand how he could just leave him there in that condition? I don't understand why he doesn't have the decentcy to say sorry.... I just don't understand how people can be this way.

Diesel was the best cat ever. He is a Saimese X -  black in colour and quite small. He was there when we woke up and there when we got home. He used to groom my husbands head and follow him around everywhere. It took him 5 years to get use to me as he was very possessive of my husband but he had grown to accept me which is weird as I have known Diesel longer. He also slept with us most nights and now he is gone and we are devastated......

I'm so, so sorry for your loss. May Diesel rest in peace.

Today was a very unfortunate day for us as well...
 

My husband, Greg and I are okay, but we are really heartbroken and feel absolutely terrible. We had just left our home and were a block away from our house when we hit a cat. My husband was going 20 in a 25, our neighborhood is in the city. I had seen her run behind a parked trailer, and assumed she stayed behind it on the curb or hid under it like 99% of the cats do in our neighborhood. So, just as we had passed the trailer, we hear that awful, god awful tumbling thud of our rear wheels. Both of us look in the rear-view and see her flailing madly in the street.

I leaped from the car as we stopped and ran back to check her, both of us already dreading what happened. Within the 30 seconds it took for me to run from the car to the cat, she had already passed. Neither of us saw her run under the back tires- it happened that quickly.

I picked her up from the street and laid her in a driveway, kept my hand on her side to make sure..Greg parked and knocked on a door, the people came out and said the cat, Stormy, belonged to the lady across the street. So Greg goes over and gets her, only to learn that Stormy belonged to a very elderly lady in her late 70's. Stormy was her only companion, and she was now left alone. She was clearly upset, Greg and I profusely told her we were sorry, so sorry. We offered to bury her, Greg went home and got a shovel, and I carried Stormy while the lady lead the way to her back yard.

While Greg dug, I sat with Stormy in my lap and pet her and asked the owner about her- the owner is a sweet lady, and it made this all the worse. Stormy was gone, but there was an irony about her death. As Greg started digging it started raining, and it rained harder and harder as I gently laid Stormy in, curling her up, and after she was buried and we promised to visit the owner again- it stopped raining and the sun came out.

So, Greg and I without either saying a word both decided on our own that when we visit our neighbor in two days (we weren't sure how much time to give to grieve..) we are going to offer that, if or when she is ready, we will gladly go to the humane society with her to pick out a companion, because she is very lonely, and Stormy was all she had.



The owner and the neighbors said that Stormy never, EVER, crossed the street- yet this time she was on the wrong side, at the wrong time. She had always stayed in the owners yard for the three years she had her. Stormy was rescued from abandonment and given to the owner as a kitten, by her friend, 3 years ago. I can admit having never seen Stormy on the right side of the street of all the times I've walked through our neighborhood.

I am relieved Stormy went quickly- likely instantly, had it have been any other situation we'd have immediately rushed it to the animal ER, but she was gone in a split second. It just breaks my heart because I know, had it have been any of my cats (only Olley goes outside during the day, just..not for the next few days and if were up to me, never) I'd have hoped someone to do the same for them, for me.

She told us while we stayed with her that she was sorry to ruin our day, and we couldn't allow that. We told her she had no reason to feel sorrow for us, and that we were the ones who were most sorry for what happened, and we were all aware it was a complete accident.

I do hope she accepts our offer to take her to pick out a new companion to keep inside, we have no qualms putting money down so someone has someone else to love and be loved by.

I can say, we're both pretty wrecked.
But we are thankful, grateful, that Stormy left very quickly, but sad because we took such a beautiful life and a dear companion...even if it was by accident. The owner was a wonderful lady, and I wish we could have met her on much better terms.



I just needed to share..I too have always been on the lookout, ever vigilant for children, cats, dogs, squirrels, rabbits, etc. This was one of those times where even my hawk eye failed us, and it just rips me to pieces.

I too am very sorry for your loss. As a meezer mama, I am sure he gave you much love!

It is an awful experience but the horrible memory does fade. It was amazing what you did for the owner and that you took the trouble to find her and help her through the terrible process of saying goodbye to Stormy. It's a terrible fact that there are cars and roads and cats do get it wrong sometimes. I too stayed with the cat that I hit - stroked it until it stopped moving. That's what I clung on to whenever the horror of hitting it comes back to haunt me. It was instinctive.

Thank you,
It was very hard on me because we do own 4 cats, one of which has been indoor/outdoor prior to and since us acquiring him. I always, always worried he'd be hit by a car and I always worried it would be horrific. Having had this unfortunate situation happen and a two previous unrelated outdoor injuries, I'm just taking it as a sign that it's time to retire him to the inside of the house until we can set up our fence to be cat proofed.

I realize not everyone stops, not everyone cares, but we do and we wanted to express to the owner that there are people even if we're few and far between, with a heart. It was rough picking Stormy off the road and watching her "leave", I can distinctly remember seeing her exhale, seeing her skin quiver, and all I could do was pet her. I sometimes wonder if even as they leave, they know a good person from bad, and I hope that where ever she is in the universe she understands it was all just a bad bad accident. I know that everyone has their own perspective on death, this is just mine :/

Too, while I sat and pet her in the owner's backyard, all I could feel in the back of my mind that "This could have been Olley, this could have been my cat and no one would have stopped. No one would have said they were sorry. This could be me petting my own dead cat and regretting his being outside."

Since then, Olley has been inside. It's a trial, and something I'll ask advice for in another thread soon, but I'd rather deal with him being inside than ever having to experience my own pet getting run over.

We tried the owner's house but we assume she had fallen asleep, so we will try another day this week. We just want her to know that we are there for her, just as we'd hope someone would be there for us. As I said before, we don't want to replace Stormy, just as we wouldn't ever want money, we want the owner to be able to be loved and give love to another body who desperately needs it.

It sounds like our experiences are the same. It's so much better to share these things with like minded people as often I am looked at with bewilderment by others because I 'care too much'.

I too watched as her life left her body, stroking her and saying I was sorry as she passed. It still makes me cry but it is an experience that taught me that me decision to keep my two cats as indoor cats is the right one. Too many people have looked at me oddly about this decision over the last few years which made me question my decision. But now I stand firm on this.

The cat I hit was only 4 months old, lived on a very busy road and didn't have a clue about road smartness. This made me rather angry with the owner as she is actually an animal lover. What was she thinking leaving out a kitten overnight? I hit her at 6am on a dark november morning. It made me furious with her to be so thoughtless. now i have to live with the memory of hitting an animal because of her stupidity. However here in Ireland they look upon cats as 'outdoor' animals only and their dogs run freely without restraint, no fenced in back gardens here! They see dogs that roam as strange, whereas I would argue with them that it is strange for a dog NOT to wander. That is the mentality here. Cats and dogs roam freely like their sheep!

My two cats live happily indoors, safe from the road and are happy and content. I provide cat trees for them to play on, various sleeping spots and lots of cat grass on hand. Also lots of cat toys which helps.
I can tell you they are the happiest cats in my village!

OMG.  This just happened to me this morning on my way to work.  It was awful.  I have never run over anything in my life and I'm 57 years old.  Lots of near misses with squirrels.

I was driving down my country road and the cat MUST have jumped out into the road in the middle of my car as I was passing.  I felt that awful thump, thump, thump and I saw it thrashing in my rearview mirror.  I considered driving back to...I don't know what!  I thought, well what could I do?  If the cat was mutilated I wouldn't be able to handle that.  If the cat was injured who would I call?  911?  If I could even get the injured cat in my car, where would I bring it?  And who would pay for it?  And I absolutely had to get to work.  I went to work but have felt sick all day.

I drove home that road tonight and there was no evidence of the cat, no blood & gore.  Nothing.

I care so much about animals.  I even tried to save an injured house mouse once that MY cat had gotten at.  I brought the mouse to my vet and she suthanised it.

This is such a hard thing to deal with.  I just wish people would keep their cat's indoors and this would never happen.  It could have been feral, but who knows.  What should I have done?

i dont know what happened. I didnt see the cat. I took it to the vet but its gone.

I dont know how to feel. How to live with myself.

I feel terrible. it seems it was a stray cat. I am not sure though. it didnt have a collar and was thin.

I

Janet Cucharo said:

 
I know how you feel.  I didn't know how I was going to get over hitting the cat but I had to.  It really wasn't my fault and couldn't have been prevented.  I wasn't speeding.  I never hit an animal before and those squirrels are always running out in front of me.  The cat I hit just ran out right under my wheels.  I feel bad for strays in general but you need to move on.  These thing just happen to the best of us, I guess.  And, yes, it is a very good reason to make your cats indoor cats if you have any.  You're a good person, it wad an accident.  Put it towards the back of your mind and move on.  It wasn't your fault.  If it was a stray maybe it's been saved a life of misery.  If it had an owner than the onus is on the owner for not keeping it indoors.  Say a prayer and let it go.

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Wonderful post Janet Cucharo, thanks for that ~

 I am so sorry and sad for everyone here who has had this happen - I have been there, and accidentally hit a cat as well a few years ago.  It happened when I was driving home from work, on a super busy street with traffic - I could not go back, as traffic was bumper to bumper.  I cried my eyes out the whole way home, and think about this often, as I too, never had hit any animal with my car before.  I brake for everyone, squirrels, birds, etc.  But it was a freakish accident, these things sometimes happen, and are out of our control, I don't know why..

I recently ran over a cat as ihe/she was crossing the road and I caught sight of her only when she was so close to the car that i was driving. I was with my dad at the time. I got startled and I honked the car. She got startled too and and we (the cat and I) both panicked. She didn't know which way to run to and I didn't know what to do. I wanted to press brake but I looked through the rearview mirror and there was a car speeding behind me, so I moved on a little not speeding at all. The cat decided to move forward toward my car and I felt a knock under the right front tyre. That moment just broke my heart. I was screaming and crying and I was still driving forward!! I don't know what I was thinking. I looked through the rear view mirror and saw the cat still shaking its legs. I professed to be a cat lover and have had a cat who lived till 23 years of age, but I can't describe how much guilt I have been feeling since this accident. Anyway, my dad asked me to stop the car to see the cat. I stopped and I picked her up. Her leg was still shaking and I wanted to take her to the vet to see if her life could still be saved. We were already very close to home so my dad suggested that I bring someone to accompany me from home (my dad wasn't well and we were on our way back from the hospital for his medical checkup). When we got home a few minutes later, the cat had died.

I googled today to see how to get over running over a cat and I found this thread. Not sure if I feel better and I am still feeling the guilt, remorse and pain as I write this post. It pains me thinking how I have hurt that cat. I couldn't bear seeing her bloody sight and thankfully there was a piece of clothing in the car for me to use to cover her body.

I pray that God will forgive me for this unintentional accident. I had always been careful not to run over any animals or anyone for that matter. I always slowed down and told the animal to hurry off to get out of danger crossing the roads. I wasn't even speeding that day. I was driving slowly as we were already nearby to our home.

How do I get over this feeling? Will I ever get over it? I have three furkids at home and love them to bits..[emoji]128546[/emoji]