My little cat was struck by a car last night, I'm pretty pissed off

[Starbreaker]

Re: My little cat was struck by a car last night, I'm pretty pissed of

My little tiprat is three and a half years old, and his whole life he has been an outdoor cat. Believe me I would love to convert him to living indoors. No more headless 'presents', no more getting into the neighbours properties.

Is it too late to 'convert' him to indoors or can it be done? I suspect he won't be very happy about it.

After he sleeps on something comfortable in an air conditioned room he will be an inside cat.

 

[pigletsgiblets]

Re: My little cat was struck by a car last night, I'm pretty pissed of

My nephew's cat enclosure (shared by two cats and one chihuahua)

My planned cat enclosure isn't as grand as my nephew's.

That is awesome!

 

[Yeoman Randi]

Re: My little cat was struck by a car last night, I'm pretty pissed of

To the OP: Glad your kitty is coming along!

 

[Gary7]

Re: My little cat was struck by a car last night, I'm pretty pissed of

So sorry to hear of the accident... hope your cat recovers enough to be as good as before it happened.

We take our cat on walks with a harness and leash and it is not humilating at all. He really enjoys it, though he hasn't ventured very far past the front door yet. He especially likes playing in and eating grass and plants. It has been a good thing for him, he is less aggressive now and seems to be happier in general. But, our cat has always acted more like a dog than he probably should. He wags his tail all the time and especially when he's happy and when he sees me getting the harness out he runs up to me all excited.

That's terrific! I've heard of many failed attempts at trying to get a cat used to a leash, and only a few that were successful. Good to see you were able to do it. I wonder if some breeds are more accepting of it? I've heard that Savannah and Bengal cats are usually open for this kind of training, but of course they're a much bigger breed than your usual house cat and have somewhat of a dog type personality.

 

[nevermore]

Re: My little cat was struck by a car last night, I'm pretty pissed of

Glad to hear he's doing well!

When he comes home he is going to have to learn to be an indoor cat, no two ways about it.

Yay! He'll probably complain about it, but as others have pointed out, give him something to do, build an enclosure if you can, and it'll be a million times better for him in the long run.

 

[Captain_Nick]

Re: My little cat was struck by a car last night, I'm pretty pissed of

My poor little cat had some injuries we didn't know about. On Saturday his breathing deteriorated very quickly; by the time I got to the hospital his breathing was so loud you could hear him struggling outside of the oxygen box they had him in. Unfortunately he didn't make it

I miss the little bastard

 

[Miss Chicken]

Re: My little cat was struck by a car last night, I'm pretty pissed of

Sorry to hear that the little fellow didn't make it. My deepest sympathies.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Re: My little cat was struck by a car last night, I'm pretty pissed of

So sorry man.

And I hate to ask, but didn't they take x-rays the first time?

 

[Avalon]

Re: My little cat was struck by a car last night, I'm pretty pissed of

Oh, Nick -- I'm so sorry!

 

[Captain_Nick]

Re: My little cat was struck by a car last night, I'm pretty pissed of

I don't know what to feel about this

He is gone, and I miss him, so I'm sad

My house is empty now, and lifeless. That makes me sad

I still have a scar on my leg when he scratched me last week. It's amazing how quicky that which you love can be taken away from you.

Life is confusing. It gives you joy, then it takes it away. Whoever thought up this system is a sick bastard.

But compared to the Buddhist approach - let go of your attachments and free yourself from suffering - shoot, I'd take the love and joy and the pain that comes with it, over that, any day of the week.

Part of me is feeling guilty for thinking about 'replacing' him, as though it somehow dishonours his memory to bring in a 'new' little tiprat and carry on as if nothing has happened.

Another part of me is afraid that if I do replace him it will be to mask the pain and make believe that nothing has happened.

Another part of me is wondering why I am making such a fuss about a cat.

This is a very educational process

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Re: My little cat was struck by a car last night, I'm pretty pissed of

I wouldn't feel guilty if you do want another cat. Different people grieve differently.

For me, the next cat we got helped me to handle my grief for the other. It wasn't forgetting my other cat, in the slightest. The difference in personality made it clear that something had happened, but it helped me with the loneliness to have another cat.

I'm so sorry for your loss...as far as I'm concerned, that's not "just a cat." That's a family member.

 

[Kira's Mom]

Re: My little cat was struck by a car last night, I'm pretty pissed of

Poor kitty.

 

[Captain_Nick]

Re: My little cat was struck by a car last night, I'm pretty pissed of

that's not "just a cat." That's a family member.

You said it

He was always waiting for me by the door when I come home from work.

He would climb into my bed while I was sleeping and I would wake up with his head on my shoulder.

I would be watching the footy on the telly and yelling all manner of obscene things and he would be sitting on the floor looking at me as though I was some sort of madman.

None of that will ever happen again

 

[RJDiogenes]

Re: My little cat was struck by a car last night, I'm pretty pissed of

My condolences. That's just terrible.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

Re: My little cat was struck by a car last night, I'm pretty pissed of

Poor Nick I'm so sorry
It sounds heartless but in my experience it is best to immediately get a new pet. It keeps you incredibly busy and this way helps getting over the loss.

Accidents with animals can't always be avoided. I once killed a squirrel - it ran over the road and I couldn't break as there was someone driving too close behind me. I tried to get it between the wheels but at the last moment the silly thing got scared and ran back, right under the wheel. It was dead instantaneousely.
Animals - especially young ones - have an unfortunate tendency to do the unexpected and to react at a far higher speed than we humans are able to. Hence, accidents sometimes are inevitable.
However, it's an absolute scandal if the driver doesn't stop and look after the injured animal! I think in such a situation I'd thoroughly beat the guy up without wasting a thought at the possible legal consequences for myself.

 

[Kemaiku]

Re: My little cat was struck by a car last night, I'm pretty pissed of

Damn I'm so sorry he didn't make it.