sorry to upset anyone.... but found a dead cat :(

hostertlady

my son came in last night and it was not far from our gate..... we live by a busy road and we are not sure if he was hit by car and just came here to 'pass on'
or
someone has spooted it and put it by mine as they know i have a few cats and they might have thought it was one of mine???

anyway son texted hubby in work and told him about it and hubby moved it when he got home this morning first thing....
my dilemma is this.......
i made hubby bury the cat as i was upset and worried it might upset my cats if they saw it...

i am worried if we have done the right thing... as someone out there is missing a cat:(......
.no one has knocked on my door asking if we have seen a cat( we will obviously tell them the truth if they do call) but what is the best thing for me to do now.....
i am sooo sad.........

Idiophreak

I don't know much about these things, but I'd have wanted to get the thing to a vets to see if it was chipped. Somewhere there's probably someone looking for that cat...

BonandDom

I'd personally ring around the local vets - see if anyone has reported him/her missing, as this would be the first thing I did if any of my dogs went missing.

That way at least you could let the owners know whats happened.

jungle_jane

I think your intention was good...wanting to spare hurt. All i can say is that this happened to my husband - the neighbour found his very old cat dead in her garden and buried him in her yard in order to spare him the upset. Actually my hubby was extremely upset as he buries all his pets in our own back garden and it means a lot to him and the kids.

I don't mean to upset you by mentioning this - just another view i guess. If its not too gross, would it be worth digging him up again and taking him to the local vet? or is that just downright disgusting??

If it were me - well i would want me pet back because i have mine cremated and i keep the ashes...so i would probably have asked if i could dig him up again. but then i am probably weird and i imagine others would be horrified at that....

hostertlady

dont worry you haven't upset me....

he is buried very safely and very near where some of my cats have been buried over the years..
i am going to phone the vet now.. i will report back...
update,
vet was lovely and asked - did we notice if it was male or female, did it have a collar on, any markings.. gave her all the info that she asked and she has taken my number incase someone reports a missing cat, but, like she said, sometimes people dont report their cats missing straight away,

Olokia

You should have taken it to the vets, they have a freezer to store the animal in and if anyone claimed the cat it would be easy to give it back to the owner

Also the cat could have been microchipped in case something happened just like this situation.

Probably best to dig the cat back up and give it to the vets.

hostertlady

Olokia wrote: »

You should have taken it to the vets, they have a freezer to store the animal in and if anyone claimed the cat it would be easy to give it back to the owner

Also the cat could have been microchipped in case something happened just like this situation.

Probably best to dig the cat back up and give it to the vets.

i asked the vet if hubby should dig it up and she said best not.....
now i feel sick and also sadder

Olokia

hostertlady wrote: »

now i feel sick and also sadder

Sorry.

I just wouldn't have been happy if it had been my cat. I would have wanted it either buried in my own garden or cremated. Also might be difficult to trace the owners if the cat had been microchipped.

hostertlady

Olokia wrote: »

Sorry.

I just wouldn't have been happy if it had been my cat. I would have wanted it either buried in my own garden or cremated. Also might be difficult to trace the owners if the cat had been microchipped.

and if it had been one of my cats i would have wanted to bury it in my garden too....
i didnt even think of that side of things at the time..... but with hindsight.... if it was my cat i would want it home.......

geri1965_2

When I saw a dead cat on the pavement last year, I wrote a short letter to the local paper describing it and where it was, as I was sure the owners would rather know than spend forever not knowing.

OP, you did what you did with the best of intentions, so don't worry about it. I take the view that once something is dead, what's left behind is just an empty shell so if it was my cat I wouldn't be too upset about not having the body.

Elle7

If the vet doesn't want the body, I think you are okay for now.

Keep your eye out for missing cat posters, and perhaps leave some notices around town? Once you've found the owner, you can explain, and if they want their cat back you can dig it up for them. Some people will...I think I would. I'd like to either bury it with me, or have it cremated...others might be happy for it to be buried where it is, although they may want a few minutes in that area to say goodbye.

It must have been a horrible discovery, I feel for you. That type of thing would have me in floods of tears all day.