Feeling sorry for the cat, not the owner
I have never hit if off with cat owners who feel their feline is mature enough to wander around town and have no regard for property or the safety of others. Last weekend highlighted my thoughts exactly.
As I got home from grocery shopping early Saturday morning I was just about to open the door and noticed a cat beeline to my front gate and begin flipping out – literally flipping around – on the ground. It happened so fast that I didn’t know what was going on.
At first I thought it was a catfight but noticed only one animal on the ground. I looked to the street and saw a car stop in front of my house. It slowly drove away a moment later. I then thought that cat was thrown from the car, as sometimes happens on highways or in deserted places. I have read enough of those stories on news websites.
This all played out over the course of 20 seconds and then I figured it out: the cat was hit by a car.
For the next 15 minutes it squealed, winced and writhed in pain and there wasn’t much I could do for it. I called for help. Not shouting out in the neighbourhood. I actually called the humane society. They sent their emergency response team to treat the animal. Unfortunately it died before they arrived.
It put me in a sad mood but then anger took over. This was someone’s pet. It was not a stray cat. The animal could be identified – and it was.
This could have been an accident and the cat escaped out an open door. I’m not completely heartless. I know my dogs could get out of my yard if someone left the gate open. But we all know that many cat owners let their felines wander anywhere to get up to no good.
It isn’t acceptable for me to let my dogs go onto your property and dig in your flowers or crap in your garden, but somehow people feel cats are exempt from such rules.
It’s one thing to be respectful of your neighbours (not to mention it is illegal in many areas to let your cat loose outside) but have some thought for the animal that is in harm’s warm. Sadly in this case the owners wouldn’t be seeing their cat ever again. And think about the closure the owner(s) will never get since they will never know what happened to their animal. Then again, did they care enough about it, anyway?
