With Tears In My Eyes, I Beg You

Cat McCannon

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Do not let your cats outside unsupervised. I cannot tell you the number of dead cats I’ve seen laying in the road in recent weeks. During a recent road trip across three western states, I saw cat carcasses every other day. It’s heartbreaking because it’s preventable.

This week alone, on the road going from the street I live on to the freeway, I’ve seen four cats laying dead. Three of them were killed almost in the same place. As I write this, there are two laying within three feet of each other, killed just hours apart. I’m certain at least one cat I saw alive the night before. Outdoor cats live fast and die young.

Not all cats by cats are killed instantly. Many don’t die right away and run off only to suffer in pain for hours before dying. Years ago, I had a black cat dart out from a hedge into the tire of my car. It wasn’t killed, but it was so horribly mangled, there was no way it could be saved. It broke my heart, but I had to put the poor creature out of it’s misery. A tragedy that could have been avoided by simply keeping the cat inside, that dark night.

If your cat insists on going outside, build a catio. Harness train your cat. Get a cat stroller. Get a cat backpack. Catify your home. Go outside with your cat. But don’t let it go outside alone and unsupervised. Do what ever it takes to keep your cat indoors, because if you don’t, there will be that time, that agony, when it never comes back.
 
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Cat McCannon

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Agreed. Spay and neuter too. It helps keep cats from doing a dash out your door because the mating hormones have kicked in and for ferals, it makes all aspects of life easier and safer. Less chasing and pursuit into danger unaware.
Excellent point!
 

IndyJones

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I will never forget when I was on the school bus stopped at a busy 4 way intersection seeing a half dead orange cat laying on the grass covered in blood. It was the most horrifying thing I saw, I was only 10 years old at the time but seeing this bloody cat half squished on the side of the road with its tongue hanging out panting heavily in a pool of guts and blood was just so traumatic I remember the scene clearly to this day.

Why didn't they stop and put their four ways on to help this cat instead of leaving it there to bleed to death? Surely they would have felt or heard it under the tires... what if it was someone's pet and they were missing them?

I've never been able to figure it out. Why not stop if you hit something.
 

Margot Lane

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I will never forget when I was on the school bus stopped at a busy 4 way intersection seeing a half dead orange cat laying on the grass covered in blood. It was the most horrifying thing I saw, I was only 10 years old at the time but seeing this bloody cat half squished on the side of the road with its tongue hanging out panting heavily in a pool of guts and blood was just so traumatic I remember the scene clearly to this day.

Why didn't they stop and put their four ways on to help this cat instead of leaving it there to bleed to death? Surely they would have felt or heard it under the tires... what if it was someone's pet and they were missing them?

I've never been able to figure it out. Why not stop if you hit something.
Good point. Also in this day and age you’d think a chipped cat could cause a warning bleep in a car, alerting it. Wish that worked for deer, as well.
 
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Cat McCannon

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The body count continues to climb. Another dead cat lays but a few feet from the others on the Road of Death.
 

Margot Lane

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I used to put homemade signs that said “Pause for paws,” with reflective lights on certain roads. It helped a little.
 
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Krazyokami

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My bf has a street near him that we call 'The Green Mile' Sadly, every summer that one road is littered with cats, kittens, groundhogs, foxes, etc. It's sad. And we keep seeing new cats which means a neighbor is obviously just going out and getting new cats just to send them to their deaths.

Near my house, we do not have stray cats anymore. Used to be a lot but due to construction, it sent the coyotes my way and stray pets just don't even exist anymore.
 
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Cat McCannon

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Keep your cat indoors! This poor cat found itself in a desperate fight for its life against a young coyote, all because it’s guardian let it out for the night.

Cat faces off with coyote on Texas porch in wild video: ‘He was a fighter’

Inexperienced as it was, it wasn’t playing. It was going to kill and eat that cat. I counted two, possibly three good bites on the cat. Possibly the cat escaped. But it’s also possible when it lost its grip on the post, it fell into waiting jaws. Before the cat fell, you can see the coyote run around for a better position.

Don’t let your cats outdoors unsupervised. You may never see them again.
 
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catloverfromwayback

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Totally agree. Where I live in Australia cats are not supposed to be allowed out, but people still do it. I haven’t allowed mine out alone in over a decade, so a couple of generations. My current pair don go out at all because they never got used to wearing harnesses.
 
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