What To Do when a Cat is Hit By a Car

I was driving to work with my three-year-old daughter in the car. It was bright out this morning, and so the black cat was easy to see. It came running at full tilt - seriously, the cat must have been borrowing a pair of wings it was running so fast.

He was trying to avoid traffic, and failed.

He ran into the rear tire of the car in front of me. I was following behind far enough to slow down and drive safely around the animal. I was shocked - my hand went to my mouth to cover my gasp of shock and dismay.

The car in front of me didn't slow.

The animal was still moving, trying and failing to get up and keep moving. I kept driving. So many thoughts flew through my head - should I stop, go back? Where was the closest veterinary office, and what if it wasn't opened at half past seven in the morning? Should I do this in front of my daughter?

It was probably a half mile before I decided - I needed to get back there and get that animal to the vet.

I went back, and the cat had moved (or been moved) into the middle of the road. Traffic was no longer moving around him, instead driving over him. I was lucky there was a large parking area on the wrong side of the road, so I pulled over and told my daughter to sit tight in her car seat.

Traffic kept driving by me, not slowing. The cat's breath could still be seen puffing from his mouth, his abdomen rising and falling rapidly. I waited until the nearest car was far enough back to stop before it reached me, and then went to the road and scooped up the cat's shoulders and hips, avoiding the blood in his mouth and matting the fur on his head.

I couldn't put him in my car like that - thank goodness fortune had seen fit to make me forget to take a box into the house the night before, so I still had the lid - the perfect size. He fit in perfectly, and with his breath catching, the sound of blood in his mouth and perhaps lungs, I turned up the music in my car and drove as quickly and smoothly as I could to where I hoped I remembered the veterinary office was located.

My daughter in the back seat asked if the kitty was sick, and I said yes. She asked if it was the sound of him eating, and I lied through my teeth and agreed. The kitty was eating breakfast, but didn't feel good, so we were taking him to the doctor. I would not let her see the blood.

The vet was mercifully close, and I took my daughter inside, leaving the cat in the car while I went inside to see if they were open. They were, giving me their attention when I came in without an animal.

"I was driving to work," I said, my voice catching. "The car in front of me hit a cat and-and I was wondering if you could look at him. Take care of him. You know..."

"Of course, bring him in," the assistant said. I asked my daughter to come back out and help me, but then left her on the porch so I could pick the cat up above her head. We went back inside, and they led me into the nearest exam room.

The woman with her elderly dog who asked my daughter not to pet her puppy gave me a smile-frown, and mouthed 'I'm sorry'.

The vet wasn't in yet, but a technician was. We only waited a few minutes, while my energetic daughter climbed up and down off the bench seating and walked in and out of the doorway in the exam room. I gently rubbed the back of the cat's neck and back.

I noticed things about the cat - he was well-fed, and no ribs could be seen through his fur. His coat was black - not the soft glossy fur of an indoor cat, but the dirty feeling fur of a stray, or at least a very dedicated outdoor cat.

He made one effort to sit up and shake himself off, but only succeeded in splattering the liquid he was trying to breathe around across the room. I don't know what sort of luck my daughter had - she didn't get hit by the crossfire at all, and only my fake leather coat was touched.

The assistant from the desk asked if I was a client, then took down my phone number and address. She told me there would be some costs associated with his care, or euthanasia. I expected this, but was almost amused when she wouldn't tell me. I think she was trying to keep me from running out right there, leaving them to be stuck with the costs.

Finally the technician arrived. Yes, he would have to be put down - with head injuries there was nothing they could do. She took him away, and my daughter and I went back to the waiting area.

My daughter, thankfully, was blissfully unaware, or unable to comprehend, the severe nature of the injury to the cat. I told her the doctor was making him feel better, and she went on to her game of, "Can you reach me now?"

The technician came back ten minutes later and took us into another exam room.

"He had to be euthanized," she said in a professional voice with sympathetic tones. "He was a stray?"

"I think so," I replied. "He was running across the road on Hamilton by the railroad bridge."

"You saw him get hit?"

"Yes."

"Okay. You'll be responsible for the cost of the euthanasia," she pointed out again, as the assistant had. "Did you want to have him cremated?"

"How much?"

She told me, and it was an amount I could not afford.

"I'll have to take him with me. If you have a bag or something..."

"Of course," she replied. She may have been under the impression that I was going to bury him. At that point, I wasn't sure if it was illegal to correct her.

She left the exam room, and I had to go back out to my car to get my purse. I was half expecting the assistant at the desk to stop me from driving away, but nobody said anything.

In hushed tones, I paid for the cat I hadn't known or had any emotional attachment to until a mere half hour before to be put to sleep. I pushed off my daughter's questions about the cat, whether we would take him with us to daycare school, until we got back in the car.

I was afraid someone would laugh if they heard my explanation.

Plus, I just completely didn't know what to tell her.

Quietly, the associates extended their apologies for the expense, assuring me that the technician had done things as inexpensively as they could. I simultaneously was thankful that my savings for buying a home wouldn't be as severely dented, and worried that perhaps the cat had suffered more than necessary. Inexpensive doesn't mean cheap, but it also doesn't always mean painless.

The technician came back out with a white cardboard box, wrapped with tape. I had expected my soiled box lid would come back with a black garbage bag inside it, but I underestimated them. I didn't know what to expect, quite honestly, and I was grateful for their thoughtfulness.

My daughter and I left, the cat on the floor of the passenger side front seat, where he had ridden into his final parking spot. She wondered if the cat was eating breakfast again, and I tried explaining to her as I would to my six year old that sometimes animals were very sick, and the best way to help them feel better is to help them die peacefully.

She was stuck on breakfast. When I seized upon that, to tell her that the kitty was up in Heaven eating breakfast with God, and that yes, he did feel much better now, she switched topics on me, declaring that she wanted to listen to Away In A Manger on the way home, and was my iPod working?

I was lucky (in the grand scheme of things) that I can recall where the veterinary offices are on all the routes I take to work. There's a general animal hospital on the route I took this morning, and a cat hospital on the route I take when I'm not taking my daughter to daycare.

Knowing exactly where I needed to go helped me make the decision to act instead of to keep on driving.

Do you have a cell phone? If you don't know where the nearest vet is, you can use the free information service, GOOG-411 from Google. I have it in my speed dial, and all you need to do is at the prompt, state clearly "Veterinarian" and the city and state you are in. It will give you the top eight results, and you can choose the one that is closest to you.

While I'm sure nearly everyone knows whether they would stop for a cat they struck with their car, I had never thought before about whether I would stop or not for an animal that was struck by another car.

Now I wish I had. My indecision could have been the difference between a cat with a broken bone and a minor head injury, and the cat that I took to the vet - so injured it needed to be humanely euthanized. I won't beat myself up about it now because what's done is done. But I still wonder if my delay caused the cat more injury.

I know now that I will stop next time, no matter what. I won't put myself in danger from other traffic, of course, but in this case I had time to swerve safely, and an open place to pull my car in and act quickly. Next time, I will be aware enough to look for those things immediately, perhaps saving myself from having to turn around and back track.

Think about it - would you be willing to stop for a stray? A cat you recognize as a neighbor's beloved pet, or even just frequently fed friend? Your own? A decision now will save time later.

Just remember to be safe about it!

I have a cat, and quite frequently during this tragedy my daughter, bless her ignorant soul, called the injured cat by our own cat's name. I corrected her, but it was, of course, her only reference point.

The bottom line is, if you have a cat, keep it indoors to prevent accidents with cars. Cats climb fences, open windows and screen doors, even the occasional door with a knob. They flush toilets, they can jump as high as a man, they can have six toes. Cats are amazing, and yours is worth it.

If you live in an area with high automobile traffic, it doesn't matter how savvy your cat is. Like deer, they tend to freeze when faced with headlights. And I have yet to meet a cat who can outrun a car. Keep your cat inside, and save yourself the heartache.

Bleeding from the nose or ears can be a sign of head trauma and internal injuries in your cat. Needless to say, if your feline is exhibiting these symptoms, there is no time to loose. It is time for veterinary advice, and fast!

Coming from other areas of the body, bleeding is no less shocking, and the sense of urgency felt is not lessened either. Unless you have medical training, it can be difficult to guage the severity of the injury.

Internal bleeding can be undetectible, and in some cases may not even be apparent for up to a week (or so I've read). If you have seen a cat get hit by a car, assume the animal has been hurt, bleeding or not. A visit to the vet would not be inappropriate.

Take a deep look into your cat's eyes. Do you see love? Okay, we're not talking about dogs - perhaps you're lucky to get your cat to look at you at all.

But looking at your cat's eyes when they're healthy will give you tips to look for when your cat isn't, or you're just worried that they aren't.

Eyes that aren't both looking in the same direction, or pupil slits at different widths are signs of head trauma in a cat. Immediate medical attention is required, and this is where knowing which route to take to your local vet is very important.

It may be obvious when a cat has a broken leg, as most people are familiar with the appropriate direction a furry paw should be pointing. But in many cases, it simply isn't that easy.

If the cat is moving, but not putting pressure on a particular limb, you are best off taking a trip to your veterinarian. You don't want to risk annoying your pet further by pushing on an injury and potentially making it worse.

If the injured cat is merely dragging itself around on his or her front paws, you will want to consider something more serious than simply a bone fracture. The inability to move any limbs indicates spinal injury.

In any case, if you fear for your cat, put him or her into a carrier and get to the animal care center as soon as possible.

If you've just seen a cat get hit by a car, take it to the vet!

If you've just hit a cat with your car, get it to the vet!

If you see a cat on the road that may have been hit by a car, drive it to the vet!

Your heart is wrenched enough by seeing such a tragedy occur, and delay can only make things worse. In my opinion, picking up a potentially fatally injured cat and taking it to the vet only to have to put the cat to sleep is infinitely better than leaving it to fend for itself, possibly suffer for days, then die cold and alone in a dark hole somewhere.

Don't worry about hurting the cat more - what could be worse than cold and alone? And unless there's a vet on the scene or willing to make house calls, what other option is there?

When I saw the cat get hit, one thing I struggled with was the knowledge that if I took the cat to a vet, I would most likely be responsible for the cost of care unless the owner could be found via microchip or staff recognition. My family is in the process of trying to save to buy our first home, and every penny counts in that process. Could I afford to spend $25 to euthanize a cat?

It turned out that it was more than just $25, and my credit card took a hit today. But compared to some other information I've found online, the price I paid was actually the absolute least they could have charged.

If you take a cat into the vet with injuries from a car accident, be prepared to pay. But also don't be afraid to ask for assistance. I let it be known that I couldn't afford cremation when it was offered, but that I felt I had to at least help him out of his pain. The technician then said that they could try to help cut me a break with the cost, and when the assistant was processing my payment she confided that it was actually the very least they could charge.

I choose to believe that they were telling the truth, and not telling me sweet lies so I wouldn't raise a fuss.

In my opinion, helping a cat in need, even if it isn't my fault, is the right thing to do. Regardless of the cost, I would do my best to find a way to get medical attention to an injured cat, even if I didn't see the accident occur.

But if you can't help, and there are a million reasons and circumstances that would keep you from assisting, don't hate yourself or beat yourself up or give yourself an ulcer over it.

You may not have the money to help, and that's okay. In this, or any economy, money is a precious commodity. No one would ask you to take funds away from yourself or your family.

You may not have the time to help, and that is understandable. It is not worth losing your job, or hurting tenuous relationships.

You may not have the will to help, and that's okay too. They say to let he who is without sin cast the first stone, and there's no stones coming from my direction, so...

If all you can do is stop and move the cat out of traffic, you've saved him or her from further injury, and increased the chance that someone else who can assist will be able to find the feline and help.

If all you can do is say a prayer for someone's pet, that's important, too.