Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Our lovely cat.

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Our lovely cat.

    Ruby, our lovely girl cat, was killed this morning by a car.
    I found her as I left to take the kids to school.
    They think she's sick because she was scared by a car.
    We'll tell them tonight.
    The worst is yet to come, though, as Mrs WOM doesn't yet know.
    I'm not going to call her and upset her during class.
    I'll meet her at school this afternoon and break the news.
    She's going to be devastated. She's a cat person to the bone, and Ruby spends each and every night on her pillow.
    And I can't let her go pick up the kids. Our little guy was already talking about 'Ruby getting squished and now she's resting', and I can't have her hear that 'something's happened' that way.
    I wasn't prepared for this.
    There's not much more to say, is there? I'll put up a picture of her later.

    #2
    Our lovely cat.

    Oh shit! That's horrible, WOM. Sorry to hear this.

    Comment


      #3
      Our lovely cat.

      Oh man. Good luck this evening.

      Comment


        #4
        Our lovely cat.

        Condolences mate. Not a nice thing at all.

        I've lost a few cats over the years, and it never really gets any easier. Recently (like, in the last couple of weeks) we've had three of our fairly large cat posse disappear, including a 9-week-old kitten. All females, but that's probably a coincidence. None of the neighbours claim to know anything. Very strange. One of them was freshly speyed too, and still had the shaved patch and scar (she'd only just been allowed out).

        Comment


          #5
          Our lovely cat.

          Have you checked the tyre marks? You might be able to find the culprit.

          Comment


            #6
            Our lovely cat.

            That's really horrible WoM.

            I suggest a day off for you all to mourn Ruby tomorrow.

            Comment


              #7
              Our lovely cat.

              Ah, fuck. Condolences WOM. This is terrible. I've been moved to go outside to get my Roxie back in.

              http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=92-RzJrcp-Q

              Comment


                #8
                Our lovely cat.

                Bad news, WOM.

                I see so many cats dead on the roads that I'll never get one as a pet myself because it happens so easily and so often.

                Good luck with breaking the news.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Our lovely cat.

                  That's terrible. So sad.
                  That's why, if I ever had a cat, I'd want it to be an inside cat. Cats just take too many risks with cars.

                  Remember the good times.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Our lovely cat.

                    A cat ran out in front of my car yesterday, close call. Ours is indoor only (and you're welcome to him). I understand it's good to do the interment ritual with your kids, for closure. And at least you'll have the happiness of picking out a new kitten to look forward to.

                    (Or wait, is burying animals in your backyard illegal, I don't really know.)

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Our lovely cat.

                      WOM, how old are your kids? It can intially be awkward, but can be very good for helping them come to terms with the idea of death. At once stage we had up to 8 or 9 cats (all outdoors) and we lived beside a main road, so it wasn't long before I was out on the road scraping beloved family pets off the road with a shovel and lobbing them over the fence into scrubland, while musing on the way of things. It gives you a very unromantic, but more realistic view of pets.

                      Not sure if that would be of any help with the missus though.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Our lovely cat.

                        Aww condolences WOM. this made me go and give our cats a little cuddle.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Our lovely cat.

                          Yeah, WOM, losing a pet is tough enough when you're not a big animal person, like myself. Condolences to you and yours.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Our lovely cat.

                            aw WoM... good luck. I suppose a few of my tears dont help? No, didnt think so.

                            So sorry.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Our lovely cat.

                              Oh man, that's awful. Good luck.

                              Behind where I used to live with my mum and dad in Berkshire, there was a road where cars used to bomb down. One evening, one of our cats was squished by a driver, who definitely knew he'd hit something. I was so angry, not so much because the cat had died, but because he hadn't stopped.

                              A few years afterwards, it was me who squished a cat, while driving home. I'm pretty sure it wasn't my fault; I wasn't driving fast at the time, and the cat just popped out from the bushes and ran in front of my car. We went to the vets with it, but like our cat, it was obviously f ucked from the get go. I asked around the estate a day or two afterwards asking if anyone had a black cat missing, and eventually found the house and told them. They were pretty nice – they just said "thanks for telling us" and I left them to it.

                              I haven't got much advice, really – a cat dying brutally like that is just really horrible. But knowing that someone had acted so negligently running over my cat did make me really keen to always try and do the right thing in a reverse situation. So it did make an impression on me that wasn't wholly negative.

                              Dunno, you can't sugar coat these things I think. In times, your kids will understand. Kids are surprisingly resourceful with these sort of things.

                              Comment


                                #16
                                Our lovely cat.

                                WOM, the first time I lost a cat it was on the road. Melbourne, he was called. It's awful, I know. "Why was the silly bloody cat even on the road, is the one question I kept asking myself.

                                Chasing something, is the obvious answer.

                                I hope you've been okay with your loss and explaining it to your wife and kids. Tell them that your cat died quickly in pursuit of something it was happiest doing, and there's no better way to go than that, especially for a cat.

                                Comment


                                  #17
                                  Our lovely cat.

                                  Kids are surprisingly resourceful with these sort of things.

                                  Very true.

                                  AdC jr's first pet of his very own — there were pre-existing cats — was a hamster named Bright. A consolation when he was upset, a playmate when no one else was around Bright was (necessarily) a very mellow and tolerant hamster. One day though, as all hamsters must, he went to the big wheel in the sky. AdC jr was grief stricken. Tears, howls and more tears. You know, the kind only kids can cry, that literally spurt out of their eyes. After they'd stopped Bright was wrapped in a neckerchief and buried with suitable ritual in the garden. We then spent the rest of the day reading and talking about what a wonderful hamster he'd been. Everyone slept soundly. The following afternoon the little kid from next door came around. AdC jr, now fully recovered, breathlessly filled him in on the previous days events. Ten minutes later I looked out of the kitchen window to see both of them staring at something on the ground. I went outside to find Bright had been disinterred and an animated discussion on whether an autopsy was appropriate was taking place. I was pleased to note that AdC jr was opposed to the idea, less so when I discovered it was his idea to dig him up.

                                  Comment


                                    #18
                                    Our lovely cat.

                                    Hey, man. Sorry to hear about this. Hope it all went OK tonight.

                                    Comment


                                      #19
                                      Our lovely cat.

                                      I'm really sorry to hear this, WOM. You have my condolences.

                                      I'll save my lecture about letting cats outside for another time.

                                      Comment


                                        #20
                                        Our lovely cat.

                                        Not much else to say other than I'm really sorry, and at least it was painless (especially if it was like Miggy's, Schmitten's, or Stinky Minky's demises at the bottom of a tire. Bodies in perfect shape; heads ? not so perfect shape.)

                                        Comment


                                          #21
                                          Our lovely cat.

                                          Thanks everyone for the very kind thoughts. And Marian, I had you on my left shoulder all last night.
                                          As I well knew she would be, Mrs WOM was inconsolable. Still is. Toughest news I've ever had to give her.
                                          The kids (3 and 5) are slowly getting it. My daughter's an old pro at cat deaths, having insisted on being present when my in-laws had the family cat put down last year. She understands the permanence of it. My son, of course, is already trying the cheer us up with plans to get a new Ruby.
                                          dd - yeah, that's the toughest part; that someone could run over a cat and keep going.
                                          We've all said our goodbyes and I'll be burying her in a quiet corner of the yard this evening. And then maybe I'll stop checking at the back door to see if she needs in.
                                          Thanks again all.

                                          Comment


                                            #22
                                            Our lovely cat.

                                            Roxie has just come in covered in blood. It was a pretty horrid moment. It's smeared all over the white fur around her neck. Now, as far as I can tell, it's not hers. But although good news, it's hardly great news...

                                            She wont let me get too close to check her out properly, mind. She's pretty spooked.

                                            Comment

                                            Working...
                                            X