View Single Post
  #15  
Old November 8th 05, 10:12 PM
jmcquown
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default RB purrs for an unknown kitty

wrote:
I make a 120 mile commute every day between home and
the office. I normally take one of two freeway routes,
depending on which freeways are congested. Today was
an expecially bad day - sig alerts on both of primary
routes. This meant that I had to drive about 1/3 of the
way on freeways, get off on surface streets through the
largely unincorporated areas of San Bernardino and
Riverside counties, then rejoin the freeway after the
congestion.

As I was driving down one of the main drags through
Jurupa, I saw a furry lump in the middle of the road.
I managed to avoid hitting it then found a spot where
I could safely make a U-turn and go back.

When I got there I found a very beautiful, very dead
large orange tabby cat. From the injuries he sustained
I could tell that he died instantly and painlessly. I
would have liked to have been able to bury the poor
unfortunate kitty but I don't carry tools with me and
there were no appropriate places nearby to do so anyway.

I did move the kitties remains out of the street up onto
the shoulder, well off the road, and called the agency
responsible for dealing with animal remains. Most import-
ant, they maintain a list of animals they collect, a
description, and when and where they were collected so
worried animal owners can find out if their furkids have
been taken.

Please join me in purring this poor thing finds his way
to the bridge painlessly, and this his humans may learn
of his fate instead of worrying and never knowing.

I also learned something important today - it's difficult
to drive on a busy freeway with tears in your eyes.

Dan


Purrs on the way for the unknown kitty

I have to relate this, which has a good ending but which scared the crap out
of me at the time.

I was on my way early one summer Saturday morning (approximately 5:30AM),
driving down a normally busy 6 lane divided street. Had it not been
Saturday or so very early, there probably would have been a much different
outcome. I'm driving along, no traffic to speak of. I see what appears to
be a small tire, strip of rubber, or rubbish in the road. Suddenly the
"rubbish" turned its head and I could see it was a gorgeous long-haired
black cat with green eyes.

OMG! It was entirely too late for me to swerve so I just gritted my teeth
and begged it, please don't move! I can't believe I didn't crush it with
the tires of my car; I've never been any good at avoiding stuff in the
middle of the street, you know?

I heard a slight thunk but as I looked in my rearview mirror the cat ran off
behind me. It ran up a large grass incline towards some houses. The way it
dashed off, I was 99.999% certain it wasn't hurt, just scared. The thunk, I
think, was it jumping and hitting my rear bumper as I miraculously
maneuvered over the cat without hitting it with any of my tires. I, myself,
was shaking.

I turned around at the next intersection and went back and tried to find the
cat. The fact that I didn't find it dead, dying or injured made me feel
pretty certain it was okay and had gone back home. I couldn't bring myself
to knock on doors at 6AM. I was so upset I'm sure I would have said some
really nasty things if they'd said to me, "Oh, we have a cat like that...
he/she is fine; just came home." I'd have cussed them up one side and down
the other for letting this cat roam loose. For being irresponsible pet
owners. For not only endangering the cat, who decided to nap on the warm
pavement as the sun came up, but also for scaring the crap out of the cat
and me. GRRRRRRR.

Jill