this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2023

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My beautiful cat ran out of luck (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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My beautiful cat, Tequila, was hit by a car on 11th September this year around 10:25 am. She died on the spot in the middle of the street. It still hurts so much every day to wait for her to come home again. I miss her every morning, because she doesn't wake me up. I miss her when I come home from work, because she is not waiting for me to be petted. And I miss her in the evening, when she should be cuddling on my lap while I'm reading on the couch. She was my jumping piece of luck, but on that faithful day she ran out of luck. I will hang this picture of her next to her favorite spot on the couch.

Rest in peace Tequila.

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[–] [email protected] 114 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Im sorry for your loss. If you all want your cats to live long and healthy lives, please keep them inside.

[+] [email protected] -25 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Look man, I know you are right but there are times to bring this up and times to keep it to yourself. Like when someone just lost their pet is a clear category #2 case.

[–] [email protected] 47 points 1 year ago

I disagree. If it's in person one-to-one, you're correct. Online it may help someone else. The OP isn't the only one in this thread obviously.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago

Thank you for your thoughtfulness. I posted the story behind the picture despite knowing there will be critics.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

I know, I really debated posting. It makes me immensely upset to see things like this and my immediate reaction was FAR more visceral. I feel for OP regardless of how I feel about their responsibility in the situation.

[–] [email protected] 42 points 1 year ago

I'm sorry for your loss. Lossing a pet is one of the hardest things. Even though they're gone, they won't be forgotten.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I'm so sorry for your loss OP. For cat owners like myself, this is a valuable lesson. If you are letting your cat outside, then please get them to stay inside. And if your cat is an inside cat, please never let them outside. Not only is it a massive danger to your cat, it does great damage to the ecosystem. Please please please KEEP YOUR CAT INSIDE and hopefully you won't have to feel what OP is feeling right now.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago

Rest In Peace Tequila 😔

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

I’m sorry for your loss

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

😢

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

I lost a dog that way after he slipped his collar on me. I'm sorry, I know how it hurts.

Our cats are indoor only. No way I could stand worrying about them.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

I'm sorry for your loss. The spirit of Tequila lives on in you and those who knew her.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm sorry for your loss. We have a huntress cat that adopted us as a quasi feral kitten a couple of years ago but spends 23 hours a day outside doing outside cat things. So far she's gotten got by a skunk and something presumably a lot bigger than herself opened up a huge gash on her head that fortunately triple anti cream and time sealed back up nicely and you can't even see the scar through her fur. I always figure it's a matter of time before a car gets her, but we do live deep in the middle of a subdivision where most people don't drive crazy, so she's got that working in her favor.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

I hope fo you, that your cat has enough sense to be afraid of cars. My Tequilas was more afraid of people than of cars. I also was never able to teach her anything on purpose. She learned to use the cat flap by observing her brother. Tequila was a very headstrong and strange kitty.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

She looks so sweet in that photo. My kitty, Lena, looks a lot like Tequila, so this news is hitting close to home. I offer my condolences for losing someone who grew so close to you.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Sorry for your loss, looks like she was a good girl. 😢

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Kitty!

Ahem. I mean, fuck cars. RIP, kitty.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

I'm really sorry OP, that's awful

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

She looks like a good critter. It's tough to lose a pet.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Condolences for your loss 😢 She was a very cute kitty.

[–] [email protected] -5 points 1 year ago (3 children)

That's what happens when you let your cat roam free outside.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (5 children)

that's what happens when we as a society blithely accept that there are murder machines screaming through our environments.

a significant part of why i'm anti-car is because of how much of a threat they are to animals.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The problem isn't just with cars. Cats do unbelievable damage to ecosystems that didn't evolve alongside them. They've caused dozens of extinctions–over 60 species of small birds and mammals, extinct because of them. Not to mention disease and predation. Cats live longer and healthier lives inside.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

So have humans but people don't brag about swerving to hit them.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

Both things can be bad at the same time. For example, free roaming cats decimate bird/rodent populations

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Cars are awful but there are other dangers to cats besides cars. There are dogs that frequently kill cats and other dangers like poisons. Cats are also responsible for several bird species going extinct. They should not be outside.

https://yoloaudubon.org/feral-cats-and-wild-birds/

"A recent study by the Smithsonian Institution and the US Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that domestic cats kill about 2.4 billion birds and 12.3 billion small mammals each year in the lower forty-eight states. This is far higher—and probably more accurate–than previous figures, and likely exceeds all other sources of human-related losses of these animals. That makes it a major bird conservation concern."

"Outdoor domestic cats are a recognized threat to global biodiversity. Cats have contributed to the extinction of 63 species of birds, mammals, and reptiles in the wild and continue to adversely impact a wide variety of other species, including those at risk of extinction, such as Piping Plover."

https://abcbirds.org/program/cats-indoors/cats-and-birds/

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Cats are a massive threat to animals

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago

Not the time, chief. Let's just appreciate what a beautiful little bean she was.

[+] [email protected] -35 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Because locking them up inside is so much better

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Legitimately yes. Cats are not humans. If your cat has proper stimulation, they'll be perfectly happy inside for decades. There's a reason every single animal shelter in the USA has a clause in their adoption contract that requires you to keep the cat inside.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I've adopted her and her brother from a shelter, which insisted on letting them outside. Here in Germany a "Freigänger" (out-door) cat is considered a happier cat. Tequila herself was very happy and healthy outside for 2,5 years after living inside our flat for 4 years. Inside she was often scared and shy. Since she was allowed to go outside, she seemed a lot more confident and affectionate towards me. Too confident to savely cross the street to the neighbors garden. I knew the risk and I have to live with the consequences. Of course I'm not sure, that it was worth it, now. Sadly nothing will bring her back.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago

My biggest problem with letting cats outside is the damage they cause to ecosystems, and my understanding is that Europe doesn't have the same problems with outdoor cats that the other continents have. I'm sorry for your loss, and for her brother's loss.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

my cat desires to be a Freigänger, but I have found him not less than 5 times with a dead bird, and one time he brought a dead bird inside and threw it about. Also he gets fleas. He is a dickhead, and not allowed outside.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago

it is better. if they go outside, they get fleas, kill birds, come home injured in bizarre ways, and get into fights with various animals they sometimes lose. RIP Tigger, who died of mysterious wounds in the garage when I was a kid, and Oliver, who straight up vanished shortly after.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You can take cats for walks just like you can a dog.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

Idk maybe some cats. My cats would completely lose it if they were tied to a leech

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Less car traffic typically.

[–] [email protected] -5 points 1 year ago

Maybe you should read about holocaust survivors and the hope they carried when they were faced with extermination

[+] [email protected] -60 points 1 year ago (3 children)

[removed by mod]

[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I don’t disagree with you, but it’s THIS kind of “Reddit” bullshit that we don’t need on Lemmy. Your comment doesn’t solve anything. It doesn’t make anyone feel good but you. In fact, it hurts people. Have some restraint.

If you want to be on a better social network than Reddit, then start acting like it.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

Well said.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Agreed. I don't particularly like posts like this either because they bum me out and bring back emotions from when I lost my dog. It sucks. But I think as long as there are communities about animals there will inevitably be people who engage with them as a way to process their grief. I think accepting that just comes with the territory.

OP, I'm very sorry for your loss. RIP Tequila. I hope you are able to find healing soon. Give yourself some time every day to grieve.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago

If there is one thing that is unwelcome from reddit to here, it's comments like this. This is first and foremost a community, not your entertainment center.