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Buried my cat today, except I didn’t!

NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
in The potting shed
Was most distressed to find what looked very much like our lovely Tally dead on the road this morning whilst setting out with the dogs for our morning walk. Poor puss had been hit by a car. Called my OH to come and collect as I couldn’t move her and control two dogs desperate to get at the corpse. OH confirmed it was her and was in tears. 

Spent a couple of hours with a pick axe digging her grave in our rocky terrain, came back to collect her carboard coffin, buried her, but blow me, there she was in her usual place on the roof of the garage with her daughter  :open_mouth:
 
So I buried an unknown tabby. She was a total doppelgänger for Tally!

I suspect the unknown puss didn’t belong to anyone, there are quite a few feral cats around (Tally herself was one, we inherited her and her daughter with the house). At least she had a dignified burial instead of being repeatedly driven over, or at best tossed on the side of the road, as is usual around here...
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
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  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Wasn't this a Stephen King book? :#
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    Certainly felt like I was in one at the time. BOO!


    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    What a dreadful experience Nollie, but how amazing it wasn't your cat after all.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    very pleased it wasn't Tally  :) Horrible shock though. I wonder if the one you buried was a relative of hers
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
    Nollie said:
    Was most distressed to find what looked very much like our lovely Tally dead on the road this morning whilst setting out with the dogs for our morning walk. Poor puss had been hit by a car. Called my OH to come and collect as I couldn’t move her and control two dogs desperate to get at the corpse. OH confirmed it was her and was in tears. 

    Spent a couple of hours with a pick axe digging her grave in our rocky terrain, came back to collect her carboard coffin, buried her, but blow me, there she was in her usual place on the roof of the garage with her daughter  :open_mouth:
     
    So I buried an unknown tabby. She was a total doppelgänger for Tally!

    I suspect the unknown puss didn’t belong to anyone, there are quite a few feral cats around (Tally herself was one, we inherited her and her daughter with the house). At least she had a dignified burial instead of being repeatedly driven over, or at best tossed on the side of the road, as is usual around here...
    I did the same 6/7 years ago, if you search social media, you’re not alone.  Someone wrote it into a book too.
  • Steve the Gardening VetSteve the Gardening Vet Posts: 1,630
    The moral of this story is 'if you are willing to pick it up, call a local vet and ask them to check for a chip. Make sure your pets are chipped'.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    Good advice, Steve, although it wouldnt work around here. Cats are generally semi-feral and my farming neighbours might feed them occasionally but they would never be chipped or ever seen a vet.

    Thanks Lizzie and RG, I was mightly relieved it wasn’t Tally too, but definitly a relative I think, had identical markings including the same distinctive black stripe right down her spine. 
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • Lily PillyLily Pilly Posts: 3,845
    edited February 2019
    Hi Steve, nice to see you
    Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.”
    A A Milne
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    Cat story, but not as traumatic as that one.  A friend of a friend had quite a few cats, and was feeding them one day when he thought something wasn't quite right.  He had one jet black cat which was normally a bit timid but this feeding time it was straight in there.  His cat only had one eye, on closer inspection this one had two!  He'd never seen it before and never saw it again, presumably it thought it had pushed its luck far enough.
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    Nollie said:
    Good advice, Steve, although it wouldnt work around here. Cats are generally semi-feral and my farming neighbours might feed them occasionally but they would never be chipped or ever seen a vet.

    If Tally was chipped though, you may not know who the cat you found was, but you would know it wasn't Tally. It's not foolproof (the chips can move around and get missed when scanning) but I would still do it rather than not. Tattooing is the more reliable method but it's not that easy to find someone who'll do it, at least in the UK where it's not common practice. It's a legal requirement here now to have pets microchipped, so easy and cheap to get it done.
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
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