I just had a very sad, and rather unpleasant experience. I went grocery shopping for dinner stuff tonight, and on my way to Thrifty’s, I decided to stop off and pick up a movie. After grabbing the movie Sue and I wanted to see, I noticed there was a water store in the same mall. We just got a new water cooler, but have no bottle for it, so I thought I would go check it out.

Here is where things get sad, and tragic. While walking there, I found a dead cat in the parking lot. Don’t read on if you don’t want details.

What to do. I felt horrible for the cat, well, kitten actually. It was very tiny, and quite obviously dead. Noone else around was paying any attention to it, and most people were just driving around it. This is a parking lot with a restaurant, a video store, and a pet store. Places kids frequent, so I couldn’t just leave it there.

I went to the pet store to see if they had anything to scoop it up with, and they provided me with a box, and came out to help. It was very sad. I don’t want to believe that someone did this on purpose, and I don’t want to believe that they knew they hit the kitten and left anyway.

I touched the kitten to see if it was still alive, but there was nothing. It was still warm though. Its little tongue was hanging out the side of its mouth. I got down to the grisly business of scooping it up (including some parts that should have been inside). Now that I had it in a box, I wasn;t sure what to do with it. There was no collar, no name, no phone number, just the little furry body.

I did the only thing I could do, and that was put it in a dumpster. That made me even more sad that I had to do that. I keep imagining some kid at home sad because their kitten hasn’t returned, and never knowing what has happened to it. I was that kid a long time ago, and I know how it feels*. I just wish there was some way I could get in touch with the owner. The pet store owner thanked me many times for doing that. She was also quite sad, and dismayed.

When I got home from shopping, after putting the groceries in the kitchen, I went upstairs, and gave Aphro a hug, and gently told her that she is never going outside again. Aprho does have a collar that we put on her when she goes out. I hope that if something ever happens to her, someone has the courtesy to call us.

* – my cat eventually did come home, but it was badly injured, and didn’t survive. She was missing for several days before she made it home.