I certainly think outdoor cats in the suburbs are a bad idea. And that the owner should pay for the damage if one is hit by the car.
But doing everything to find the owner . . .one, that's just decent. Two, the cat might NOT have been an outdoor cat . . .it might have been a indoor cat that got out by accident. So blaming the owner in the way some people here are . . . yes, it should be the owner's legal responsibility to pay for damage, but that doesn't mean that they intentionally let their animals run loose . . . or even that they are habitually careless.
Accidents DO happen. I would never, ever let my dogs run loose, yet Sarama was struck on the road (she's fine, thank God) because Mike and I were stupid from exhaustion. I live in terror of one of the dogs or one of the cats getting out and getting hit, and Firdaus (cat) doesn't wear a collar any more because it causes skins problems (she is chipped). And it isn't always even the owner's fault . . . a friend or neighbor with key, or a workman or maid could accidentally let the animals out. These things happen.
I hope that if, God forbid, one of the animals gets out and gets hit, that the person who hit them would try to find me, or would at least leave the body where it could be seen and call animal control. Nothing is worse than not knowing what happened, and wondering if they are out there, starving or hurt . . .
But doing everything to find the owner . . .one, that's just decent. Two, the cat might NOT have been an outdoor cat . . .it might have been a indoor cat that got out by accident. So blaming the owner in the way some people here are . . . yes, it should be the owner's legal responsibility to pay for damage, but that doesn't mean that they intentionally let their animals run loose . . . or even that they are habitually careless.
Accidents DO happen. I would never, ever let my dogs run loose, yet Sarama was struck on the road (she's fine, thank God) because Mike and I were stupid from exhaustion. I live in terror of one of the dogs or one of the cats getting out and getting hit, and Firdaus (cat) doesn't wear a collar any more because it causes skins problems (she is chipped). And it isn't always even the owner's fault . . . a friend or neighbor with key, or a workman or maid could accidentally let the animals out. These things happen.
I hope that if, God forbid, one of the animals gets out and gets hit, that the person who hit them would try to find me, or would at least leave the body where it could be seen and call animal control. Nothing is worse than not knowing what happened, and wondering if they are out there, starving or hurt . . .