I just found a dead cat in the street. I'm not sure how to deal with it.

Give him to the raccoons. They will grok of him most fully.

Oh gosh…my…geez that’s…cat soup?! You sicken me @LTaylor Only joking of course. But no really you sicken me.

Thanks @LTaylor :: I will remember to not help you when you have a problem. Same goes for @Kelly_Obrien..

You should have just left it or found a dumpster for it. The Raccoons that would get to it are alive and could actually gain some good from it. Why humanize the cat that way?

Contact a vet, or the local council, or animal rescue place.

@johnpowell Just bury it. My dad did that a long time ago, we have one buried in our front yard.

@Blondesjon I fully agree. @johnpowell I meant bury him near the raccoons.

We recently figured out what happened to a neighbor’s cat. They did tell us that they wanted to know, so I told them. However, it meant that they had to give up their fantasy that George had simply found a home with better food or bigger laps.

I would suggest either freezing the cat and waiting a reasonable time to see if Lost Cat signs show up, or simply placing the cat in a trash can or dumpster, or buried it. Keep in mind that, unless you know whose cat it is and know them well enough to be able to predict their response, sanitary disposal is the wisest choice.

I would contact local shelters and give them a description in case the owners are looking for the poor thing.

I think you did the right thing for tonight. The cat’s family might want to bury it themselves at their house.

Thanks Darwin. My cat just met the same fate and I buried her in the backyard. It is about .25 acres. So I will just bury it and wait to see if I see if anyone is asking about a missing cat.

Just bury it…You have already done more than enough…

Burial, or contact animal control for a pickup. As a kindness, a call to the shelter with a description of the cat in case an owner is searching for it.

will do syz.

@johnpowell – you are a good human being. I love animals but I have never picked up a dead one, my charity just doesn’t go that far.

I think I would just go ahead a bury it. Maybe take a picture of it first in case someone wants to be sure it was theirs.

I should add that we have two nine year old girls here. I can’t just leave it out.

If it is dead, and If you live inside of city limits, and If you don’t want to deal with it, call the city Public Works department.

You gave me a sad. :(

@Jewel :: I already tucked it away and got it safe. I can bury it next to my last cat once it is sun is out. I was more concerned about getting info to the folks that will wake up without a cat.

I’m repulsed by the eat the cat answers I got here.

@johnpowell: They gave me a bigger sad. :(

I agree with rooeytoo ~ if you’re able to, taking a photo is a good idea for ID purposes. Our local council now also works alongside a lady in the community to keep a database of any animals which are picked up by the weekly Council collections. SPCA may also keep a list (with the lost/found pets) in case of enquiries. Also we have a busy message board on our NZ auction site (TradeMe – the equivalent to E-Bay) and in the pet section, there’s a long thread dedicated to matching owners to lost/deceased pets. You may have something similar – or a website for lost/found pets which you could list it on. Seems like a lot of time-consuming work, but it’s well worth it if the owner can find out the truth. Good luck with finding the owners. For a lot of people out there (me included) their cats (and/or dogs) are family members just like their children.

Do please let the local humane society know exactly where you found it and when, with the description. It is so sad to have your pet disappear and you never have a clue. The photo is a good idea too, for confirmation, as long as it isn’t too horrible for the owner to see.

@AstroChuck, that was not funny. It was just mean.

ROFL @AstroChuck But that’s a lot of garlic..

For the OP: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stages_of_grief

@AstroChuck – It still isn’t funny.

The answers concerning preparing a dead cat as human food are repulsive, as the authors intended them to be. In addition to being ghoulish they are also childish and not helpful to @johnpowell who was trying to be responsible and considerate of those whose pet this dead may have been.

I offer my appreciation to those who where earnestly trying to help.

Ahhh, that sucks. I had to deal with the same thing this summer, when a cat was hit by a car in front of my boyfriend’s apartment. There was no yard to bury it in, no freezer to put it in, no animal control to contact (it was at night, in a bad neighborhood). Not wanting to watch it get smushed I grabbed some plastic bags and a towel, threw the towel over it and picked it up with the bags. Then we put it in the garbage bin. I didn’t want to do that at all, but what else could I have done?

don’t feed the troll.

@Fluthermucker :: Like I said in the past. Have you ever once helped a person here?

@johnpowell Yes, I have. Not that you care. You are not the arbiter of what is a good answer and what is not. You do not get to decide who gets to stay and who does not. You know, “free speech” and all that stuff people on here are always puking about. Offensive speech is still protected until moderators remove it.

I’m sure you can call your old pals to remove this, too.

[mod says] Enough, people. Let’s stick to the topic, and be respectful of one another.

@John

Look for the pet section (under Community) in the local Craigslist. I have seen many ads of this type posted by thoughtful folks for the sake of those with missing animals.

They usually include the location and date found along with a description.

There has
even been info like this provided regarding dead animals quickly seen in passing on the roadside going to or coming from work.

CL has tons of people viewing these ads and most of the folks who regularly frequent section are a caring bunch. Sort of like a mini-Fluther for animal lovers.

Just ignore all the tasteless dimwits here who are treating this as one big joke. You’re a caring person who can empathize with a pet owner who is missing a member of their family.

However, I’ve only seen written descriptions but no photos. Might be perceived as a trifle ghoulish.

Hopefully you will get a response from someone grieving for their missing kitty.

@johnpowell You are a good person.

I would contact your local humane society and local vet offices because that is where this cat’s owner is likely to be looking, if there is someone for him/her :( I do not know if there are pet equivalents off craigslist but I would put an ad in there too if there is such a thing. @Buttonstc said to put an ad in CL itself… that would probably be good.

I had two cats go awol, one hit by a car, one taken to the SPCA by my asshole landlord and I got them both back. Ok I found the body of the one hit by a car. all of my cats have been indoor cats because of this since the mid 80’s.

As far as the cats body, I would be reticent to freeze it because of any diseases (and probably fleas) that the cat may be carrying. I would bury the body in the back yard.

Thankyou for caring.

I’ve been in the SPCA when people have brought dead animals in, from being hit.
That’s an option, and they would then have a description so family would know.

Poor kitty :(

Oh I forgot something.

A lot of pets are microchipped these days with the owner’s information. I do not know how bad off the body is but, if it is not terribly bad off, maybe ask a vet or the SPCA if they want to see the body so they can scan for the chip? I do not know if they would do this but it is possible.

@casheroo The SPCAs I knew in California did just that. I do not know of any other States.

First, that was REALLY good of you to pick the cat up. Second….eh. It’s hard to decide whether you really want the owners contacted or not. Our local paper has a lost and found section that will let you advertise free for three days. Or you could put up fliers…but, you wouldn’t want to say, “Cat found, looks like this….” only to have them contact you and you have to tell them it’s daid. Maybe…it’s best if they don’t even know?

Taking it to the vet might be the best answer, really.

Good luck and please let us know….

@Darwin Freeze it?? I’ve had some strange things in my freezer, thanks to my kids, but never a cat.

If my cat went missing, I know that I want to know if she were dead. It may be tough to face, bit the truth is best.

@Buttonstc Yes….you’re right.

@Val123 – I am a retired museum curator and the strangest thing I’ve had in my freezer was probably an otter that I found dead on the road. Otherwise I had a salvage permit for birds, and also had an occasional snake in the freezer, too. Once one of our deceased cats was put in the freezer until the weather improved enough that I could bury her.

Dead toad in my freezer.

@Darwin I AM JUST A MOTHER!!!! I’ve had frozen insects in baby food jars in my freezer for two years, courtesy of my bug-loving son (I threatened to make a stew of them once, freaked everyone out) and the first fish my son ever caught for about five years. That is the extent of my strangeness! I wish not to contemplate on cats, rats and otters. And please, don’t mention snakes. My son has a virtual hematological display of snakes set up in his garage (That will be his major, herpetology, when he gets back in school after he turns 23 next year.) Please don’t give him any more ideas! My freezer can’t handle it.

@rooeytoo NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. My son is also a toad freak!.... Holy crap! I just looked at the pic! WHAT is the story there?

@Val123 – I’m a mother, too, but I’m the cool one who never minds if your turtle pees on her shirt and who won’t let you kill spiders in her house.

Good for your son! I minored in Herpetology.

@Darwin Cool! He’d love to meet you. Yeah…he tried to sneak a full grown hamster into the house once, thinking I’d never know. The story is, his friend was going to flush it down the toilet, so he rescued it. Well, we had a nice hamster cage that I’d built a few years earlier (different story), and he had the sense to put a kiddy wading pool under it while he “hid” it in his room. All this happened while I was at work. I had just come home and was unwinding, when his big sis came stomping down the stairs saying, “You tell Mom about this RIGHT NOW!” I’m like..What now?!…. HAMSTER! We had him for four years. His name was Pig. He had lizards I had to provide grasshoppers to every week.

@Val123 – It is a cane toad, the most hated immigrant in Australia. They were imported to kill some bug that attacks sugar cane, they adapted and are now taking over the country. They have a poison sack on their head and native creatures are dying from eating them. It has become your national duty to kill as many as you can. I have trouble killing creatures so it is said that if you whack them on the head and then put them in the freezer they will die peacefully. Apparently I hadn’t whacked this one sufficiently to keep it out cold until it got cold. It fought its way out of the plastic bag I had put it in and must have struggled mightily before it succumbed. I felt terrible when I looked in a day or so later and saw it hanging there. I also had a hell of a time getting it out.

@rooeytoo That is sad! But…freezing isn’t such a bad death (from what I’ve heard.) They just…go to sleep….

As @augustlan says “be respectful of one another”. What has become of common courtesy towards others?
@johnpowell, I’m sorry that your question wasn’t taken seriously by all. You did a good thing, and the majority of us realize that. I, for one, appreciate what you did.

@johnpowell So…what did you decide?

The ants are best for this job I say! I mean if it is just a stray cat and all…if it is not and or has an owner it would be nice of you to contact them and let them decide.

But really ants clean up a lot after us, you have to love those pesky little biters.

call animal shelter or public works.you can get some pretty nasty diseases and skin infections from dead animals