How do you handle finding a dead animal in front of your house? Logistically speaking

[Nik]

Yesterday a jerk was speeding through our neighborhood and hit and killed a cat, her body flew onto the sidewalk across the street from our house due to the impact. This was a cat that we knew. A very sweet cat. Not our's. But she definitely belonged to someone in the neighborhood.

We did call animal services and left a message. This morning she already smells very bad like death and one side of her body is very very messy... We can't bury her because it would drive the dog insane. He would want to dig her up I'm positive. Plus I think the smell might remain at our place and I worry that her owners would never discover what became of her. I don't know who her owners are to tell them. I think they probably live a street or two over. She doesn't have a collar.

I won't throw her in the garbage because it is disrespectful and also the smell would remain in our garbage. Do I just call again and hope they come out at a reasonable time?

She is a large cat and it is hot right now. This situation is going to deteriorate very quickly. The smell is already very bad. Not to mention how traumatic it is to be confronted by this dead cat we were fond of every time we walk out of our front door.

 

[Hiraeth]

Re: How do you handle finding a dead animal in front of your house? Logistically spea

This happened in my neighborhood over the winter. I called AC, no help there. Ground was frozen, so I couldn't bury her.

I ended up getting an old sheet, putting on gloves, wrapping her in a sheet and putting her in a garbage bag. I called my vet, who is wonderful, and asked if they'd cremate her for me. They said that they would. So I dropped her off with them and they took care of her remains.

Not sure if it's possible in your situation, but the cat in my neighborhood's skull was crushed, so I took cell phone pictures of her intact belly/back legs. Then I posted signs around the neighborhood that said "Please call me for information about a lost grey tabby cat" and hoped the owners would call me so that I could break the news and tell them that I ensured she was disposed of in a respectful way. I kept the photos in case they wanted visual evidence it was her. Never got any phone calls, though.

 

[Lisa P]

Re: How do you handle finding a dead animal in front of your house? Logistically spea

Does your town have a lost and found animal page on Facebook ? We have one here and a lot of people post things like " sorry for the owners of deceased dog" on such and such road and give a description or add a photo.
If animal control won't come out to pick it up I would either pick it up and take it to our Vet or most likely my husband would bag it and put it in the trash

 

[DennasMom]

Re: How do you handle finding a dead animal in front of your house? Logistically spea

We've unfortunately had to deal with this more than once.

One cat was just lying under the car... must have eaten a rat that had been poisoned (that's my guess, anyway)... I put it in a garbage bag, and put the bag in the shade next to the garage and called animal control. They came sometime that day and picked it up. It also didn't have a collar. I'm assuming (?) animal control wanded for a chip, but other than that, it would be another "lost cat" in the neighborhood. I did look for posters matching the description, but never saw any that fit.

Another cat... was only most of a cat... left by a coyote in our back yard. Again, I bagged the parts and put them in the garbage can... I then went on nextdoor.com for our neighborhood and made a post about a 'found cat'... within 24 hours we had located the owner - our back-fence neighbor. And after talking with her, I took the bits-of-cat out of the can and to the vet for cremation. She covered the cost, but I was the one that took the cat in. I didn't want her to even think about what shape her cat's body was in. That cat did have a collar - with a magnetic cat-door opener on it. The owner was very surprised the coyote got it. For one, it was about a 20lb cat; two, he was normally inside at night; and three, she expected he would have put up a fight unless he was taken completely off guard.

Our vet charged $50 for the cremation. I don't think they'll take an unknown cat for free... but you can ask what they want you to do. I think I did call on the first unknown cat, and they were probably the ones that told me to call animal control.

 

[TricAP]

Re: How do you handle finding a dead animal in front of your house? Logistically spea

Nik - each county in CA has their own policy for dealing with this situation. Check your counties website for more information and a phone number to call. Most have a specific person that deals with this. Hope this helps.

 

[cj-sharpy]

Re: How do you handle finding a dead animal in front of your house? Logistically spea

Peraonally I'd bag it up and put it in the bin.
When I found a dead cat that had been hit by a truck it was out side of a school.
Knowing the kids would see it I shovelled it up and put it in a salt bin. (We have bins of salt by the side of the road for winter.)
I figured that a council worker would find it when he was refilling the salt and better that than have a load of 5yr olds see it.
About a year later I was talking to a friend in the pub and he was saying how his wife wanted a cat as theirs had gone missing a year earlier.
Sure enough black and white, red collar, etc etc.
It was johns cat I had found.
I explained what had happened and that i hadn't been disrespectful in where I'd put the body.
Out of curiosity we opened the salt bin on the walk home and there he was still. Kind of mummified.



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[Nik]

Re: How do you handle finding a dead animal in front of your house? Logistically spea

It took a day and a half but ac did come get the cat.

Cj-sharpy - that is so crazy that the cat you found was still in the salt bin all that time later.


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