Something I never want to do again...

from JoeUser Forums

There was an accident in the warehouse at work today.

We have a resident cat who had delivered her kittens in a corner about 6 weeks ago. 

Today two of them had wandered off and were curled up inside a wooden pallette...it got picked up by a fork lift, and the kitties fell out.  The fork lift driver didn't see then, and started stacking palletes on top of them.

By the time I got there, they had the pallettes off of them.  One tortoiseshell one had lost a leg and was esviscereted.  It was making the most god awful mewling sounds...I had never heard, nor do I ever want to hear anything like that again.  The other, a little orange one, had split her back paw in two, but apart from that seemed to be okay.  We picked them up and put them in a box, then one of the guys from the meat department took them over to the vet.

I called later this afternoon...there wasn't much hope for the disembowelled one, but the orange one was okay, considering.  I blurted out that if it survived and they needed a home for it that I'd take it....D's not gonna like that.  Oh well.  I just felt so bad for the poor little thing...

...I'm sitting here almost in tears remembering the sight and sound of that little tortoiseshell kitty.

It was horrible.  Truly awful.

 

misc
9,244 views 25 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
Aww! I have a soft spot for animals...this article made me tear up...
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top

I have a soft spot for animals...

Me too.  It was heartbreaking. 

I don't think I could ever work for a vet.  I'd be useless.

TouchTasks - Access tasks with ease on Windows touchscreens.
Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
Oh, dharma. That's awful. You are such a kind, giving soul. I'm sorry you had to see that.
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top

I'm sorry you had to see that

Me too....but I couldn't just walk away and not do anything.....

Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
*sniffles* The poor little kittens
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top

That is so awful!  I couldn't work for a vet either.  I have been haunted by things that others probably think are silly like seeing a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest onto the sidewalk in Hawaii or when I hit a big raccoon when I was first starting to drive.  I actually got out and apologized to Mr Raccoon and cried even though I knew I couldn't have done anything since he jumped out of a bush right into the road in front of me.  I still mourn the childhood dog I grew up with who died when I was in high school.


I can't go to pet stores because I can't bare to see those animals caged up that way.  I can't "just look" at puppies.  I cried when our lizard died and was deeply saddened when a little water frog of ours died.  I even get sad when fish die.


I'm so sorry you had such a horrible experience

Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top
I can't go to pet stores because I can't bare to see those animals caged up that way. I can't "just look" at puppies. I cried when our lizard died and was deeply saddened when a little water frog of ours died. I even get sad when fish die.


I know exactly what you mean, Jill. I have cried over things I've run over, things I've accidentally squished, and pets ranging from fish to geckos to kitties to dogs. I can't look at mangled animals. I couldn't even look at our Betta fish when they suddenly died (thank God Adrian was on leave when that happened).
Reply #8 from JoeUser Forums Top

I have been haunted by things that others probably think are silly like seeing a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest onto the sidewalk in Hawaii or when I hit a big raccoon when I was first starting to drive


I don't think it's silly.  I got out of the car and apologised to a squirrel I ran over in North Carolina...it was my first road kill.  I hit a skunk in a patrol vehicle last year and cried the rest of the night. 


I can't go to the pound because it makes me sad.  I can't go to pet stores where they sell puppies and kittens and stuff because it makes me sad.  If I could, I'd have a veritable zoo of lost and abandoned animals.  My step-MIL has cats that hang out at her house because they know that she'll feed them...there's 'one-eyed Wilma', 'Spot-with-a-broken-tail' and 3 others that don't have names that show up there to get some eats and some affection.


I don't care what D says, if that kitten survives and no-one wants it, it's coming home with me.  And I'll name it 'lucky'.

Reply #9 from JoeUser Forums Top

I can't look at mangled animals


I had to feed our snake live rats when D was gone......I used to apologise to the rat beforehand, tip it into the tank and leave the house for an hour.  I'd come back when it was over.


I'm such a wuss.

Reply #10 from JoeUser Forums Top
Oh, Dharma, I know the feeling. When I was 9, I was down in our dark basement where our cat had her kittens and I was reaching up to get a jar (so I must've been lifting one leg because, somehow, that makes you reach higher...?) and when I got it, my foot came down on one of our kittens' heads. I have never, ever cried so hard in my life. He didn't die right away, which made it even worse. Ugh. Even my dad cried and he *hates* cats.

So sorry about your kittens.

-A.
Reply #11 from JoeUser Forums Top

and when I got it, my foot came down on one of our kittens' heads.


Oh!!  I'm so sorry!!!!!  That must have been awful for you!!!


I'm getting better about it now.  I just hate to see anything or anyone in pain, especially innocent, helpless creatures and humans.

Reply #12 from JoeUser Forums Top
We were going out for my birthday in July and there was a bird that had hit the side of Ryan's apartment building. It was flopping around and it had been since that morning...I hadn't noticed when I came in to the building to wait for him. But I couldn't stand to see it suffering...so I took my shoe off and hit it on the head. I felt horrible...but....I figured it was better than letting it suffer. I'm okay with mercy killings. My cousin hit a deer with his little Ford Aspire one time...and it was still alive (no wonder with that roller skate of a car), and luckily he had an ax in his car and hit that poor deer on the head to put it out of its misery too.

My first time deer hunting I was up in the stand with my dad and we saw a deer and a fawn come out of the brush...I shot and the bullet actually went under the deer...and my dad thought I'd hit it so he shot, too. That poor deer made the most gut wrenching sound before it died...I didn't even know deer made sounds. But it was sad. I had a hard time continuing to hunt...

Blech. Isn't it wonderful to be human so we can decide the fate of species with smaller brains? I don't like having that responsibility sometimes.
Reply #13 from JoeUser Forums Top
Dharmagrl, I don't know whether to be more upset for you or the kittens!

considering. I blurted out that if it survived and they needed a home for it that I'd take it....D's not gonna like that. Oh well. I just felt so bad for the poor little thing...


I know I would have done the same thing, and I am not really even a cat person. Zombie would think I had lost my mind! Oh wait, he already does....nevermind.
Reply #14 from JoeUser Forums Top

But I couldn't stand to see it suffering...so I took my shoe off and hit it on the head. I felt horrible...but....I figured it was better than letting it suffer. I'm okay with mercy killings. My cousin hit a deer with his little Ford Aspire one time...and it was still alive (no wonder with that roller skate of a car), and luckily he had an ax in his car and hit that poor deer on the head to put it out of its misery too

You're a braver woman than I, Marcie.  I couldn't have done it.  Whilst on patrol (again) I came across a deer that had been hit by a car...it was flailing all over the road with this panicked look in it's eyes.  I radioed the HP to come and help me corral it, and while I was waiting for them it collapsed next to me and died.  I had my hand on it's flank and was talking to it...I guess I was trying to make it not feel so scared.  It bothers me that the last thing these animals feel is pain and terror. 

I can't (won't) hunt.   I just can't do it.  All this talk of animals dying makes me want to not eat meat anymore.

 

Reply #15 from JoeUser Forums Top

Dharmagrl, I don't know whether to be more upset for you or the kittens!

The kittens!  No, me!  They'll forget, I won't!!

D's already said 'no' to the kitten. I don't like it when he tells me 'no'.....it means I'll have to work on him.

Reply #16 from JoeUser Forums Top
I don't like it when he tells me 'no'


I don't like being told no, either. Good thing it doesn't happen very often.
Reply #17 from JoeUser Forums Top
Dharma, as soon as you said 'ginger kitten', my heart went out to you. I have a beautiful, middle-aged ginger cat who has been my best friend for the past 8 years or so. I can't imagine being without her. I hope 'D' gives in. If not, I'd love to have him or her (although this is not practicable as I live on the other side of the world).
Reply #18 from JoeUser Forums Top
The kittens! No, me! They'll forget, I won't!!
D's already said 'no' to the kitten. I don't like it when he tells me 'no'.....it means I'll have to work on him.


Keep working on him. Our feminine wiles cannot be overcome...
Reply #19 from JoeUser Forums Top

. I have a beautiful, middle-aged ginger cat who has been my best friend for the past 8 years or so


I had one when I was a girl.  His name was marmalade, and he was my first kitten.  I had just learned to knit, and I knitted him a blanket for his bed.


He went missing when I was 10.  I put up ads in the local shop windows asking if anyone had seen him.  Finally, a man from down the street came to our door a bit teary eyed and said that he had found marmalade run over on the street outside his house.  Apparently I cried for days.


I just love ginger kittens.  Ginger tabbies, to be more accurate.  I hope this little one gets it's foot fixed.....and I think that if I just bring it home, D won't really put up too much of a fight.


Keep working on him. Our feminine wiles cannot be overcome...


He doesn't tell me 'no' that often, and when he does I usually respect his wishes......but this time....I'm going to have to refresh my manipulating skills.


 

Reply #20 from JoeUser Forums Top
Dharma - my cat's name is Pumpkin and she is a ginger tabbie. Apparently, in the cat world, she is a rarity as she is ginger and female. She could be considered as common as muck for all I care. She is my beautiful, crazy cat and I wouldn't change her for anything.

On another note, I don't really think feminine wiles are all they are cracked up to be. I think we men just let you think you're charming the pants off us (pardon the analogy) and let you get away with whatever you want to do. This is because we know if you are happy, then all is right with the world
Reply #21 from JoeUser Forums Top

UPDATE:

Both survived the night, and are going to undergo surgery today.  I won't be able to have any more contact until monday of next week...so i'll let you all know then.

At least one good thing has happened today...

Reply #22 from JoeUser Forums Top
That is good news, now you just need to convince D to let you keep them. Maybe you could get the kids involved, outnumber and outflank him
Reply #23 from JoeUser Forums Top

Dharma, that is great news that they are at least able to be "helped".  At least people are giving it a fighting chance.  I'm so sorry that you had to go through that.  I have had bad dreams of fish that have died, and felt emotionally attached to a nest of rabbits that I saved.  (They return the favor by eating all my plants and shrubs , but I don't care).

I was not going to comment on this, because animal control in todays over populated world is needed but:

we saw a deer and a fawn come out of the brush...I shot and the bullet actually went under the deer...and my dad thought I'd hit it so he shot, too.

You shot at a doe with a fawn?

Isn't it wonderful to be human so we can decide the fate of species with smaller brains?

Ack..... I can't even respond to that one. 

Dharma, please keep us updated on the kittens!

Reply #24 from JoeUser Forums Top
I'm really sad to hear this. I honestly don't like cats very much (I'm extremely allergic, so it's hard to like something that can actually send you to the emergency room in a worst case scenario), but things like this shouldn't happen to anything so young. My dad has been breeding cats for over 20 years and has kept many in that time. Some are indoor, but he has a few that live outdoors. He regularly feeds and waters them and they know that his property is a place of safety (he owns a good sized plot of land in souther Ohio). But, he has some stories about cats and kittens that he's had to bury, rush to the vet, or put down himself. They are all so very sad.

I'm glad that they have both survived so far. I'll keep you and them in my thoughts and prayers. I also hope that they find good homes, whether that's at your house or elsewhere. As you may be able to imagine, injured or 'special' animals have a very special place in my heart. I fell in love with Umji the first time I saw her (the day after she was born) when I saw her for how perfect she was. And I thank her mother, Aji, regularly for having brought us a puppy that we could never part with.

The male from that same litter was hit by a car just after his first birthday. We were close with his family and he came to visit his first home now and then. In fact, just days before he died, I'd taken him to the vet along with Umji for their one year immunizations and tests. My wife went to a holiday party at the house and nobody would tell her where Toby Jr. was. Finally after asking over and over, the man broke down and told her what happened. He knew that she'd be devastated and had tried to save it for a time that was a little better than a holiday party. She called me immediately and we both cried over the phone. One of the hardest things was to call the vet the next day and tell them. We still had test results pending for him and I asked when they called that they not mention Toby Jr's results if they got my wife. I didn't want her to be reminded out of the blue like that. They actually credited us for all the fees from his most recent visit. That was Dec 2001, nearly 3 years ago, and I'm tearing up just remembering it. It's amazing the hold that animals can have over us in just a short time.
Reply #25 from JoeUser Forums Top
It's amazing the hold that animals can have over us in just a short time.


Amen. I worked at the PetsMart in Seaside for awhile, and that's how we ended up with our third cat. I was responsible for cleaning the cat cages in the adoption center, and got to help with the adoptions. There was a little long-haired tortoiseshell that my manager didn't like, and she kept talking people out of adopting her. It pissed me off, because she was really sweet. Anytime I walked near her cage, she would reach out a paw and try to grab at me. The drawback was that she liked to bite. Never breaks the skin, and doesn't use her claws.................she was just playing. Someone decided to adopt her and was filling out the paperwork, and she bit him. So, they called the shelter she was from and they were going to send her back. My manager knew that I really liked her, so she called me, and the lady from the shelter called me. They were willing to waive the $95 adoption fee if I wanted her, but SPC said no. I finally convinced him to let me bring her home as a foster cat for a couple of weeks to try and break her of the biting so she could find a good home. The whole time he was saying we couldn't keep her, no way, no how. I picked her up the night before Thanksgiving, and she found her way to our bed pretty quickly and sprawled out between our pillows. When SPC saw her like that he gave me the dirtiest looke he had ever given me and said "We're probably not keeping her!"

That was three years ago.........................and she still bites.