Is there anything else we/I should do?

[C.Ann]

Sad story.. DD and my DGD stayed up here at the lake until today because my DGD doesn't start school until Friday..

Early this morning they went to town to the pharmacy for me and when they came back, there was a dead kitty right at the end of my road - where it meets the main road.. It was part way out in the road and my DGD was crying her eyes out - saying they had to do something.. DD came up here, got disposable gloves from me, moved it way off to the side, and then she and my DGD drove up the main road a mile (in both directions), looped around my road - knocking on doors to see if they could find the owner.. Of course all the summer residents closed up and left for the season on Labor Day and of the 5 full-time residents they found at home, none said they had a cat.. (No collar - no tags..)

We didn't want to leave it there - and let the animals get to it - so we decided to go ahead and bury it down on the back of my extra lot.. We took all the necessary precautions - we all wore double disposable gloves; placed the cat in a large plastic bag; put the bag in a box; dug a pretty deep hole; covered it with the dirt; and then found the heaviest, largest rocks we could find (and lift) and placed them on top of the soil so an animal wouldn't come along and dig it up.. DGD cried the whole time - named the cat "Patches" (it was black and white) - used a magic marker to write the kitty cats "name" and the date on one of the rocks - and we all said a prayer..

It really was a beautiful cat - and appeared to be well groomed.. But now what? Someone is probably looking for their cat - and we've already buried it.. We couldn't just leave it to the animals though - and we did make a serious attempt to find the owners.. What else could we have done?

Is there anything I should do now?

DGD was still crying when they left to go home.. She's such an animal lover..

 

[Magic Mom]

aw how sad.

 

[dakcp2001]

You could call the local animal shelters and vets & leave a message about it. That is where people call to see if anyone has found a missing pet. If it were my pet, I would be thankful that someone cared enough to bury him. Where else do people call when they lose a cat? I am thinking shelter, vet.....flyers at the supermarket or corner store. So look for those I guess, how incredibly sad!

 

[LuvOrlando]

Aww, aside from the other suggestions giving the kitty a nice resting place was a really good deed. Whenever the owners do find out about it i sure your actions will be a great comfort.

The only extra I can think up is a post in your local classified in case the cat wandered a good distance. Many newspapers will post stuff like that for free.

 

[JessicaR]

So so sweet. You all did what you could do. Find comfort that you gave that sweet kitty a proper good-bye.

 

[lynxstch]

You and your daughter and granddaughter did a very sweet thing. Even if you never find out who owned the kitty,you gave it a very proper burial. As a cat lover myself, I would thank God for people like you who did all you could for a pet that wasn't yours. I hope your granddaughter can take solace in that. You gave kitty a safe place, where no predators could get at it, while it took it's trip to the Rainbow Bridge. God Bless you and yours for your thoughtfulness.
Lynn

 

[chager]

You did what you could. When a cat was hit in our subdivision I took her to a friends farm and buried her. I then posted her description on craigslist and that I had buried her. She was not a familiar cat in our area so I am pretty sure she had escaped someone's house. We pretty much know all the cats in our area and which are strays and which aren't. As well as who takes care of which ones. Thankfully you cared enough to bury her with dignity.

 

[SandrA9810]

It's hard to tell, cats can travel long distances from home. Besides the accidental cat getting shipped overseas some how in a box or got on the wrong plane, there's quite a few that can wander 100's of miles away.

Craiglist does have a forum section, and one for pet owners. You can post on there. Which could reach a lot more people than just your local area.

 

[walden]

What a sad story. I think you dealt with it very well, and hope the dignified burial helped your DGD. Poor kitty.

I would check the newspapers and also suggest a posting on and checking Craigslist. Notify animal control and any local vets' offices because they are the first places people post fliers for missing animals. The only suggestion I might have for something to do differently next time, especially in the case of an obviously well cared for pet, would be to take the body to a vet or animal control for a micro-chip scan before burying it.