I have to face the fact that I cannot "let nature take its course"

[EFerrari]

iow, I'm some kind of coward or control freak or something.

This morning, I drove out to the gate to fetch my dog and saw a cat crawling on her front legs away into the brush. The dog went into the truck and I tried to figure out what was going on.

The cat wasn't bleeding but her hind quarters were not working. She called out to me a couple of times, more as a protest ("don't hurt me&quot than anything else. At first I thought she had been hit by a car but now am wondering if this cat hadn't been crawling around here somewhere for a while.

We called Animal Control to pick her up as there was no way to catch her or hold her once she was caught. They will probably put her down. The AC guy at first didn't want to go into the gully or the brush to try to net her and said, sometimes we just have to let nature take its course. But he did flush her out into the open and caught her easily. I guess at least, when they put her down, it will be better than being eaten by a coyote.

I suck at this.

[Angry Dragon]

1. Sometimes to do the right thing is the hardest

[MuseRider]

2. It is very hard

and I am sorry this happened to you. I just lost a mouse in my garage, I know I know.. but it was a little living thing that I suspect one of my cats tortured but did not kill. Second one in a month. Usually I catch them and move them from the cats but these two were hurt beyond recovery.

I agree with you that if they put it down it is much better than being eaten by a coyote or something else or even just slowly dying in pain. Still it is always hard isn't it?

Being on a farm has it's ups and downs for those of us who have never been able to accept the cruelty of life for some to provide for others.

[EFerrari]

3. It's funny how some sensitivities get better when you get older

and how some don't or get worse.

I can't think of anything I'm truly afraid of any more but I don't even like to kill bugs. Yes, I really do scoop them up and put them out in the garden, which turns out to be a hobby in the Spring when there's so many of them that make their way in here. When my cat brings me mice a couple of times a week, I don't let her in until she loses them because I'm afraid they will hide in here somewhere and not be able to get out again. I don't keep chickens or goats right now because I can't slaughter them. It's just not going to happen. Maybe we could get someone else to do that because at least I know how not to bond to an animal that won't be around, that I can do.

I don't have a gun here although I probably should. But I could never shoot coyotes like the neighbors do even after seeing the damage they can cause to stock. Instead, there's a trash can lid in my truck bed and when I hear them too close, I go out and make a lot of noise until they leave even if it's 3 in the morning.

I don't know what shook me up so much today about seeing this cat. At least she won't be out there hurting in the dark and waiting for a predator. But apparently I really do suck at this cycle of life thing and should probably to stick to things that have roots and not legs.

[shraby]

4. We had a cat that lost the use of her hind legs..the vet said she had a blood clot

where the legs are controlled. He kept her for a few days and gave her aspirin to dissolve the clot and after that she was good to go.
This might be what happed to the cat you found.

[kestrel91316]

5. Euthanasia is the kindest thing. A natural death can be slow, lingering, and painful.

[Rider3]

6. That blows...

What a horrible thing to deal with. Sounds like she could've been hit by a car. I would attempt to catch the cat, especially if it cannot walk well. I agree with you that it would be better to put her down than to have her eaten by a coyote. But, that's easier said than done. My thoughts are with you.