What to do if you see an injured cat on the road- a question nobody wishes to need to look up the answer to, but sadly, many people have to whether they like it or not.
As heartrending as it may be, seeing a hurt animal on the side of the road is a common occurrence. Reckless drivers or violent paw fights more often than not leave stray animals injured, writhing in pain, unable to help themselves.
As a result, drivers and pedestrians come across hurt animals on the highway/road. While you can find any stray animal on a drive/walk, cats and dogs are typically the ones to be found bruised.
When that happens, a person’s first instinct might be to help the distressed animal but, they are likely to struggle to translate their intention into actions because they don’t know what to do exactly.
Not knowing how to aid a dog/cat is common, but that’s more so the case when it comes to easing a cat’s pain because cats tend to be distrusting and don’t accept help easily.
Consequently, no matter how willing you are, you may not be able to help a cat. Therefore, when trying to comfort a harmed, frightened feline, one needs to be careful not to alarm the poor creature before them and do everything right.
If you are wondering how you can do that, this guide will put all your confusions about ‘what to do if you see an injured car on the road’ to rest.
Pull-Over At A Safe Spot
If you are in the driver’s seat going on your way and notice a poor cat whimpering on the side of the road, your instant reaction would be to hit the brakes to take a closer look. However, don’t do that!
No matter how eager you are to halt your vehicle and check on the injured fellow, don’t stop your car abruptly in the middle of the road and cause an accident.
If you end up causing a crash, you’ll probably get hurt, and so will others involved. If that happens, you will not be able to aid the bruised feline fellow and have to be helped yourself.
Therefore, when you spot an injured cat, don’t panic; turn on the hazards lights and steer your car to a safe spot.
Don’t turn off your hazard lights while with the cat, as doing so may urge other drivers to come your way.
Don’t Startle The Cat
An injured cat can be incredibly high strung and get startled with even the slightest movement nearby, so be sure not to disturb the helpless fellow.
If you happen to alarm the cat, it might try to get away from you and run towards the middle of the road, probably hit by oncoming traffic. So, control your emotions and move with caution towards the injured animal.
As you get closer, use a gentle voice to soothe the cat. When you see that the wounded bugger seems to be comfortable and isn’t moving away as you go closer, try to touch the cat.
Assess The Injury
There can be different types of injuries that a wounded cat might have. So, before you start panicking, assess the damage to figure out your next course of action.
If the cat is bleeding heavily (hopefully not), the chances are it’s been hit by a vehicle or attacked by an animal. Unfortunately, if the animal before you has lost a lot of blood, you might have to let it go and end its suffering. But doing so may not be easy for everyone.
If you cannot put it down, call a veterinary clinic or rescue center close by. If there isn’t one, call 911 or a friend who might know what to do.
· Check For A Collar Or Tag
Sometimes an injured animal on the side of the road may be a pet who ran away from its house inadvertently. So when you approach it, look for a collar or a name tag.
If you find one, contact the owner and inform them about the situation. If nobody answers your call, see what you can do to help the lost fellow.
Many times, finders take the animal with them until they can hold of the owners. You can do that too. But don’t forget to inform the animal authority if you choose to take the injured cat home.
· Call A Rescue Center If You Don’t Know What’s Wrong
You can only help an injured cat if you know what’s wrong with it. But if you are not an expert (as many people aren’t), you should ring up an animal shelter or veterinary facility in the area (look it up online) and describe the scene to the person on the other end of the line.
By doing that, you can ask for directions as to what you should do and how to provide first aid to the injured animal.
While you follow instructions, request the operator to dispatch a team as well. That said, sometimes it’s possible that you don’t find a center in the locality to get guidance. In that scenario, call 911 and fill in the receiver on the details.
· If It’s A Minor Injury
If you are lucky, you might find that the cat is only slightly hurt, nothing that you cannot handle. Let’s say the poor bugger’s leg is damaged and it’s struggling to walk, in which case you should try to transport it to a clinic or rescue center.
However, getting the cat into your car can be an uphill battle because you don’t want to force the helpless animal and hurt it more. If you have a door trap, utilize it to carry the feline fellow to your vehicle.
Don’t pick up the cat forcefully to put it in the case; lure it in using a treat or water. Also, place a piece of cloth on the bottom to make sure its paws don’t get damaged/bruised.
However, it’s unlikely you have a door trap in your car, so look for other means to pick up the cat. One way to do that is by making a sling wrap with a piece of fabric, like a blanket.
Making A Wrap
If you have a throw or blanket in your vehicle, use it to make a carrier. Here’s how you can do it.
- Fold the piece of fabric in half, forming a triangular shape- that of a scarf.
- Next, take one end of the folded blanket over your shoulder and the other end across your body at the back and bring it under your arm. Doing so will leave you with one corner over one shoulder and the other under the other arm, next to your tummy. You should now have a triangular piece of cloth wrapped around your body.
- Now take the two ends and tie a knot closer to the bit over the shoulder. In order to do that, you will have to take the end next to your tummy and drag it upwards towards the other end of the blanket near your shoulder. Once that’s done, you should have the greater part of the triangle spread across your oblique, with the edge resting near the pelvic bone.
- Take the remaining end of the fabric and pull it in towards your chest, forming a sack. Tuck the corner you pulled in in your shirt.
- Place the injured animal into the cloth carrier gently.
A Word Of Caution: Holding a stray animal so close to your body can be dangerous. If it gets aggressive during the car ride, it might hurt, bite or scratch you. Even if you are willing to take the hit of an injured animal, keep in mind that it might have rabies, which can harm you. So, whatever you decide, consider your wellbeing first.
Things To Consider When Driving An Injured Cat To A Rescue Center
If you manage to get an injured cat into your cat and are all set to take it to a shelter or vet clinic, you should remember a few things to ensure a smooth ride.
Drive Slowly
The first and foremost thing to consider when driving with a wounded animal is to keep the speed under control. Don’t steer your car at a fast pace because doing so will lead to jerks and swerves, which will scare the already frightened animal. On top of that, it might start to kick to get free, further exacerbating its injuries.
Long story short, be sure the needle on your vehicle’s speedometer doesn’t go too high up.
Keep The Surroundings Comforting
Driving carefully with a hurt cat isn’t enough to make sure that it remains calm; you need to put in more effort to achieve that. Don’t make any loud noises or swear. Many times people start swearing under stressful situations. So, it’s possible that you get worked up and curse, let’s say, a fellow driver who made a sharp turn abruptly.
Simply put, remember you don’t want to scare an animal that’s already plenty scared.
Keep The Cat Warm
When comforting someone who’s injured, one thing most people do is cover them up to keep them warm. Cats need that too!
Whether you are holding the frightened feline or have it packed in a drop trap, cover it with a sheet of fabric. If you don’t have one, take off your shirt and use it to bundle up the cat.
You can also turn on the heater, but you need to be conscious of the temperature inside the car. It shouldn’t go too high because that can be dangerous, not to mention greatly discomforting for the cat.
Prepare For Treatment
Once you have reached your destination, take the cat inside and let the experts handle the case.
Be Emotionally For Anything
As agonizing as it may be for you, keep the idea of losing the poor feline possible in your mind. When people bring injured animals to rescue facilities, they assume everything will be fine, and the hurt stray will recover. It does in most cases, but sometimes it might not make it.
Even if apparently the cat you rescued seems to be doing okay, don’t assume that it will come out alive because you never know if it has internal injuries. Internal bleeding is a common complication of accidents, and the worst bit is that it remains hidden from the naked eye. As a result, we think that an animal is healthy while, in reality, it is continuously losing blood.
Therefore, be ready for anything.
Know That You Did Everything You Could
Blaming oneself is a common reaction people have when they take an injured stray to a vet, and it ends up dying. If that happens with you, tell yourself you did everything you could to save the little fellow, but unfortunately, it was time for the cat.
Remember that you are not an expert; you don’t know what to do in such situations. Yet you tried your very best and brought the injured feline to a shelter. Don’t blame yourself, and think of ways of how you could have handled the situation differently.
Also, more importantly, if you happen to be a vet yourself and the wounded animal dies, even then, you shouldn’t feel guilty about losing the cat. Being a professional, you should know that you cannot take care of internal injuries without proper equipment. And by the time you got to a hospital, it was simply too late.
A Short Overview
Here is a quick recap of what to do if you see an injured cat on the road.
- Get your car to an empty spot to avoid causing a crash.
- Carefully approach the cat. Don’t make sudden movements because that can alarm the hurt feline.
- Once you know the injured fellow is not going to bolt (if it doesn’t back away after seeing you approach, know that you can touch it), check the injury.
- If you find a collar, call the owner. If you can get a hold of them, take the cat to a clinic to get treatment.
- Lure the cat into a drop trap if you have one to carry it. If not, use a blanket or throw to make a cloth carrier. But remember taking a bruised animal in a fabric wrap can be dangerous as you will have it close to your body.
- Keep the surroundings calm and drive slowly while taking the battered animal to a facility.
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Hi !!! I am Alice. The love of pet animals especially the bonding with cats inspired me to write. I am a trained specialist with depth knowledge about cat, their food habits, their behavior and how to take care of cats. Here at www.petcatinfo , me and my team members tried our best to share the information about cats.