Police ran over my cat!
Discussion
A few weeks ago at about 8pm there was a knock at the door and a policeman advised that a ginger cat had run out and he'd hit it and it had gone running off. He left us his details, very nice chap (and in hindsight we're very grateful that it was the police who had hit him as maybe another member of the public wouldn't have gone to the trouble to find the owner and let us know, which would in all likeliness have meant curtains for our pet).
We thanked him and bid him farewell and I went to try and find the cat, which thankfully I managed to within a few minutes - he'd got underneath the shed door and was curled up in there, in bad shape struggling to walk and breathe. Rushed him straight to cat A&E where he spent a fair few days, had all manner of X-rays, painkillers, drips etc and was diagnosed with a ruptured diaphragm. The vet was excellent and operated and said it was a real mess inside but did a brilliant job and thankfully saved his life. He's been back at home with us for a couple of weeks and other than being half shaven with a scar up the length of his belly (perfect timing for halloween) you'd never know it had happened. The vet said he was extremely lucky - many don't survive that sort of impact and of those that do, they lose quite a few during the op.
Anyway, we have been saddled with a huge bill (just under £4k) which we were expecting and were kept up to speed with likely costs along the way, but I was wondering if anyone may know if there is any scope at all for a contribution towards it from the police or if I'd be wasting my time?
We thanked him and bid him farewell and I went to try and find the cat, which thankfully I managed to within a few minutes - he'd got underneath the shed door and was curled up in there, in bad shape struggling to walk and breathe. Rushed him straight to cat A&E where he spent a fair few days, had all manner of X-rays, painkillers, drips etc and was diagnosed with a ruptured diaphragm. The vet was excellent and operated and said it was a real mess inside but did a brilliant job and thankfully saved his life. He's been back at home with us for a couple of weeks and other than being half shaven with a scar up the length of his belly (perfect timing for halloween) you'd never know it had happened. The vet said he was extremely lucky - many don't survive that sort of impact and of those that do, they lose quite a few during the op.
Anyway, we have been saddled with a huge bill (just under £4k) which we were expecting and were kept up to speed with likely costs along the way, but I was wondering if anyone may know if there is any scope at all for a contribution towards it from the police or if I'd be wasting my time?
Thanks for the replies - I also thought it was unlikely. Yes we have insurance - that will cover £2k (minus the £99 excess). I'm happy to pay for it and actually hadn't even considered it until a few friends said "are the police going to cover that" or "I thought there was a fund for that sort of thing" - not to say if I could have had the rest of the bill covered I wouldn't have gone for it!
And I agree with comments that I'm mad spending £4k on a cat! 7 years ago I was not an animal lover at all - I'd have said you were off your rocker at the suggestion I might have spent anything on an animal - let alone that amount! That is until I moved in with the now wife who is animal crazy (particularly cats) and she insisted we had one. To say he's become a massive part of the family is an understatement - he's a maine coon cross so is a huge character and in a house full of women it's good to have some male company!
And I agree with comments that I'm mad spending £4k on a cat! 7 years ago I was not an animal lover at all - I'd have said you were off your rocker at the suggestion I might have spent anything on an animal - let alone that amount! That is until I moved in with the now wife who is animal crazy (particularly cats) and she insisted we had one. To say he's become a massive part of the family is an understatement - he's a maine coon cross so is a huge character and in a house full of women it's good to have some male company!
Rumblestripe said:
Pleased that your cat is on the mend. Furry family is family.
Please don't try to punish the poor driver for doing the right thing. If he hadn't told you about the incident you might never have seen your cat again. More importantly, if you were successful in a claim against the driver it could well discourage other people from trying to help injured animals in the future.
Thanks for the good wishes, it's a huge relief - don't get me wrong I absolutely wouldn't consider trying to claim against the driver - hugely grateful that he stopped to tell us, even if he offered I wouldn't dream of accepting as it's not his fault our cat ran into the road! I raised the question as a friend mentioned at the weekend that she was under the impression that being police/on duty there was some sort of pot/insurance on their part for this sort of thing - though maybe it was for dogs or she was completely mistaken full stop! Please don't try to punish the poor driver for doing the right thing. If he hadn't told you about the incident you might never have seen your cat again. More importantly, if you were successful in a claim against the driver it could well discourage other people from trying to help injured animals in the future.
Terminator X said:
How did the rozzers know it was your cat?
TX.
Neighbour next door but one came out of his house shortly after it had happened and they asked him if it was his and he pointed them in our direction. I'd returned from a 4 day stag do that afternoon and being the one who had organised it did have a slight panic when I saw the police at the door!TX.
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