I feel so bad

Took the dogs out, a few metres from my house I spotted what I thought was a mouse that a cat had played with and was dead. Upon closer inspection by myself and the dogs, it was still alive. Now I know the kind of play cats do with small mammals, so I know that even when they leave them alive they usually die a slow and painful death. So I put it out of its pain. And as I walked away I thought "what if it would have recovered and scuttled off later on?". And I've felt bad since.

It's silly as anything but I hate needless death.

Well, you could also have come back later and found it dead, and wondered how long it had suffered, too.

Or, it could have been missing when you came back, and you would have wondered whether it crawled off and lived, crawled off and later died, or was eaten (alive or dead) by another critter.

You did the best thing for it by not letting it suffer, I think.

I think you did the best thing. My friend found a chipmunk that a cat had gotten, the cat had administered the death bite (canines into the back of the neck, under the spine) but the chipmunk had been paralyzed, not killed. She took him in and set up an enclosure for him and the next day, although he was alive, his wound was crawling with maggots, she wiped and wiped and they just kept coming out and she ended up having him PTS, he was being eaten alive. You did what was best.

Siam, that was one of the most disgusting things I've ever read. MAJOR kudos to your friend for her perseverance (if not her common sense!).

Steviesun, I'd have done exactly the same thing. And, yea, needless death makes me ill, too.

I saw a baby bluejay just miss getting squashed by a truck in front of me yesterday. I was too close to stop right there, but turned around at the very next street. Didn't matter, by the time I got back, he'd been hit by someone else. Made me shake for a long time.

About two weeks ago, the biggest doggone turtle I've ever seen in my life was just coming onto the breakdown lane of a major highway here. Again, I was going too fast to stop, and on the Pike, there isn't any turning around unless you use an off ramp, and loop back onto an on ramp going the other way. So I called the state police. I pray they got him off the road in time, but I'll never know. The darn thing had to be at least two feet across. I mean, I saw it from three lanes over and there was air beneath it's belly and the road. My first thought, actually, was that it was a monitor lizard!

Sometimes having a sensitive heart sucks.

Bummocks Aunty (btw, it's not a swear word if a three year old invented the word and it's used regularly on BBC morning radio).

I know how I can come across to some folks. I'm pro-hunting, love watching my dog hunt, I feed him roadkill, and I am mentally capable of killing an animal.

What is less obvious is that when I butcher or kill or handle any dead animal I talk to it, the dead fawn I found recently and brought home to the freezer I checked the sex so I could get the gender pronouns right as I wrapped it up and promised it that it's life wasn't going to waste, it breaks me heart for an animal to die and go to waste, and I am racked with guilt when I do take life to feed myself or my dog or even (as seen) it's to spare the animal pain.


I did in the end find it gone. I suspect that one of my neighbours picked it up and put it in the rubbish. Shame it couldn't have be eaten really but there you go.

I feel similarly. It makes me so sad that I have bunnies in the freezer, but atleast we know they didn't die in vain and had a good life before.

When I pass anything hit on the road (pets specifically) I feel immense sorrow.

Poor wee mousie, you did what was right. The what ifs can kill your heart, but a quick merciful passing is better than the other options really.