Our house cat Pika died last night

Miracle

Jedi
FOTCM Member
My roommates and I found our house cat dead out in the street in front of our house this morning apparently run over by a car or truck. Pika was a strictly indoor cat because the street in front of our house is so dangerous but she always tried to run out whenever we would open the door to go outside. We are unsure when/how she got out but she must have slipped by unbeknownst to one of us. In the 3 years that my roommates have had Pika here in the house she has not once been outside unattended and her first night out alone... she died. She was a beautiful, cuddly, sociable and sometimes annoying cat who was deeply loved by us and especially by her owner (my roommate). I'm not to broken up about it for she wasn't my cat and I hadn't known her very long but I sure will miss the routine of her aggressively snuggling my face at 9am sharp every morning (the best alarm clock)! We buried her today and will have a funeral tonight. Good bye Pika, Rest in Peace.

In term of reading the signs around me I am wondering what this event might signify or meaning if anything at all. Are my housemates and I awareness way down? Was it simply Pika's time to go? Is there something else I'm missing? Or is it nothing at all? I'm sure there isn't a solid immediate answer but I intend to remain vigilantly aware as events unfold. A dot that may be worth mentioning here is that I have observed on three separate occasions cars going the wrong way down one way streets in the past 2 weeks which is an event that I might see only once a year! hhhmm maybe the whole City's awareness is down?
 

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I am sorry for Pika. Maybe it was her time to go. We really don't know. Concerning the cars going in the wrong way more and more people, I think, are completely nuts. The other day on the highway I was following a car that I though the driver was a little drunk, so when I see something like that I am extremely vigilant and wait to see when is the right moment to leave him behind me. So when I tough it was the good time I decided to move forward and leave him behind me and then I saw that the driver was not drunk but playing with is Iphone! So this is a sort of folly, craziness. We need to be very very very vigilant. More and more people on the streets, the highways, everywhere are less and less responsible. Signs of the times!
 
Really sorry to read this. My family and I have two cats - we had a third who passed away from cancer in 2012. One of the remaining two is pretty much "my" cat and is very attached to me. She's been in my life for nearly a decade and I consider her one of my best friends. Losing her in such a brutal way would wreck me. :( She also likes to run outside, and when she gets out she'll disappear for long periods of time but always comes back eventually. But when she does get out I do worry that one day she won't come back or that I'll find her dead in the street, although she doesn't seem to go near the roads or cross the street, but stays within the area of the backyards for the houses on each side of ours. When the weather is nice and I have time I put a harness and leash on her and take her out and let her hang out in the backyard in the sun, just because I know how much she likes being outside.

I can't say if there's any deeper or symbolic significance to the event. Perhaps it could have to do with your collective "awareness" being low, meaning not being able to prevent the cat from escaping, but I really have no idea. Cats are very fast and sly - I know I'm not always able to prevent mine from running out the backdoor, and I'm not home all the time to make sure my parents don't slip up. Regardless, it's a tragic event and I'm sorry for your loss.
 
I'm sorry for Pika - she was cute - and her owner. As a strictly indoor cat, she was unprepared for the outside world. So, hopefully she will have learnt a lesson for next time around - that she must be very cautious with cars and when going outside in general. It might also be a lesson for your roommate(s) about increasing his/their awareness when around pets, or simply about the fact that one should really think twice before adopting a cat when one lives in town or near a busy road (especially with so many crazy drivers around these days). Personally I don't think it's necessarily good for cats to always stay indoors, it's certainly not natural for them, even if they've been "trained" since birth to stay home. Sure there's always a risk for them of having an accident, but at least when they're used to go outside from a very young age, they're more experienced and more aware of the dangers of the outside world.
 
I don't know if it's symbolic or not either, but I'm sorry for your loss Doug :hug2:
 
Doug said:
In term of reading the signs around me I am wondering what this event might signify or meaning if anything at all.

That the cat prefered to die than staying "strictly indoor" (in jail) ?

Doug said:
So, hopefully she will have learnt a lesson for next time around

Not being adopted by humans for "strictly indoor" purposes ?
 
I appreciate the sympathies my friends. It certainly got me thinking that even a moment's slip in awareness can open the door to negative occurrences and sometimes the consequences can be as severe as losing a loved one! A harsh lesson indeed.
Personally I don't think it's necessarily good for cats to always stay indoors, it's certainly not natural for them, even if they've been "trained" since birth to stay home
I agree. Considering how often Pika attempted to escape outside I always thought would be better for her to primarily live outdoors and run the risk of the danger for she would have been happier then. Her owner figured it wasn't worth the risk (although there are several outdoor cats around who are doing just fine) but I guess she was right.
 
Sorry to hear about Pika, Doug. It's always a shock when we lose our pets in an accident and that makes it hurt a bit more. As it wasn't your cat I'm not sure about the symbolism, but it would behoove you to "look both ways before crossing the street." That could be a literal warning about crossing streets or a more symbolic thing about evaluating the dangers of proceeding with a choice before committing to it. Then again, sometimes a poor kitty dying in an accident is just that.

Are you making or planning to make any life-altering changes in the near future?
 
Are you making or planning to make any life-altering changes in the near future?

Actually Yes! My girlfriend and I have been searching for jobs recently as our apprenticeship at a local organic farm just ended. We have been living at our friend's homestead community project for two months meow and although things have been going OK at the project we have been considering leaving for a while. Without going into the details it is important to note that there is a lot of attachment from all the roommates each other and to the project itself and in the process of us considering other options we have been met with resistance and negativity but there also been a good deal of positive emotional processing. Needless to say as events have been heating up over the past few days Pika's death is considerably untimely and perhaps related. Pika's owner is incredibly upset and admittedly angry because her death could/should have been avoided. Pika's owner is also the landlord to the project and happens to be an extremely emotional person (easily the most emotionally powerful person I have ever met). With that said although Pika's owner is our friend and generally a kind, caring and lovable young woman my girlfriend and I are both kinda scared that her current anger if directed at us could be quite unpleasant. I joked that she could give us a brain aneurysm if she want to (funny not funny). Things remain quite for now and there really doesn't seem like there is any good reason for things to turn south but who knows. So I would agree with you Pete that it could be:
a literal warning about crossing streets or a more symbolic thing about evaluating the dangers of proceeding with a choice before committing to it
And that I'll be sure to "Look both ways before crossing the street"!
 
I'm very sorry for your loss. Being an animal lover myself (especially cats) I know how sad that loss can be. I'm not suggesting by any means that Pika left her body so she did not have to live her life indoors. But I found what Sedenion said interesting in that it relates to an experience I had with one of my cats. He was owner surrendered because they lived in an apartment and he was so bored that he would constantly chew all the wires in the house out of frustration. We had a very large home with windows and cat perches everywhere, and I was sure he would be content with that. Not a chance. He was a brilliant escape artist and would make his exit in a flash anytime a door was opened. He even pried open a screen. Rather than fight, we let him win and he was very responsible with his outdoor life. He never went far from the house, only a few properties in each direction and he never stayed out after nightfall. Since we were not anywhere near any major roads, I felt it was safe to give him this freedom. And he adored his life, I knew it, no wires were ever chewed in our home. He lived with us in that house for several years, but then we moved to another home where we were near a very major road. I was not comfortable to let him outside at this house. We were extremely careful when opening doors. I could see he became resigned to the fact that he would not be able to go outside anymore and although he was still extremely affectionate, I could sense his depression. He was not the same and I felt terrible about that. One day he had a swollen top lip which the vet said was just a small allergic reaction to some food. He gave him a 2 week cortisone injection. Shortly after that his heart started failing (which I believe had something to do with the long term injection as I later learned can happen.....wish I'd never agreed to that shot) He was put on meds for his heart, but one night he took a type of seizure which turned out to be a blood clot that was traveling to his heart. We raced him to the animal hospital, but there was nothing that could be done for him. He was only 6 years old, but I felt so strongly in my heart that in some way he made the decision to leave his body rather than spend his life indoors. He was a most unusual cat, incredibly intelligent with such human, soulful eyes. Anyway, a strange footnote....... when we were at the animal hospital with him at 3am, there was one other couple there with their cat who was having the SAME sudden condition as my cat, a blood clot. After talking we realized we only lived 3 doors away from each other! They looked very spooked by that coincidence. I really didn't know what to make of that, still don't. But I do believe my sweet boy wanted his freedom, no matter that he really did love us.
Anyway, just sharing. I wish for comfort and healing to you all.
 
Hi Doug,

I'm terribly sorry for your loss, I feel you're on the right path considering everything you are considering. So perhaps it's all of them, a little bit of lack of awareness matched by a crazy society and it being also her time to go.

Above all, even if those are all true, allow yourself some time to mourn. Once again, I'm truly sorry to learn this.
 
Sorry for you loss Doug. :hug: I'm sure see was a happy kitty.




sedenion said:
Doug said:
In term of reading the signs around me I am wondering what this event might signify or meaning if anything at all.

That the cat prefered to die than staying "strictly indoor" (in jail) ?

Doug said:
So, hopefully she will have learnt a lesson for next time around

Not being adopted by humans for "strictly indoor" purposes ?

Hi Sedenion, maybe I'm reading your post all wrong and am missing out on your point, but I can't help but find your reply to be a bit insensitive. If I understand you correctly, you are saying Pika choose to run out to the street and basically commit suicide to get away from her awful owners, who kept her in that jail, that they called her home?

Is that what you're saying? Please, correct me if I'm wrong, because if not, I think that's just a very cold-hearted and vicious response to Doug's loss.
 
3D Student said:
I'm sorry for your and your roommate's loss Doug. Take care. :flowers:

Sorry to hear about the loss of your roommates cat, Doug. It must be difficult on top of the other changes you are considering. Take care of yourself. :hug2:

This may be unrelated but it struck me as odd that I have noticed an unusual number of people reporting missing cats lately. I am a member of an online neighborhood watch group and have seen at least five reports in just the past week - and the reports span a rather large area, so it's not just occurring in the immediate vicinity. :huh:
 
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