Fugazi Dave

I bow down to your well-chosen Mr T graphic.

patentcad

Cats are 100x smarter than humans. It drives you all crazy, doesn't it? Imagine if they had thumbs. We'd all be F'd.

jfmckenna

I am very fond of our little neko friends. I hope the one you hit is ok and that you wouldn't intentionally seek out harm to an innocent animal.

BoSoxYacht

Wah wah wah

BTW, I love animals(they taste great).

dauphin

holy smokes...I agree with you...

scotch

this is the baddest cat-dodging story on the planet.

Homebrew01

-10 Now that he's a born again evangelist.

khatfull

Yeah, but noone looks "badder" than Mr. T. That'll never change.

CCrew

Fixed it for you.

leamcorp

Next time slow down or go way around depending on traffic condition.

You posted this saying I hate cat and you did run over a cat. You maybe lucky this time - next time, you maybe posting - some crazy guy beat the **** out of me because I ran over his cat - wah wah.

kbtommy

This. Why are people letting their cats roam the damn streets anyway? This is why you even had to deal with it in the first place. Cat's just an animal, doesn't understand traffic rules or how to cross a street. Stupid owners are usually the problem.

Glad both you and the cat (and the bike!!!!) are all OK.

khatfull

Ain't that the truth!

#6 might show up soon...a cat that showed up at the barn my daughter stables her horse at had a litter a couple of weeks ago...there's a calico. We don't have a calico

And our problem is that the names are Jasper, Jerry, Jimmy, Joey, and Julia. Out of vowels. Maybe that should tell us something?!

jasony0423

I don't like cats. I prefer dogs, that's why I have one. That said, if I accidentally hit a cat, and it wandered off, I'd still feel bad. If it didn't wander off, I'd feel worse.

leamcorp

Because they are animal and they all have individual behavior. I adopted couple of aggressive cats that were going to be put down. They were indoor cats and had their claws pulled out (surgically). I adopted them and let them out and they became loving teddy bear.

Just as tigers go back and forth on their cage in zoo, some cats do need to be out. Call it not fully domesticated or what have you. So its either let them out or kill them.

By the way, majority of cats do fine indoor - few don't.

And what does it matter - does it bother you that they are out? Do they interrupt your life in anyway? Is it really too much of a bother to go slower around animal/elderly/children? There are lot more of obstacle to cyclist (other human) than few cats in your neighborhood.

coasting 

if thumbs were so useful why don't more animals have them? and why don't more people ride campy?

kbtommy

I think you missed my point, friend. My concern was more for the cats than anything else - I have three cats (and three dogs). My wife's a vet. Trust me, I'm an animal lover too. I just feel that the majority of outdoor cats are the result of negligent owners - perhaps that's not you specifically, but many owners are that way. Outdoor cats are frequently hit by cars, or bikes, or attacked by wild animals. They can, through no conscious fault of their own, cause accidents (like the one that almost happened to the OP), because of their unpredictability.

chevy42083

...and sometimes "y"...

https://people.theiapolis.com/names/jy.html

I never totally understood that point. I mean, squirrells, birds, lizards, snakes, ground hogs,... etc etc get along just fine in the "wild" <suburbs/cities/nature are all wild>, and as far as I know they didn't take driver's ed. Why can't a cat make it?

leamcorp

Negligent how? Do you know most indoor cats are fat (like people) and have a poor quality of life.

Just because they have a chance of getting hit by a car (or feline disease) is no reason or we would never let our kid (human kind) go out, since until certain age (+5 more years), they are sort of like animal without a reason or could catch human diseases like cold, flu, etc.

The only reason why cats are indoor is because of peoples lifestyle. Would you keep your dog inside all the time? Why is it different for the cat? Granted, you can't put leash on a cat but they usually don't run all over you either

Indoor cat is recent phenomena. On top of that, I started to see a disturbing trend of people keeping dog inside (I mean never come out at all). Again, this is based on people lifestyle, who couldn't bother to walk their dog - so dog's quality of life suffer. But who cares as long as we people enjoy them, right?

Cats are animal, as you say, and they really do belong outside. Only people's lifestyle keeps them inside (which is okay since they are pets but really, they are outside animal). Sometime life's enjoyment overide longetivity.

TinyCycler

That's sooooo wrong! Funny! But WRONG! I'm still laughing in total astonishment. Thanks for the giggle.

patentcad

By all means, hate the cat.

The really could give a ****.

JohnKScott

Yes cats or any other pets running loose bother me. Our neighbors cats are constantly wandering though our yard, killing birds that my wife likes to watch and crapping in our mulch for our dog (which we keep on a leash) to find and eat. Keep your (universal you) pets under control and out of my yard.

If your (universal you) cat is wandering around outside then whatever mishaps they encounter(getting run over for one) are foreseeable and avoidable . That makes any harm to them YOUR (universal you again) responsibility. Plus it makes YOU liable for any damage caused (for example if your cat caused a cyclist to crash) to person or property.

As to not hitting a critter that gets in the way...

I will do all I can safely do not to run over an animal. However, if it is a decision between risking my safety or property or any other human being's safety the critter is going down. Humans > critters always.

Fugazi Dave

The what?

banerjek

Actually, it does matter. They eat the songbirds. They fight at night keeping people up and tearing each other apart. I have to be careful with my own dog in my own yard since these things are too stupid to figure out that even if their claws are sharp, they could literally be finished in one bite. Anything that darts into the street is a traffic menace. And although this is more of a cat owner thing, an insane percentage of them aren't fixed. I cannot tell you how many cats I see that are flattened or are wandering around with serious injuries or health problems that no one will tend to.

I don't care for cats, but I'll bet I look out for them better than many of their owners. Domesticated animals shouldn't run wild, and wild animals should not be kept. If people want to own something that basically lives outdoors and isn't a maintenance headache, they should get a lawn ornament. Many dog owners would also probably be well served by this approach.

SKYLAB

They eat the songbirds.
Exactamundo my friend. My cats are just fine indoors. They told me so. Lifes tough enough on the birds and tiny mammals up here without letting loose a couple of additional predators among them.

kbtommy

Bingo. I'm lucky in that I have a large backyard with a six-foot fence surrounding it, so all of my animals can run around as much as they want (the cats are too dumb to figure out that they can probably climb the fence). I'm not going to tell anyone how to raise their pet - but if you choose to let your animals outside without a barrier, then you are risking their lives. It's as simple as that. If they die, it's because you let them die. And if they run in front of a cyclist and get tangled in their wheels and cause a crash?

Then that'll also be your fault. Perhaps not in a court of law, but your fault nonetheless. Just like if your dog bites someone.

Also, domesticated animals only get fat if their owners overfeed them. Just like people, they should be eating in accordance with their lifestyle.