Friday, April 24, 2009

A Warning About Lawn Mowers and Hiding Cats


What happened to Mia (right) is a painful and shocking reminder for all cat owners, especially during this time of the year.

Lorraine passed along her sad story in hopes that her pain might not be repeated by another cat owner. Her husband pulled out the lawn mower last weekend and went back into the shed. Their cat Mia crawled under the lawn mower and up into the grass catcher.

When her husband John returned, he had no idea that Mia was in the grass catcher and he started the mower. He heard a thumping.

"He stopped the mower and lifted the bottom and Mia ran out before the blades stopped," Lorraine wrote to me. "It took us an hour to catch her because she was in shock."

As you might imagine, Mia's injuries are many. Her left paw is broken and she had to have her toes amputated. Her right foot is fractured and twisted, and her bottom lip was torn from her jaw.

Lorraine said Mia underwent surgery and is recovering, but it all will take time.

To avoid the kind of horror that Lorraine and John went through, please remember to check under your lawn mower for cats and other small animals - just as it's important to pop your car hood and check the engine since cats love to curl up there, especially if the engine is still warm from running. It's a curiosity that many of them just cannot resist.

Lorraine's pain is apparent, but her concern for others to avoid something similar is abundant: "[It's] a horrifying and expensive lesson learned that maybe another family (or cat) won't have to go through."

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

cats are just a over grown rat that are worthless so who cares if they get chopped up by a mower

mastiffmom said...

Ignore anonymous.

Thanks for sharing Lorraine's story. So sad but hopefully Mia will recover quickly. such a timely reminder this year to watch the pets.

Anonymous said...

I had an incident along those lines, but it was with a clothes dryer. The outcome was not good at all. I felt so bad for the poor kittens.

Danni70 said...

I was relieved to hear that Mia is recovering, how traumatic for her. Thanks for sharing this story, it's an excellent reminder to be alert & aware this time of year.

Anonymous needs to spend more time on grammar instead of posting insipid comments.

A speedy recovery to Mia.

Anonymous said...

My thoughts and prayers are with Mia and her family !!!

Anonymous said...

Comedy gold!

Anonymous said...

If stupid people would keep their cats indoors instead of letting them run around outside they wouldn't have to be careful of checking under the mower. As for the ignoramous that tossed kittens into the dryer, if they would have taken the responsibility to have their animals neutered and or spayed that wouldn't have happened to those precious babies. People really bite!

Anonymous said...

I am sorry for this cat and the owners, however, please keep your cats indoors. They are much healthier, live longer, and will not have the opportunity to kill wild birds.

Anonymous said...

Had a similar incident with baby bunnies last year - my husband went out to mow the lawn - the grass was a bit higher than normal and in one of the indents a rabbit had her babies....."most" of them ran as he approached but he nicked one - we were both very upset - we got it to a cool shaded spot but it died shortly after - he now walks the yard to scare off any hiding critters.
We are all God's creatures.

vuduwoman said...

"Anonymous" who comments about stupid people sounds like he could stand to be neutered himself. Those who advise to keep ALL cats indoors should consider that when someone is kind enough to adopt a stray that has never lived indoors it's difficult to confine them. At least an otherwise neglected animal has a caring home. How about save all those negative comments for that Mothers Day call to your mom later this afternoon?

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