Warning: heartbreaking animal death.

Also, I’m sorry in advance for the long post. I just really need to get this off my chest.

Today I was coming back home from a work trip and was so excited to reunite with my boyfriend and our cat. I had only been away for 3 days, but I missed them so much. During my 2-hour bus ride home, I was laughing and tearing up while on this sub-reddit from reading funny and wholesome posts and I was just feeling so happy to be going back.

My boyfriend picked me up from the bus station, and as we were driving home, literally about 2 minutes after leaving, we saw something flying through the air in the distance ahead of us. At first, we thought it was just a plastic bag. But as we got closer, we realized with horror that it was actually a cat that had just been hit by a car.

I immediately started crying, and my boyfriend slammed on the brakes and got out right away to check on it and try to help. I followed after him, but I could barely look because it was so devastating. Half of its head was missing, so we knew almost instantly that there was no way to save it. I still checked for nearby vet clinics anyway, but unfortunately they were all closed.

My boyfriend placed his hand against its chest to feel for a heartbeat, and within about a minute, it stopped beating.

As horrific as it was, I’m trying to find some small comfort in the fact that it didn’t die completely alone. We stayed with it in its final moments. Afterward, we moved it to a nearby patch of grass under some big trees, so at least it could rest somewhere better and closer to nature.

My heart is absolutely aching for this poor soul. I cannot stop thinking about how much pain it must have been in during those last few minutes. Its body wasn’t twitching - it was flying across the road with insane speed. I still can’t stop crying.

But I refuse to let my brain convince me that this world is only cruel. While I was on the bus ride home, I had actually been reading posts on this subreddit from people who rescued strays, gave them shelter, and helped them go on to live safe, happy lives. I think I saw at least three posts like that just today.

So to everyone here who has ever helped an animal in need - by rescuing, feeding, fostering, adopting, any small act really - thank you. Truly, from the bottom of my soul, thank you.

I am devastated that this cat was not one of the lucky ones. What hurts even more is knowing it was probably hit only minutes, maybe even seconds, before we arrived. I keep wishing we had gotten there first, because my boyfriend was surely going to slow down and it was going to cross the road safely. What angers me is the fact that the person that hit it didn’t even stop - nor did anyone else beside us. I cannot fathom how someone can kill a living being without batting an eye.

I got home and immediately broke down crying while my own little furball greeted me so happily. I really did not expect my return home to look like this.