Surely there's more than one way to do this...

November 8, 2010 2:33 PM

How do I dispose of this dead stray cat?

There are a lot of stray cats in my neighborhood and I came home to find one dead in the street next to my driveway (I walked to work, I didn't hit it!). I think seeing it would probably upset my girlfriend so I'd like to dispose of it before she gets home. I was planning on scooping it into a garbage bag and tossing it in the garbage can, is that ok? I have medical exam gloves to wear. Garbage pick-up isn't until Thursday.

I guess it's also possible it belonged to someone on the street, is there any benefit to leaving it for them to find? Along with avoiding a traumatized girlfriend I also don't really want a rotting cat in front of my house.

posted by ghharr to Pets & Animals (11 answers total)

Yes, you can safely put it in a trash bag, then into the garbage can. That's what happens with our dead rats and squirrels. Sorry you have to deal with it!
posted by ldthomps at 2:34 PM on November 8, 2010

Best answer: You also might be able to call your local Animal Control office and have someone come and pick it up (we've done that before).
posted by infinitywaltz at 2:38 PM on November 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Call 311 to ask the city who handles it or call animal control--if animal control doesn't do it themselves, they'll know which city service handles it. They're listed in the blue pages of your phone book or on your local government website. By all means, glove up and scoop it into a bag, but don't put it in your trash, call animal control to dispose of it properly. The city of Chicago has an online request form for "dead animal pickup", but that's probably not useful to you!
posted by crush-onastick at 2:39 PM on November 8, 2010

You can also call your local Animal Control to come and pick it up. They might take the body and photograph before disposing of it, it in case the owner comes looking for it (at the shelter I used to work at, I occasionally had the dubious honor of photographing dead animals for that purpose).
posted by Gator at 2:40 PM on November 8, 2010 [1 favorite]

Most cities don't allow dead pets to be disposed of via garbage, and I would imagine road kill would be similar. Assuming you have container based garbage pick-up, the likelihood they'll actually notice is probably somewhere between none and nil, but nonetheless verboten.

Dead animal pick-up might be handled by Transportation Services, Public Health, or Animal Services, depending on your jurisdiction. Try calling your local information line for info.

If you don't want your girlfriend to be upset, maybe cover it up, but if you take it onto your property, it might become your problem to find a legal means of disposal. That's something else you can ask your information line if your city has one.
posted by jacquilynne at 2:43 PM on November 8, 2010

Dig a hole in a flowerbed and bury it?
posted by buggzzee23 at 2:51 PM on November 8, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks all, I called the city Public Works and they're sending someone to get it.
posted by ghharr at 2:57 PM on November 8, 2010

Dig a hole in a flowerbed and bury it?

A previous owner had done that in a house I once lived in.

Not very nice for those of us who later happened on it by chance when digging in a rose bush

(And why was it half in a plastic bag? V. nasty.)
posted by IndigoJones at 2:57 PM on November 8, 2010

And why was it half in a plastic bag? V. nasty.
I can probably answer that one. The cat you found was probably a family pet that the owners had to euthanize.

When an animal is euthanized, their muscles relax, allowing the animal to...leak. I'm betting they told the vet that their plan was to bury kitty in the family yard. For sake of transport back home, the vet most likely fit a plastic bag over the rear of the cat so that any leakage from relaxing muscles would be contained. Kitty was deposited in the grave, bag and all.

Our vet did this to our dog when we had her euthanized over the summer.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:17 AM on November 9, 2010

I know you've already made a decision on this, but I like to throw dead rats, birds, etc. into the woods where another animal can come and find a tasty treat. You know, contribute to the circle of life instead of wasting that perfectly good meat to the trash can!
posted by jehsom at 4:46 AM on November 10, 2010

I can't condone this, but when I lived in Mexico, my neighbor took his dead cat and put his under his arm (like a stiff football), and then he threw it into the "river" that was adjacent to my apartment. After said incident, I realized why there were such foul knock-out odors that would sear my nostril hairs every time the wind blew. Just saying.
posted by Sal and Richard at 12:59 AM on November 15, 2010