Derm and I saw the horror movie "Silent Hill" on Saturday night.  The real horror didn't begin until we were on our way home, however.  We saw a cat get hit by a car right in front of us.  It was obvious that her spine was snapped.  Her back half was at a right angle to the front half.  She was twitching violently, yet somehow she managed to drag herself under a parked car using only her front paws.  I pulled my car to the side and got out to see if she was still alive.  My first thought was how was I going to put her out of her misery?  It was 1:00 AM, where could I take her?

A group of people had gathered.  I got down on the ground and saw that the cat was still alive, but unable to move.  She was panting and gasping.  I knew that there was no way she was going to make it.  But I could not leave her there to suffer.  I decided to take her to the lab and give her a lethal injection of sodium pentobarbital.  The only problem was that I did not know what dose to give a cat, as I had only given rats such an injection.  I would also have the problem of getting her past the security guards who controlled access after 10:00 PM.  What I planned was certainly against the rules.

A woman at the scene then told me that there was an emergency animal hospital that was open 24 hours at 4th and Fir.  So I bundled the cat up in my jacket, put her in the back seat, and took her to the hospital.  The vet confirmed that the cat was barely with us.  There was nothing more to do except go home.  I'm sure they put her down as soon as we left.  By the smell left on my jacket and in my car, I am sure the cat was a stray.  I didn't want to take my jacket into my room because I was worried about lice.  My jacket is still in the trunk of my car.  I will have to get it dry-cleaned before I will be able to wear it without fear of contamination.  But it may already be too late as Derm and I have been scratching ourselves a bit more than usual of late.