Mala Tempora
Member
I think you did the right thing. As unfortunate as it is to have to kill the animal, in a situation like that it would be the logical thing to do.
Here's a story that might make you feel a little bit better: last weekend I was driving through an isolated back road. It was out in the middle of nowhere. There were woods running alongside the road, and there were perhaps 3 houses in about a 5 mile radius of the area I was in. As I drove around a sharp bend, a big scruffy-looking dog ran out from the woods and in front of my car. I slapped the brakes on and slowed to a stop. The dog came trotting up to the car, looked at me for a second, then sprinted off in the direction I had just come from. I had a look up the road and into the woods and I couldn't see anyone walking the animal, so I turned the car around and drove after it. I caught up with the dog after about a minute, and stopped the car. I opened the door and tempted the dog towards the car. It wagged its tail and ran over to me. It absolutely stank, and it was emaciated. Its fur was all matted, and I could feel almost every bone in its body as I stroked it. It had obviously been living rough for a while. It had a docked tail too, but was a friendly animal that responded appropriately when I told it to sit, so I assume that at some point it must have had an owner.
I patted the back seat of the car and the dog hopped in quite willingly. It laid down on the back seat of my car and went straight to sleep. I think it was completely exhausted. As the dog was sleeping, I drove to the local houses and asked the owners if it belonged to any of them. They all said no, so I started ringing the RSPCA and the dog warden to ask what to do. As it was 10pm on a Saturday night, they were pretty much useless, so I decided to take the dog back to my house.
When I got the dog home, I grabbed a big can of Chump dog food, a dinner plate, and a bowl of water, and lead her up to the garden shed. I laid the food out on the plate and set it down on the floor. The dog ate all of the food in about 30 seconds and licked the plate completely clean. She then started looking for more food, but my understanding was that starving animals can sometimes eat more than their system can handle, and it can actually be detrimental to their health, so I didn't give it any more food. Instead I laid out a bed for her in the garden shed and shut her in there for the night.
The next day I took some more food to the dog which was eaten equally as fast. The dog was extremely friendly, and didn't show a hint of aggression. She was also very playful. She started following me around loyally and wagging her tail whenever my attention was focused on her. I got out an old children's paddling pool and filled it up about 6 inches with water. She walked over to it, jumped over the side of the pool into the water, laid on her side, and rolled over onto her back. She did this a few times, giving herself a good wash. Now that she'd been given a good rest, plenty of food, and a good wash, I decided to ring a local shelter and see if they could do anything for the animal. They arranged to meet me locally to pick the dog up, and said that the dog would be given a good wash, some food, a check-over from a vet, and would then be re-homed. So now, that smelly, starved, and exhausted dog I found out in the middle of nowhere is being fed and well looked after, and should be going to a loving family fairly soon.
So if it's of any comfort to you, you can remember this: although you had to end the life of that kitten to prevent it from suffering any more, another animal was given the chance to have a good life.
Here's some pictures of the dog too, for anyone interested:
http://i31.tinypic.com/25547ew.jpg
http://i27.tinypic.com/9pz3b5.jpg
http://i25.tinypic.com/2a0n6hc.jpg
Here's a story that might make you feel a little bit better: last weekend I was driving through an isolated back road. It was out in the middle of nowhere. There were woods running alongside the road, and there were perhaps 3 houses in about a 5 mile radius of the area I was in. As I drove around a sharp bend, a big scruffy-looking dog ran out from the woods and in front of my car. I slapped the brakes on and slowed to a stop. The dog came trotting up to the car, looked at me for a second, then sprinted off in the direction I had just come from. I had a look up the road and into the woods and I couldn't see anyone walking the animal, so I turned the car around and drove after it. I caught up with the dog after about a minute, and stopped the car. I opened the door and tempted the dog towards the car. It wagged its tail and ran over to me. It absolutely stank, and it was emaciated. Its fur was all matted, and I could feel almost every bone in its body as I stroked it. It had obviously been living rough for a while. It had a docked tail too, but was a friendly animal that responded appropriately when I told it to sit, so I assume that at some point it must have had an owner.
I patted the back seat of the car and the dog hopped in quite willingly. It laid down on the back seat of my car and went straight to sleep. I think it was completely exhausted. As the dog was sleeping, I drove to the local houses and asked the owners if it belonged to any of them. They all said no, so I started ringing the RSPCA and the dog warden to ask what to do. As it was 10pm on a Saturday night, they were pretty much useless, so I decided to take the dog back to my house.
When I got the dog home, I grabbed a big can of Chump dog food, a dinner plate, and a bowl of water, and lead her up to the garden shed. I laid the food out on the plate and set it down on the floor. The dog ate all of the food in about 30 seconds and licked the plate completely clean. She then started looking for more food, but my understanding was that starving animals can sometimes eat more than their system can handle, and it can actually be detrimental to their health, so I didn't give it any more food. Instead I laid out a bed for her in the garden shed and shut her in there for the night.
The next day I took some more food to the dog which was eaten equally as fast. The dog was extremely friendly, and didn't show a hint of aggression. She was also very playful. She started following me around loyally and wagging her tail whenever my attention was focused on her. I got out an old children's paddling pool and filled it up about 6 inches with water. She walked over to it, jumped over the side of the pool into the water, laid on her side, and rolled over onto her back. She did this a few times, giving herself a good wash. Now that she'd been given a good rest, plenty of food, and a good wash, I decided to ring a local shelter and see if they could do anything for the animal. They arranged to meet me locally to pick the dog up, and said that the dog would be given a good wash, some food, a check-over from a vet, and would then be re-homed. So now, that smelly, starved, and exhausted dog I found out in the middle of nowhere is being fed and well looked after, and should be going to a loving family fairly soon.
So if it's of any comfort to you, you can remember this: although you had to end the life of that kitten to prevent it from suffering any more, another animal was given the chance to have a good life.
Here's some pictures of the dog too, for anyone interested:
http://i31.tinypic.com/25547ew.jpg
http://i27.tinypic.com/9pz3b5.jpg
http://i25.tinypic.com/2a0n6hc.jpg
Fuck man you got me crying with that one 
Damn
for killing that poor little kitten! 
