Cat got hit by car

Question
QUESTION: Hi, today I was driving on my block two houses away from mine and these two stray cats came running across the street. There was a car ahead of me that was flying down the block and unfortuneately hit the one cat. The cat is on the older side and hangs out in my yard a lot so I feel terrible. My question is that the tire ran over the mid section of the cat down to his back legs. He was flipping around for a minute I thought it would die soon with internal bleeding because there was no blood at all. Then the cat layed there for a second and then dragged it's body to a bush. I got out of my car to try to cosole it and I was hoping it would let me pick it up and put it in a cat carrier I wanted to immediately take it to the vet to be put to sleep. The cat dragged itself under a deck and would not let me get near him. I had a cop come but the deck is huge and then it dragged itself to the middle of the deck (underneath the deck) So the cop could not even get it with the stick that has that circle thing at the end of it. I feel so bad about this. I can't imagine that this poor cat is not in any pain? We finally had to just leave because there was NO WAY to get this cat. Do you think it will just die there? What can I do please help!!

ANSWER: Rachel,
I am sorry you had to see this at all. This cat's back is broken most likely and it is paralyzed from the middle down. It doesn't feel any pain because it is just numb. However, it will starve to death under the deck and/or die of toxic shock from not being able to urinate or defecate.
Call animal control where you live and have them come out. They are equipped to get animals out of all kinds of places.
You could try to coax it out tomorrow with a can of tuna-once it smells that it may drag itself out of there. By tomorrow it could also have died from the whole episode. You cannot blame yourself- you did a great thing by even stopping to help this cat. I hope you got a license number as you can report it as a hit and run and tell the cops he was speeding too.
That is about all you can do, I am so sorry!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi I got in touch with you guys last night regarding a cat that got hit on my block by a car and the cat was able to drag itself under a deck. You guys said that it probably was paralyzed and had broke it's back. I totally agree with that but I went this morning to see if it was even still alive and I brought some food & water with me but there was no sign of the cat? I had left a can of wet cat food there yesterday right after that all happened and when I went there today the food had not even been touched. Do you think the at dragged himself somewhere else to die? He could not have went far, he only had the use of his front legs. Well let me know what you think happened. Thanks, Rachel

Answer
Hi Rachel,
there is only me, not a 'you guys"! Yes he probably did drag himself to a more private place to die, that's what cats do. He can go amazingly far with just his front legs- so don't let that fool you.He is probably deep within some thicket of bushes or under a house somewhere.

At this point all you can do is say that you did the best you could and let it go.
God was with him when he died, like he is with all creatures.
Thanks for caring enough to do what you did for him.
Thanks for letting me know too.