Apologies as this is an extremely distressing post to write but I would be very grateful for any advice offered!
I recently hosted a young couple for 3-nights.
They arrived quite late on their first night and upon introducing myself, three of my cats (two ginger and one black) followed me up the steps as if to say 'Hi' and one of the guest's stepped outside the door to pet them briefly.
The next evening I was eating dinner when there was a knock at the door and my neighbour told they had found one of my ginger cats dead on the lane. I immediately ran down the lane to find his cold, wet body just a few hundred yards from the entrance to our drive. There were tyre marks along the grass verge just short of where he was laid. The only saving grace about it was he appeared to have been hit and killed instantly.
After a distressing 24+ hours, arranging the cremation of my cat and enquiring with our neighbours to see if anyone had seen anything or might own up to hitting him, I learned there were only two cars on the lane around the time my cat had left the house and been killed and later found dead. One being our guests... and our lane is usually very quiet, it is not a through route and mostly neighbour's driving down it and there is very little traffic especially in the evening/at night.
Upon my guest's departure, as I was too distressed to speak to them, my mother decided to gently broach the subject of our cat and ask whether they had seen him.
In brief conversation, they admitted to seeing what they thought was a fox, on the right hand side of the lane, having gone to out for dinner that evening at 5.45 pm. But they knew it couldn't be my cat as they later checked and saw a ginger cat in our courtyard.
I realise I cannot nor do I want to accuse my guest's, but owing to the time my cat left our house and took his usual route - out to the barn for a nibble of dinner before walking down our driveway onto the lane - it seems highly likely it was them who hit and killed him.
It would me nice if they owned up to it and were honest and at the very least apologised! Surely, if these people had any care or compassion, if not for any animals, me as a human being, they would?
Also, as I've now had a few days, am a lot less distressed and going through the grieving process, it is important for me to know what really happened to my cat and how he was needlessly killed on our quiet country lane.
Is it okay to ask my guest's (outright)? What should or could I say? If they never admit to it, what kind of review should I leave them? Even if they never do or don't respond, it's incredibly likely it was them and what sort of people does this make them? How on earth do I handle such a situation... as soiled bedsheets is one thing, but animals being killed is another entirely!!!
