Reminds me of the Redd Foxx story. He was driving in the rain on a dark night and accidentally hit a cat and killed it. When his passenger asked why Redd didn't swerve, Redd replied "I ain't wrecking my $10,000 Cadillac for no two dollar cat".
[Of course, those dollar figures don't account for inflation!]
I heard a much older version where he said a “six-cent cat.”