Cats and roads

[AIMD]

There’s a post on a local Facebook group about a cat being run over on a main road. There are lots of comments from people about how cars drive too fast and people should stop to take the car to the vet/comfort them. Of course I agree with car drivers sticking to the speed limit and that people should help animals who are hurt. If I hit I cat I would obviously stop and try to find the owner or seek help.

However there is no mention on the thread about pet owners being more responsible and maybe choosing not to have a cat as a pet if they live in an area close to very busy roads. The road/area mentioned was very busy/city centre area, where it would be hard for a cat to go anywhere without going across very busy roads.

I wouldn’t comment that on the thread because the pet owner is obviously upset and it is not the right place for that comment.

AIBU to think cat owners/breeders are also responsible for cats being hurt On the roads when they buy/sell cats into homes that are surrounded by very busy roads?

There’s been an obvious increase in cats as pets in my area over the last 19 years (not sure if people notice that elsewhere too) and an increase in cats/traffic. It’s a recipe for cats being hurt.

@makingmammaries

Wow, thanks all for the pedantry regarding engine type.

I don’t get up at 3am to breathalyze my neighbours, and no police action is going to be forthcoming, obviously, on the basis of probability.

As to whether people have to drive as badly as half of them do, I’ll beg to disagree.

So in fact your cat could have been killed by a sober person driving slowly - you actually don’t know how it happened at all?

Unfortunately the road makes very little difference. Growing up I’ve had two cats definitely killed by being run over - one in a suburban area and another in a village. Both quiet roads only used by people who lived there.

As an adult, I have two cats. For the first 5 years of their lives they were indoor cats. One of my cats had recurrent life threatening stress-related UTIs and we discovered after some time that it’s because he wanted to go outside. Since he’s been out, the UTIs have stopped.

The fact is a lot of people DO drive too fast in areas that they shouldn’t. It is part and parcel of owning a cat that you take that risk but driving a car is a responsibility and it’s absolutely reasonable to be angry at careless drivers.

My cats absolutely love being outside so I couldn't keep them in. It was a factor in where I moved to though (cul de sac). I do get nervous when they stay out for a while but I try to make sure they are back in for dinner time so at the moment - that's usually in the day light.

You can't blame an owner for a cat being run over. It would tear them to pieces, but there would be a higher probability of something happening to them on a main road.

I don't agree with people preaching that cats should stay inside. They shouldn't, not if the cats love roaming about (mine are always miaowing to go out as soon as they get up). I know people have other considerations when they are pedigree.

Keeping indoor cats is cruel

What a load of bollocks

I live on a quiet street and my cat was knocked down and killed just outside my front door. It was horrible but it's the risk I am willing to take to make sure my cats have a good quality of life. I don't agree with keeping them inside but each to their own.

Living near a main road is the only reason we don't have a cat.

Cat owners should also microchip their cats and ensure details are kept up to date. The amount of times a dead cat comes in to us and isn't chipped is awful. All we can do is make a social media post with a description, but half the time the bodies go unclaimed. If they were chipped we would be able to contact the owner immediately. This is especially important when a cat has been hit but is still alive when it reaches us

Would I have an outdoor cat if i backed onto a busy road: absolutely NOT.

When buying our house, I rejected some for that very reason. But there are no guarantees. I live on what should be a fairly quiet but not suburban housing estate quiet - a car every 10-20 seconds or so, but cars often speed down it. We've had two cars die in that road now, and so will not have any further outdoor cats, just ones that for health reasons need to be indoor cats.

It's one of the reasons that cat rescue places e.g. RSPCA always do a home check before allowing an adoption. Sadly, some people, having been rejected because of being near a road, then go and buy a cat from a less scrupulous place.

Unless you have an indoor cat, you can't completely keep a cat safe though.

YABU. Cats don’t all take to being indoors and a cat owner cannot control where the cat goes and nor are they required to in law.

I live in a very rural location, it is very quiet but there are still cars. My cat would wander down the middle of the road as car frequency was so low) but somebody deliberately hit him from behind. The vet said this that from the damage he must have been hit squarely from behind. That stretch of road is 30mph and I have managed to slow down for pheasants, pigeons, rabbits, all kinds of creatures. A huge cat wandering Down the road dead centre was easily avoidable. Some people don’t care.

Yanbu. If we let dogs roam and a car hit one they’d come looking for the ‘irresponsible’ owner to claim money from them to fix the dent in their car. Pet owners ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THWIR PETS. PERIOD. if you’re car causes a pile up or a crash or gets flattened because you let it roam free and therefore are not being a responsible pet owner, then quite frankly, that’s your own fault.

We had cats when I was a child, we lived in a village, then local road layouts changed and it meant the previously quiet lane at the top of my parents street was suddenly very busy at rush hour, and the other side of that road was a lake/nature park where the cats had always liked to go. We had two cats run over in the space of 18 months. My parents have never had another cat since because it's too risky for them and the cats I've known don't like to be kept inside.

DH and I live in a small seaside town on a quiet residential road, we have a large back garden which is surrounded by other gardens, we have a cat. If we move while we have a cat that will be a big consideration for us.

YANBU

@FuckHim

Unfortunately the road makes very little difference. Growing up I’ve had two cats definitely killed by being run over - one in a suburban area and another in a village. Both quiet roads only used by people who lived there.

As an adult, I have two cats. For the first 5 years of their lives they were indoor cats. One of my cats had recurrent life threatening stress-related UTIs and we discovered after some time that it’s because he wanted to go outside. Since he’s been out, the UTIs have stopped.

The fact is a lot of people DO drive too fast in areas that they shouldn’t. It is part and parcel of owning a cat that you take that risk but driving a car is a responsibility and it’s absolutely reasonable to be angry at careless drivers.

I mean you say the road make no difference but obviously a cat roaming in a city close to very large dual carriage ways etc is more likely to be hit by a car that the same cat in a village or an area with one/few main roads and lots of open countryside/garden areas.

I agree people are reasonable for being upset at irresponsible drivers. They obviously contribute to cats being hurt.

@Jaxhog

It's one of the reasons that cat rescue places e.g. RSPCA always do a home check before allowing an adoption. Sadly, some people, having been rejected because of being near a road, then go and buy a cat from a less scrupulous place.

Unless you have an indoor cat, you can't completely keep a cat safe though.

That’s good to know. I thought it would make sense for that to be a consideration.

Cats don’t all take to being indoors and a cat owner cannot control where the cat goes and nor are they required to in law.

You can control where a cat goes if you catproof your garden or build a catio like I've done. There are different ways to do it depending on the layout of the garden and existing fences etc. They are specialist companies that do it but friends of mine have done a DIY version too for as little as £150 for the materials. It's much more common in the US and elsewhere though where predators are seen as the big risk rather than cars and free-roaming is not recommended.

Obviously it requires some care to ensure the front door or front windows are not left wide open but only in the same way I would do if I had a dog. Or if I had small children, for that matter, I wouldn't leave upstairs window wide open but would get window restrictors/locks etc. onto them.

I don't know. I know someone who has had at least 3 cats killed in the road, and they live in a a cottage surrounded by fields in the middle of the countryside. People go down lanes too fast at night and there isn't a lot of lighting :-(

Obviously some roads are higher risk than others though.it also depends on how far a particular cat roams, which can depend in how it gets on with other neighborhood cats, their personality etc.

@Florencex

YABU. Cats don’t all take to being indoors and a cat owner cannot control where the cat goes and nor are they required to in law.

I live in a very rural location, it is very quiet but there are still cars. My cat would wander down the middle of the road as car frequency was so low) but somebody deliberately hit him from behind. The vet said this that from the damage he must have been hit squarely from behind. That stretch of road is 30mph and I have managed to slow down for pheasants, pigeons, rabbits, all kinds of creatures. A huge cat wandering Down the road dead centre was easily avoidable. Some people don’t care.

I’m not arguing that cats should be kept in door. I’m saying if someone lives close to lots of very busy roads in an area with little open space they should be partly responsible for placing the cat at risk due to having one in an area like that.

I understand some people hurt cats on purpose and that even some quieter areas cats will be hurt on roads. I wouldn’t expect no one to have a cat or for the risk from roads to be completely avoided. However I would expect that people would consider if the area they live in is high risk or not before buying a cat. A simple question to themselves of “are the roads near me so dangerous that the risk to a cat is too high to get one, or are the risk minimal enough to take the risk and get a cat”.

@Babyboomtastic

I don't know. I know someone who has had at least 3 cats killed in the road, and they live in a a cottage surrounded by fields in the middle of the countryside. People go down lanes too fast at night and there isn't a lot of lighting :-(

Obviously some roads are higher risk than others though.it also depends on how far a particular cat roams, which can depend in how it gets on with other neighborhood cats, their personality etc.

Good point. It might not necessarily be city v village but about the type of road.

Surely if that person got another cat though, after loosing 3 on that road, they are choosing to expose a cat to a risk that they know is high.

Cats shouldn't live near busy roads and shouldn't be out at night. Like any pet, if you cant keep them safe then you shouldn't have them. We had cats when I was young, out of 6, 3 got hit by cars, one disapeared without a trace. We lived in built up areas and it was just normal to have cats roaming. But it's just not safe. Walk them, let them have the garden, for God's sake microchip them.

It’s been a big consideration for us when deciding where to move to, I’ve rejected any house too close to a proper road. The cats needs have trumped the children’s in some cases!

I adore our cats. Once you have them they are a 20 year commitment (I hope!). I don’t know what I’d do if we didn’t have the money to be picky where we live.

I wouldn’t have got them if we lived near busy roads in the first place.

As from examples above no roads are ever completely safe, but I don’t have to lie awake worrying if they haven’t come home as I feel the risk is low where we live now.

I have two cats that are 17 years old...they've been indoor cats since they were 6 weeks old.

They are perfectly happy, look less than half their age and are still in the best of health.

I've never had any problems with them wanting to go outside. I got screens put up in all the windows so when they are open they can sit and look outside safely.

Every time they go to the vet I'm praised for how healthy and happy they are. I'd never have a outdoor cat again.

YANBU. Someone on the local FB page here claimed that the person who hit her cat must have been speeding as the cat "knew how to cross roads". Unfortunately roads and animals do not mix, the amount of deer and pigeons round here prove that point.

I have a cat, live in a village with a couple of busy roads. He is mainly an indoor cat and content to be so, but has a 'catio', an outdoor run in the back yard. It keeps him safe, stops him being a possible nuisance to others and gives him fresh air and exercise.

That stretch of road is 30mph and I have managed to slow down for pheasants, pigeons, rabbits, all kinds of creatures. A huge cat wandering Down the road dead centre was easily avoidable.

Don’t forget that you should not be braking hard or swerving for small animals. Such action is not justifiable and if that were to cause an accident involving another road user a court would likely find you liable. Lift off, brake gently but no swerving or emergency stops.

We have 4 cats and live on a busy main road. Ours never go out the front door, only ever go out the back door and prowl in the alley behind our house. But if they did ever venture onto the road and were unlucky enough to be hit by a car, i would in no way blame the driver! it's my choice to have cats and they are my responsibility. I can't stop them from going out (and why would I want to! cat's roam, it's what they're all about) so i accept there may come a time where one of them doesn't come home..... to me, that's just one of the risks of having cats

Cats especially unneutered males can roam miles. You cant stop them roaming. I do think people should stop if they hit a cat though.