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.

I also don't see why it is allowed for cats to come into my garden, spitting and hissing at my dog, digging my veg patch to use as a toilet, and comes into my house and caught it at the chicken leftovers cooling ready for stripping!

If my dog did that I would be in trouble

@mrshonda

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.

‘Catio’ - I love that!

I don't keep my cats indoors permanently - not much of a life for a cat. However I lock them in at night as that's when they're most likely to be hit by a car (or get attacked by a fox, or get in a fight). I change the cat-flap so that if after about 6/7pm they can come in but not go back out. It's a hassle having to bring out a litter tray etc but it's the best compromise I can think of.

We stayed on a busy main road when we first got our cats for almost 2 years now we stay in a quiet cul de sac so they get out (one doesn't bother as hes a big fearty ). Yanbu in thinking that if you own cats you need to consider their safety. Mines were easy to keep in as they were kittens but would be a different story if the cat was used to going out.

@FuckHim my cat has similar sounding bladder issues he goes out now too so hoping it helps. He had a cystonomy due to bladder stones

Mine astonished me once, I was walking home and she sprang out from the bushes at me (she had a sense of humour) but there were cars coming from both directions.

I got out into the road and spread both palms out to the cars and she crossed the road and got on the pavement. It was like she had an innate sense of traffic protocol. Charley says...

@wingsandstrings
That was the compromise I made after my first cat was killed on the road. Always in by dark, preferably before rush hour as the road gets busier.

He was killed late morning on a glorious sunny day right outside our house.

*I also don't see why it is allowed for cats to come into my garden, spitting and hissing at my dog, digging my veg patch to use as a toilet, and comes into my house and caught it at the chicken leftovers cooling ready for stripping!

If my dog did that I would be in trouble*
My poodle killed a cat that came into our internal walled courtyard. Apparently I would have been in trouble but it wasn't chipped and I couldn't locate an owner. Paid £40 to the vet for trying to be responsible.
As a preventive I had small spikes installed on the wall top on the neighbours side ( the other 3 side part of the house ). Cats still come in, poop and howl and hiss and my dog still chases them or if he is indoors goes ballistic. Never bothers cats on walks.
Just protects the property

I've kept cats all my life and have never lived on or near a busy road for that reason. I have always kept female cats as they are less likely to roam any distance.

I did have one cat run over but that was because of her increasing dementia. Apparently a van crept round the corner into our cul de sac (almost at walking speed) and my cat strolled directly under his front wheel. Dead instantly.

I came home to find my neighbour, who'd seen it happen, comforting the distraught driver, a cat lover.

I had known my cat was slowly losing her marbles and felt a bit guilty. However it was an instant death so far better than it might have been. Felt sorry for the driver though.

I do wonder if it's the other way round: outdoor cats are safer near a consistently busy, high-speed, well-lit main road, which they'll deliberately avoid.

Like many others on this thread, I grew up in a rural area and most of our family cats did get hit by cars. Roads which are poorly-lit and only experience sporadic traffic are dangerous because cats will incorporate them into their territory and then get spooked when a car comes through. I was in the car with my father once when he hit a neighbour's cat; he wasn't driving badly, but the cat just seemed to panic and jump straight out from the hedgerow.

I know this is all just anecdote, but I can imagine a cat deliberately avoiding a dual carriageway, which seems an obviously hostile environment, whereas quieter roads where they can wander/hunt/(and, in the case of one of our cats) lie sunning himself, are actually the greater danger.

I see the anti-cat brigade are out in force. It is virtually impossible to keep a cat in if it wants to get out. My personal best at this is four days (with new cats). Point taken about not having a cat if you live on a busy road but the buggers are very inquisitive and like to explore. I’m fortunate in that my current cat is happy to stick to my garden.

I have a cat. We lock it inside at night. BUT if it got hit by a car my first thought would not be to blame car drivers who have a right to use the road.

We’ve chosen to accept these risks on behalf of our cat. Perhaps unfair to the cat but isn’t pet ownership (and children and holidays and all the unnecessary things in life) a little selfish and self-serving?

Mine was stray for 4 years (they don't usually survive on their own that long) so he goes out as that's what he's used to. Only as far as next doors garden and he avoids traffic like the plague. Kept inside from dusk to dawn
The little git does cross the (quiet) road and uses the zebra crossing he walks down a few more steps to where it is rather than cross not on it

@QueenOllie uses the zebra crossing! That did make me smile.

Mine totally surprised me that day as we were on the other side of the road so when I stopped the cars like a traffic warden she very elegantly trotted across and got up on the pavement other side. Beautiful little black cat.

Oh I do miss her.

YABU

Cats can roam quite far when they want. They may not even live near the busy road but several streets away on a quieter one

All my cats are outdoor cats and none terrorise they local wildlife by the way - the most one of them has brought back is several sausages from the local pub

It's really difficult.

I have three indoor cats. The road along the back of our house is a 60mph, narrow country road. Cats get killed on it regularly.

However, my cats are happy to be indoors and don't try and get out, so I've never been in a situation where I have to let my cats out and worry about the consequences. Not all cats take well to being indoors (certain breeds especially need to be able to hunt outside).

I don't think you can blame the drivers - cats move quickly and they're not always noticeable, especially if it's dark or they dash out from under a car like they're prone to doing. I do think they should stop and pull over but unfortunately it's currently not the law to do so.

@Frownette don't I was fuming and he thinks it's funny to sit on the pavement until the car stops or he waits for a human to cross with him

My cat was killed by a car on a small country lane in broad daylight.

I was heartbroken.

I remember that day looking at the fields around me - we were literally in the middle of the fields and it just felt so wrong that he had been killed in a place that couldn't have been more natural.

If you're doing the speed limit you should have enough time to brake.

Most cats are pretty savvy but they have to at least be given the chance to react. When someone comes speeding down a road, the balance is off kilter.

There are more cars than ever on the roads now, you see some houses with three cars in the drive, one for her one for him and one for the kidult. People use cars all the time and they dont pay attention, they speed.

I think it's really sad.

I agree. I wouldnt have a cat near a busy road. We have 3 cats and we do live near roads, they just aren't busy. We recently moved and I didn't even consider houses near a main road.

I echo pps who have said I would prefer my cats to have a life being able to roam than one where they are locked indoors.

We had a spate of cat deaths in our village, and someone pointed out that it was partly because rush hour was coinciding with dusk (which is a good hunting time), and so cats were too focussed on their prey to notice the traffic. They suggested that there might be some sense in people trying to keep their cats in at that time.

@Babyboomtastic Same with mine. 😔 A bright summer morning when I had always brought him in at night.

My female cat never goes on the lane and she roams closer to home. Maybe it's a gender thing

It’s impossible to live and never open a window or door especially in summer.

This^.

The 'we keep our cats in brigade', how do you do that? We have our windows open year-round and the back door frequently open when the weather is nice. The only way to keep our cat inside would be to shut her in a room with the window permanently closed - and that's not only cruel, but she'd escape! We live on a busy road, but never let her out the front. Behind we have a garden and playing fields where she happily goes, but are you saying that anyone who lives on a busy road anywhere shouldn't have a cat? There'd be millions of homeless cats, if so.

The 'we keep our cats in brigade', how do you do that?

It's honestly really easy. Our windows only open at the top and the furniture is set up so the cats can't jump up and get out of them. We have the windows open year-round and the only time one of them got out was when we were decorating and DH pushed bookshelf up to the open window. He got about a metre down the garden and was terrified and legged it back in (the cat, that is, not DH)

When I lived in a flat, we just had fly screens over the windows.

We have a double-door system at the front (mainly for the dog, but it does help with the cats) so if we open the front door, in the inside door is closed first. Likewise when you come home. Open the front door, shut it, then open the inside door.

Not being able to contain your cat is a cultural issue, not a universal truth. Where I live the standard of care is keeping your cat indoors or at least contained to your own garden. Even the garden with cat fencing is a risk because cats get eaten by hawks, eagles, coyotes, etc. the safer bet is a cat run with a roof or just staying inside. People also have to protect small dogs in a similar fashion.

[quote QueenOllie]@Frownette don't I was fuming and he thinks it's funny to sit on the pavement until the car stops or he waits for a human to cross with him [/quote]
That's utterly brilliant!