To think cat owners are unreasonable for insisting that drivers MUST stop if they hit a cat?

[OtterlyMad]

Some of the people on my town’s Facebook page lose their minds when a cat is killed by a car. It’s automatically blamed on speeding (despite there being no evidence of this) and there are always lots of comments along the lines of how “disgusting” it is that the driver didn’t stop and make the owner aware.

None of them seem to appreciate that the driver might not have time to track down the owner. For example, perhaps they are on their way to work, a job interview, wedding, funeral, court, airport, hospital, dentist, client meeting, school pick up, etc. Plus cats can wander quite far and don’t all wear collars so tracking down the owner could be a real challenge - even more so if driver isn’t local to the area!

Obviously it’s devastating for people to lose their pet in this way (I’m an animal lover and have owned pets all my life so I get it) but surely this is a known risk of allowing cats to roam freely? And owners accept that risk because they feel it gives their cat a better quality of life, even if that means their life is shorter as a result?

My locals are now campaigning to make it law that drivers who hit a cat must not only stop and find the owner, but also HAND OVER THEIR CONTACT DETAILS. To do what with?! So the cat’s owner can give the driver grief and/or demand compensation they’re not entitled to???

Am I the only one thinking this is ludicrous?

You are being unreasonable - drivers should be required to stop, track down the owner of the cat and hand over their contact details.

You are not being unreasonable - injury/death by vehicle is a sad but accepted risk of cats having the right to roam so drivers should not be required to stop.

Motor damage? That was your phrase, not mine. The risks in that situation are much greater than simply damage to the car. If someone swerves or slams on, people could be hurt.

It says it all that your first thought was the car there, though.

I don't care. Cats should not be kept indoors,.

Then cats shouldn't be kept as pets.

So you know more about cat welfare than the RSPCA?

Please never get a cat.

For those that wouldn't stop or wouldn't report if they hit a cat, would you stop and help/report if you found an animal stuck or trapped somewhere? Like ducklings down a drain or something?

You really don't like cats do you 😆

It says to phone the RSPCA for injured cats and that is also the official government advice.

You assume I have a cat. Maybe establish the 'facts' you seem so obsessed with before calling people names love.

I think to not fall foul of our laws (and to be generally kind, reasonable people), we should make reasonable efforts to ensure we've not 'caused unnecessary suffering' - ie, if you can stop, if you can find the cat... take action there.

If its a busy dual carriage way in the middle of the night and the black cat you hit has disappeared up an embankment... then it's not really reasonable to go ferreting about after it.

If on the other hand its a quiet road, broad daylight, cat is lying there in pain, then its reasonable to stop and take cat to a vet (the 'I haven't time' argument doesn't wash with me, because its not true, it's really 'I prioritise something else over this animals suffering'.) No one these days driving a car, can claim they can't use their phone to locate the nearest vets.

Locating the owner though, thats not reasonable - thats for the vet to do, via the microchip and if the cat isn't chipped, thats on the owner!

You need to calm down

I actually like cats. I just won't own one, because I don't want to build a catio, and wouldn't let my pet wander.

If you ever passed a driving test then you'll know that swerving and emergency braking is very unsafe and illegal in these situations, so any damage from that would be your fault entirely. I assumed you're a decent driver as a minimum and would have known that, which only leaves motor damage to be worried about.

You need to realise that some of us genuinely suffer on the daily due to this attitude. It’s not just a small thing that doesn’t affect anyone. You truly have no idea the negative impact this has on so many people’s lives, clearly. Else you might actually have some empathy.

Sometimes folks, when you get locked into a personal attack tit for tat, it's time to back away from the thread

Well you can't safely can you, without putting yourself and other people at risk.

I mean you could report to a sanctuary or a vet where it is I guess.

But it does raise the question of if the expectation is that you transport this injured animal somewhere, by law shouldn't you have the animal restrained in some way as to not distract you or hinder your driving?

I did say I'd transport an animal to the vets - and I have a small travel cage for my small dog that lives in the car, but not everyone has that and also, what if my dog is already in it? Or it's an animal bigger than the cage?

How do you safely transport a quite likely distressed, injured animal in your car if you have no way of restraining it?

You're the one talking about law changes, not me. You can't rely on what the law is now, today, when your whole argument is about some hypothetical fairer law that you've come up with.

And since apparently it was indeed you who came out with the sadly now deleted nonsense about drivers having to make amends when they've hit a cat that the owner didn't keep away from the road, like it or not you're creating an incentive for people to try and avoid that.

If you're going to come up with idiotic legal wishlists, you need to own the consequences that would flow from them.

As is yours to me. Again, you assume I have a cat.