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.

You all need to get yourselves a cat. I guarantee you would change your mind about them.

I’ve found that feeding live cats to my dog tends to be frowned upon, so I’ll pass.

I wasn’t talking about the cat, that’s the key here that outdoor cat owners like to ignore 😉

The cat is a possession of the owner. Just like the slingshot used by the youths. The owner knowingly sends that cat outside to do harm, to kill, to main, to cause suffering. The owner is the one causing that damage, the owner is the one who can (and should) prevent it. No different to the dog owner who failed to prevent their dog killing a swan. No different to the kids who used a weapon to kill a goose. The cat owners are also acting cruelly with full knowledge and understanding of what they’re doing.

This is what cat owners need to really comprehend. The death of the cat - their fault. The death of the wildlife/small pets - their fault.

Our pets have instincts, it’s for us as owners (if we choose to have a pet) to manage those so as not to cause death and suffering.

Why do you automatically assume that people who don’t believe that cats should roam “hate cats”? I don’t hate cats, I just don’t think they are more important than wildlife or anyone else’s pets or enjoyment of their own home. I’ve seen dirty, poorly feral kittens in other countries and it’s heartbreaking. I don’t hate them at all, I think humans have, and continue, to let them down.

House cats are domesticated. They’re not wild animals. They have no more natural instinct than a domestic dog. They also have NO place in the natural ecosystem and it’s indisputable the harm they cause.

Those who allow them out are putting them in danger and causing a large amount of death and injury. How is that justifiable? No one doing so can call themselves and animal lover. Just a cat lover.

Cats can live very happily without roaming freely. Either on a lead, in a secure garden, or with enrichment in a house. If you don’t agree they should be kept that way, then don’t have one. There’s loads of animals I’d like to own that I don’t have the space or time for - so guess what? I don’t have them!

But don’t forget that while your dog is not allowed to harm a cat, it’s fine for other people’s cats to kill your birds/rabbits/rodents etc 👍🏻😃

#cathypocrisy

They can - mine are a case in point. Some cats react badly to being contained. You don't know very much about cats!

They are nothing like a dog either.

I give up. It's pointless.

I didn’t say they are like a dog, they’re a different animal! But both are domestic, and the needs of one cat (or owner) don’t outweigh the huge amount of negatives to letting them roam. It doesn’t make it ok, and yes, it does make it selfish I’m afraid. People actually manage to re-train fully feral cats, so it’s absolutely possible to do with the right time and input. If a domestic cat is not able to be suitably homed because it’s too vicious and unhappy, then euthanasia is an option - exactly what would happen to a non rehomeable dog.

I agree though, this clearly is pointless. Sadly, some people need new laws to come in to get them to behave in a considerate manner.

Where I live, no rescue will let you adopt a cat if you plan to let it outdoors. It is considered absolute animal cruelty. That doesn’t mean there are not people who let cats roam, but they aren’t getting them from reputable rescues and following the rules. It is also against the law to let them roam. Leash laws apply equally to dogs and cats .

There is tons of roadkill and the city has to clean the road daily during some seasons, but there are no cats in the mix.

Fuck me, what a thing to say!

I know you said this for a reaction but jesus, you are a cold person aren't you.

When my friend ran one over in France, we had a caravan attached. Swerving or slamming on the brakes could have flipped the car/caravan or jack-knifed us into oncoming traffic.

My friend took his foot off the accelerator, but the cat darted right under the driver's side front wheel.

If it had been a child, then of course my friend would have done anything he could to avoid the child - no matter the consequences for us, but it was a cat that had been let out to roam by its owner. 🤷

If you don't like the reality of drivers prioritising themselves over roaming cats, don't let them roam. If cats being killed on roads upsets you, blame the owners that let them roam, not the drivers.

As I didn't let him roam I feel no guilt in hoping the little shits drowned!

I'd lose all respect for my mother if she had that attitude.

I wasn’t aiming that at you, I don’t know your circumstances or what you have or haven’t done. But in general, there’s a lot of hatred towards people who hurt animals (quite rightly!) but they seem to forget all that when letting their cats out to kill things. It just doesn’t make sense at all.

Yes, roadkill caused by cars.... Maybe those people who are so exercised over cats having freedom to kill should not drive, so that they don't kill any wildlife either. So in fact you are being just as "selfish" when you drive as a cat owner who lets their cat out.

Unless it’s dangerous to stop ( like a motorway) then yes i do think you should stop and it should be reported.
the cat shouldn’t just be left there in pain to die.
the excuse the you could be late to work, on your way out etc i think is pitiful ( i have been late to work to take an injured animal to the vets!)
i say that as someone with house cats.
I'm unsure how someone can leave something to just die in/by the road.
i do not mean knock on all doors if it has a collar if its nearby, if no collar drop it at a vet.

Mine are also chipped.

Possibly, but that’s a totally different argument isn’t it?

We could have

• let’s ban all vehicles to prevent injury to animals
• let’s ban all guns to prevent injury to animals
• let’s not use any chemical that could be dangerous to animals
• let’s stop using wood and prevent deforestation to save habitats

but they’re not related to one another, or to pet ownership and responsibility. So they’re actually irrelevant in this thread and would need their own pros and cons establishing during discussion.

It still doesn’t change the fact that pets are an owners responsibility, and shouldn’t be allowed to cause a nuisance for no reason. It adds nothing to society, but actively causes a lot of harm.

You can come up with every excuse or argument under the sun, but none of them will justify it.

Same outcome...

I think it's pitiful of you to let your cat out and expect other people who are on their way to important medical appointments in my case .To think they should take responsibility for your pet . You let it it out you deal with it .
If you don't like the laws build a catio and take the full responsibility , your cat will just have to get used to a new lifestyle or don't have one .

I've been in the UK for a long time, but I am born and raised in a different country and they've ingrained into me the following view of pets: dogs are dirty, smelly animals and generally belong outdoors, sleeping in a yard or garden in their own little doghouse or whatnot; cats are pretty clean and massacre the songbirds if left outside, so they are generally indoor-only pets. I like both dogs and cats but this makes sense to me, so I guess I've always been a bit puzzled at the British approach which seems to be the complete opposite. I have cats and I don't let them roam freely outside, why would I? They are not strays.

If I ran over a cat in my car, I would stop if it's safe to do so and try to take the cat to a vet if it's still alive. However I would definitely think it's either a stray or their owner does not care for it very much.

But very different justifications. Plus, how many animals do you as an individual actually kill on the roads? In two decades of driving, the closest I’ve come is two near misses. If I’d had an outdoor cat for 20 years, that’s hundreds… thousands possibly… of dead or injured animals. And for what?

Vehicles can be a menace, but arguably they are essential for the running of society. Most drivers have a conscience and drive accordingly. Cats have no conscience and kill for fun.

This is such an interesting thread. It seems the vote is split nearly 50/50. I find it very strange as surely with cats free to roam it is an expected risk they might get run over.

Also surely human safety comes before an animal. I say this as an animal lover. I love animals and was taught it is always wrong to intentionally harm any living thing. However I have been in a car when a cat has just run out and there was no way we could stop. Roads were fast dark and unlit with few houses so no way to stop and do anything about it.

When I was young I once saw a rabbit injured in the road. When I got to the farm where I working and said I had driven around it I was made to go back and run it over to put it out of its pain. I don’t live in the uk and we have lots of stray cats here where I am. It would be kinder to make sure a stray cat was dead than try to save it and prolong its pain and suffering.

So yes if possible and safe I would try to avoid running over a cat (l’ve even stopped to let cats across the road when driving slow). But if it’s not safe then there is nothing I would do. And if unfortunately the cat is run over I would not stop. If it was badly injured then the best thing would be to put it out of its misery surely.

Sorry

https://www.petsamaritans.co.uk/in-defence-of-cats/

Do you know, my last three cats that had outdoor access (not at night) never killed any wildlife to my knowledge? I had one of them for 9 years, one for 13 years and one for 14 years. Most of the neighbours' cats don't kill often either, bar one who is an out-and-out hunter. Many of my childhood cats didn't hunt either.

Not all cats are the killers they are portrayed to be. Thought the above article was interesting.

“To my knowledge” exactly…

Do you know that the two bodies of fledgling pigeons that I was rearing ready to release were both left headless on my garage floor? I’m sure that cats owner thought/thinks the same.

Your cats killed things. Fact.

If you want to start quoting figures, that’s not going to get you very far to be honest.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2023/12/22/neighbours-cats-decimated-number-of-birds/#:~:text=If%20you're%20a%20cat,a%20quarter%20of%20them%20birds.

https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380

https://invasives.org.au/blog/meet-the-27-native-animals-cats-have-helped-send-extinct-since-colonisation/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cats-kill-a-staggering-number-of-species-across-the-world/

There’s plenty of information from around the world on the sheer volume of cat kills per year, plus the various species sent to extinction due to them.

That’s just a couple of the first articles that pop up, but there’s plenty more where they came from.

I would stop and try and find out whose it was and try to call someone but it's not getting in my car. My kids have allergies.