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.

I've lost three cats to three different, very quiet, shouldn't-be-speeding-on-them roads. I now have house cats, because it's too traumatic to keep losing them because of inconsiderate arseholes. Round here, people aim their cars at cats and point score if they knock one down. It's absolutely vile.

I cannot believe that people could be so callous as to not stop, apart from on a motorway. Mumsnet loves to hate cats though, for some reason. Personally, I couldn't hurt a defenceless animal and continue with my drive. I also know what it's like to get that news - my cats are my world. I'm housebound and I don't think I'd still be here if it wasn't for them. To some of us, pets are as important as human family members.

Thankfully mine are safe from cars now.

Why is being late or cutting it close (or whatever) offered as an excuse here?

Leave earlier and you'll have time to both drive carefully and/ or do the decent thing when you cause damage to an innocent creature.

What else would you try to excuse yourself from on grounds you had paid hundreds of pounds for your trip, or there was some event you were late for? Hitting an old lady/ a bolting child/ clipping someone's wing mirror/ going the wrong way up a one way street?

Oh absolutely, I’m not trying to make out that every journey is important - I’m just trying to explain why sometimes people might not be able to stop.

As someone who has lost her beautiful young cat to a hit and run very recently, yes you are being very fucking unreasonable 😡

My lovely boy was left still alive and managed to drag himself into a neighbours garden. By the time we were tracked down, it was too late to save him or get him to a vet, and my sweet cat took his last breaths in my arms, but very much in pain (his leg had been broken and strongly suspect he had internal injuries).

I didnt expect the person who hit him to turn into the CIA, but perhaps if they had stopped and knocked on a couple doors, or taken him to a vet, my cat might still be alive now.

https://www.catsmatter.org/if-you-hit-a-cat

I think you should stop if reasonably possible. Not stopping if you're able to just makes you a shitty human. I'd definitely judge someone who didn't. They deserve to be judged and treated like the scum they are.

Someone hit my cat years ago. Nothing could have helped him but they moved him to the side of the road so that he wasn't hit again. This was pre taking them to the vet to scan for chip days.

If it's safe for you to stop, then you stop.

In my case the cat ran straight out in front of me, I didn’t have a chance to stop! I was doing 25 in a 30 zone, I wasn’t speeding nor was I distracted whilst driving. Sometimes it just can’t be helped

I'll always be so grateful to the kind person who saw our cat being hit by a car, stopped and took him straight to the vet where he was PTS. Prevented lots of suffering.

Out of interest OP, because of your user name, would you stop for an otter?

Your journey is important only to you.

Leave earlier if getting to your oh so important destination matters so much that you think norms of human decency don't apply to you.

Its seems a bit psychotic to think the poster js proud of it and then to invent a whole scenario in your head a small child crying. But thats just me...

Think you need to chill out a bit tbh.

I hit a cat once, I was doing about 15 mph and the thing appeared from nowhere and ran under my wheels.
I was on the way to collect DD from school.

God forbid your DD get picked up a bit late while you check if the cat you hit is still alive and has a chance of survival or needs to be put out of its misery.

Wonder how your DD would feel about the fact you left a cat dying in the road.

Your journey is important only to you.

^ eh? Um if you're a witness in a court case or someone's birth partner etc it's important to many people. What a strange way of thinking.
It is as obtuse as saying your cat is only important to you. I'm sure a family pet matters to many people.

That’s the thing, on residential streets and not speeding, they’re unlikely to die instantly

So if you don’t stop you’re leaving it to die alone and in pain

But what can be helped is leaving the animal to die in pain.

If they'd knocked on the door, or shown any signs of humanity I could have accepted it- it was the driving off and leaving her to die alone that causes the rage.

What will actually happen if you don't stop/report hitting a dog though? Probably fuck all. But people still stop.

I've thankfully never hit an animal. I'm not more likely to stop for a dog because I have to, I'd stop regardless.

Although, according to this thread, if I'm in a hurry, I can just carry on my merry way.

Under section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, a driver is required to stop & report accidents involving specific animals including dogs, but not cats. This requirement arises from their status as working animals rather than as domestic pets, but many dogs are pets, not working animals.

Hope this helps.

You are being MASSIVELY unreasonable. Are you seriously telling me that if you hit a poor animal, somebody’s much-loved pet, you wouldn’t even stop to see if it was alive or dead? Wow…

Yanbu the right to roam. Basically means shit happens. You can’t have it both ways and I own cats.

Which is something I usually wouldn’t do but in this situation I had to. Myself and a passerby tried to locate the cat as it ran off but we were unsuccessful. The best I could do was post in a couple of Facebook groups so people were aware.

YANBU

My family lost a cat to a car. The driver didn't stop, but our cat was nowhere to be found either. All there was, was a streak of blood and fur on the road. He was found days later, in someone's garden, was taken to the vets but PTS.

Sadly, sometimes cats do run off and die elsewhere.

I genuinely can't imagine running over someone's pet and just leaving it to die alone on the road. It only takes a few minutes to ring your local vet and inform them, or to pop a post on social media with some information about the cat (and some photos that you can send to the potential owner for ID).

My own cats are kept inside/on our property so I don't have to worry about this, thankfully.

@CremeEggThief I'm with you. The worst thing about driving for me are the three times I've killed something. Two birds and a rat. I would never just leave a cat, I'd take it to the vets and tell work why I was late.

Once there was a baby squirrel terrified running in front of my car and the driver behind was irate I was slow for it. I finally went round it and the other car deliberately ran it over. If I hadn't had my child in the car I would have gone to prison for what I wanted to do.

You should do everything you can safely do to avoid killing an animal.

It amazes me all these PP who say they couldn’t possibly stop somewhere… What on earth are you planning to do if you have a tyre blowout or something seize?! Seriously have a think about your driving, failing to plan is planning to fail!

The law should change to ensure that the driver is obliged to stop and look (thereby could be prosecuted for leaving an animal they have injured to die in pain) and if said animal is found (alive or dead), take it to a registered veterinarian.

So you did stop, you did try to help it. It had already bolted and there's not a lot you can do in that situation. You didn't just think, oh well! Cats have the right to roam!