WHEN our cat Scullion went missing I searched for him for a week.
I patrolled the streets day and night calling him. I even placed an advert in the local paper and a missing pet announcement on local radio. It was the latter that eventually bore fruit.
A man rang me to say that, from the window of his flat, he had seen our pet get knocked down outside the local health centre. Moments later, the gardeners from the health centre pulled up and threw him into the back of their truck, piled high with grass and hedge cuttings, before driving off.
Our cat, who we had owned for ten years, was microchipped and wore a collar with an ID tag. It would have taken the people who found him less than a minute to jot down his details and call us. Had they done this, I could have easily collected him and taken him to the vets.
I contacted the local health trust and, after several phone calls, was told that Scullion was dead when the workers found him. They told me that his body had been buried in a rose garden at the trust’s headquarters. I received a letter to that effect from the chairman of the trust, no less, along with a map showing the location of the garden and that I was welcome to go there anytime.
I was sceptical to say the least, but had no choice but to accept his words. He went on to offer his condolences and a sincere apology over their not having tried to trace the owner.
People may say “it’s just a cat” but, like a dog, a deceased feline lying at the roadside is highly likely to be someone’s beloved pet. Cats, which generally live longer than dogs, are as much a part of the family, yet when someone hits a cat with a car, killing it, or injuring it, it does not have to be reported.
Legally, motorists have to report when they hit animals including dogs, horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, or goats, but not cats. A petition led by the campaign group Cats Matter, calling on ministers to change this, has received more than 189,000 signatures - the largest cat welfare petition that has ever come to Parliament.
Following a debate last month, government ministers agreed to meet with campaigners to review the issue, though no formal law change or vote has yet been enacted.
Earlier this year my neighbours were bereft when their cat was killed by a car in the road outside their home. It was mid-morning, on a clear, straight lane with no other traffic. The driver did not stop. The incident was witnessed by a passer-by, but not in sufficient detail to identify the culprit.
Of course many such incidents are unavoidable. Travelling with my mum a few years ago, a cat shot out from the verge straight under our car. The impact stunned the creature, which my mum - who was driving - picked up and took to a nearby house. It was their cat and, fortunately, after a check-up at the vets, it fully recovered. There is no way we would have driven on without stopping.
I remember when the famed Bob, of Street Cat Named Bob fame, died from injuries after being struck by a car near his London home. His owner spent two days searching for him, before he was found by someone else and taken to a local vet, who contacted him through his microchip.
According to government statistics, about 630 cats are hit by vehicles every day in the UK. Some may advocate keeping them indoors, but that’s no life - like dogs, they need fresh air and exercise.
Some owners never find out what happened to their pets. Taking responsibility and reporting a road death would prevent this anguish. Any new method of reporting would, of course, have to rely on honesty, but it would go some way to alleviating distress that, for pet owners, is long-lasting.
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