DEAR EDITOR

The UK went into lockdown due to the current pandemic. With less traffic on our roads, you would expect it would be a bit of respite to the tragic situation of 630 cats being hit by cars every single day in the UK. However, we sadly saw a four fold increase in grieving owners contacting us for support and advice having lost their cat to the road.

Infrequent traffic and quieter streets have led animals to venture further than they normally would. Not only have they been roaming much further than they might usually, they will also take chances they haven't before.

Unfortunately, some drivers have seen the clear roads as an excuse to drive in ways they wouldn't/couldn't usually, and many are not anticipating anyone, or anything, to be on the clear empty roads.

As the roads begin to fill again as lockdown eases, we fear another spike in incidents. We urge cat owners to motivate their cat to stay as close to home as possible. This can be encouraged by creating a cat friendly garden and making yourself visible every so often. Ensuring cats have access to food, water and shelter from the elements at all times discourages them to seek these out elsewhere. We would also always advise people to bring cats in if they go out, during rush hour periods, as well as during the night. Please see our blog for more info: https://www.catsmatter.org/post/lockdown-road-safety .

To drivers, we would like to urge them to remain vigilant when driving as unfortunately cats can suddenly dart from under parked cars. We plead with drivers that, should they hit a cat when driving, they never just drive off. Just a quarter of incidents are fatal, meaning 75% stand a good chance of survival should the driver do the right thing. If the cat is still alive, they will need to see a veterinarian straight away. Although vets are disrupted currently, they are still accepting emergencies. Due to the current situation, some practices may prefer you to phone from your car outside and they will come out to collect the cat. As in normal times, this is free requiring drivers to only to hand over the injured cat.

If the cat is deceased, vets will still take the cat to scan for a microchip and notify the owners. Also, by knocking on surrounding houses, an owner is usually located. On average it will take someone knocking on 3 houses to either directly find an owner, or receive knowledge of where it's believed the cat lives. Owners simply want to know the fate of their companion so they have some closure, so please consider this before driving off thinking you can't help if the cat is deceased. More help and advice can be found on the website: https://www.catsmatter.org/if-you-hit-a-cat .

The CatsMatter team