Nearly half of all domestic cats that die before the age of nine are killed in road traffic accidents.
In November, it was reported that around 230,000 cats were hit by cars across the UK in 2025.
That averages to 630 incidents per day.
Petplan data tells us that one in four of these ends in fatality.
Because of this, campaigners like Cats Matter, and others, are urging motorists to take cat road safety more seriously.
Bernard Whitworth and his wife, Ann, from Lincolnshire, are among many people who have experienced losing a cat on the road.
Bernard spoke to us about his cat, Toby. He said: “Toby was a lovely, sweet cat. We foster cats for Lincoln Cat Care, and when he (Toby) was found, he was straying… living wild.
“The vet couldn’t put his finger on what was wrong with him… as a last resort, before euthanasia, he was tried on raw cat food and it cured him over night.
“And so, we had him… he came here and we kept him. He was with us two years…maybe three or four years and he became part of the family.
“He was one of four or five cats that we adopted at that point… but he was very much my cat, if you know what I mean.
“He loved being combed, loved being groomed.
“Toby was probably one of the very, very few cats that we actually fell in love with.
“So, yeah, Toby was really one of a kind. We were both very fond of him… and we were very upset when he was killed.
“In a way, cats that we’ve had that grew old with us… and we knew they were going to die… I think it was probably more upsetting to lose a cat like that.
“But it was to lose Toby, you know, he was full of life one moment and the next the car hit him and killed him outright.
“So, he never had a decrepit old age, and he never suffered.
“In a way we never suffered other than the fact that we missed him when he went and we knew we’d never find another cat like him.
“It was evening, a summers evening, we didn’t know anything about it, we didn’t hear or see it… The neighbour rang the bell and came across and said is this your cat?
“We walked across the road to look at this cat, and yes, it was Toby.
“It was very upsetting to see him.
“We buried him in the garden, and we never had any time to prepare for the fact that he was going.
“We have lost three cats on the road.
“We get upset when we lose a cat, but it doesn’t mean that we don’t want to have cats… we’ll die with cats.”
Cats are particularly vulnerable to traffic accidents due to their roaming habits and ability to dart unpredictably through traffic.
Penny Craig, founder of Lincoln Cat Care says: “traffic is terrible… the roads are too busy, and the cats don’t have any sense of awareness…most of them have got no road sense.
“We take a few in and a lot of them come to us via the vets as they have to be treated, but I will tell you there’s far more fatalities than there are just injuries.
“I’ve got one at the moment that was a road traffic accident, and he was injured but he’s fine now because he was treated.
“Theres too much traffic, not just for cats being knocked down, there’s too much traffic anyway.”
So, what do you do if you find an injured cat?
The Cats Matter Campaign stresses that the first instinct, to pick the cat up, can be dangerous.
The group’s website advises that if you find a cat that has been hit by a car, do not move it straight away unless it is in immediate danger.
They recommend using a towel or jacket to lift the cat as if it were on a stretcher, keeping movement to a minimum is key.
While CPR may not save the cat, it may save time until veterinary care is available.
If the cat is unconscious:
- Lay the cat on its right side on a firm surface.
- Locate the heart (this is on the lower half of the chest on the left side).
- Place one hand underneath the chest for support and over the heart.
- Begin compressions by squeezing between thumb and fingers.
- Aim for a compression rate of 120bpm (around the same speed as “Tragedy” by the Bee Gees).
If the cat has stopped breathing:
- Gently open the airway by pulling the tongue forward until flat.
- Close the cat’s mouth with your hand and seal their nose with your mouth.
- Breathe into the cat’s nose until the chest expands.
*Rescue breaths and chest compressions should not be performed simultaneously.*
However, while first aid knowledge is vital, charities emphasise that prevention remains the most effective solution.
For anybody who finds an injured cat, Penny urges: “If you have transport take the cat back to the nearest vet if you can, any vet.
“If anybody is on foot, most people have mobile phones, and the best is to contact a rescue…”
