Chesterfield cat owner calls for drivers to be responsible after her pet was killed

Charlotte Athanassi, from Staveley, was left shocked after finding her cat Leo had died on Belmont Drive, having been hit by a car.

Ms Athanassi said her cat had been left to die just 0.3 miles away from the nearest vet, and called on drivers who hit cats to empathise with their owners and take responsibility.

“Even if you don't care about that animal's life, why can't you at least show some empathy to the people who do care about their pets?

“Luckily we found our Leo only a day later, but what about those people who never find out what happened to their pets? It's evil to take that chance of closure away from them.

”Please just think about the consequences. In some cases, being hit by a car might not be fatal for the animal, and if you just owned up to your actions and got the animal to a vet, you could save their life- instead, you drive off and let a living creature with a name, a home and a family die cold and alone.”

Ms Athanassi believes the law needs to change to punish drivers who are involved in such incidents. Currently, under the Road Traffic Act 1998, drivers are not legally required to stop after hitting a cat, and do not have to report it to the police.

Ms Athanassi hoped that Leo’s story would convince people to sign this petition, which asks the government to alter the law surrounding collisions with cats. She said: “It is crazy to me that it is illegal to hit a dog with your car and drive away, but not illegal if you hit a cat and drive away.

“I think they both should be illegal and considered a more serious offence. I understand that you can't always prevent an animal from being hit, but you should always report it.

“I think that if someone is found to have hit a pet and driven off, there should be a consideration of whether they should even be on the road.”