If you have hit and killed a domestic animal, by law you have to take it to a vet and call the animals owner, the Police or the RSPCA. If you find that the animal is badly injured but still alive, be sure to approach the animal with caution. Due to the stress of the event, the animal may be quite dangerous.
Always have your cat evaluated by a veterinarian, even if she appears to be ok. Internal bleeding, shock, low blood pressure, traumatic brain injury or chest injuries can manifest hours after the initial injury, and a veterinarian will be able to determine if there are any hidden injuries to your cat.
If you hit and injure an animal (apart from a bird), you are required by law to do whatever you reasonably can to ease its pain. If it's not a wild animal then the injury must be reported to the police or the animal's owner.
If they're near the scene of the accident they may be distressed, so you should try to stay calm and share your details with them. If you hit a dog you'll need to call the police. Unfortunately for their owners, if you hit a cat you don't need to do so.
If someone—or another animal—has injured your dog or cat, you may be able to receive compensation in a civil lawsuit against the responsible person. It's bad enough to watch your pet suffer or die. But it can be particularly upsetting if the injury was needless, and you think someone else was to blame.
Currently there is no law that requires you to stop after hitting a cat on the road. The road traffic act 1988 states that legally, you must report hitting the following animals to the police. This applies whether the animal is dead or injured. No one wants to think about hitting someone's pet.
Comprehensive auto insurance is designed to cover damages to your auto caused by an incident that is not a collision. This includes damages resulting from fire, theft, vandalism, weather events and, yes, even animals.
The Common Law Duty of Care
The law recognises that cats are less likely to cause injury to people or damage property than some other animals. However, cat owners do have a duty at law to take reasonable care to ensure that their cats do not injure people or damage property.
As you may know, intentionally harming or killing a cat is illegalwhether they're owned, stray, or unowned.
We have no powers to deal with stray or feral cats. This is due to their transitory nature (as compared to dogs which are normally confined to a property). Therefore they are unlikely to be classed as a statutory nuisance. Cats are protected by law and it is an offence to harm them.
Because the law regards cats as property, an offence may be committed under this Act if a person, without lawful excuse, kills or injures a cat belonging to another person.
Call the police to notify them that there has been an accident. Dogs and cats are considered personal property, so you must notify the police if they are hit by your car. The 911 dispatcher should connect you to animal control and send a patrol car to your location.
Hitting a cat can lead to hand-shyness, fear of the owner, and potential injury for both the owner and the cat. Depending on the problem, the cat will likely continue to perform the undesirable behavior in your absence since it learns that it can perform the behavior without punishment when you are out of sight.
Signs of Emotional Trauma in Cats and Dogs
Trauma can also manifest as “shaking, hiding, urination and/or defecation when the trigger attempts to interact, howling, pacing, excessive vocalization, and panting,” says Pia Silvani, director of behavioral rehabilitation at the ASPCA's Behavioral Rehabilitation Center.
"Under section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, a driver is required to stop and report an accident involving specified animals including horses, cattle, asses, mules, sheep, pigs, goats or dogs, but not cats or wild animals. This requirement arises from their status as working animals rather than as domestic pets.
Generally, cats do not forgive abuse. However, it depends on the severity. If you've unintentionally caused your cat harm, then you may find forgiveness after you've made repeated attempts to make amends.
Some cats that are hit by a car sadly do not survive to receive veterinary treatment. However, for those that do, the prognosis is perhaps better than you might think. In one study of 128 cats that were hit by a car, 112 were alive when they arrived at the vets. For these 112 cats the chance of survival was 84%.
Also, cats are more likely to run into the road than dogs if they're spooked. Why do cats run in front of cars? Cats get scared easily. When felines hear a loud noise, or when they're being approached by a dog or a human stranger, they bolt.
Many people wonder if animal cruelty is a federal felony. In 2019 the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act or PACT Act was signed into law, making certain acts of animal cruelty a federal crime. Violating the PACT Act is punishable by a prison term up to seven years, a fine, or both.
This is your right to receive a copy of your personal information held by the RSPCA. Please note that a SAR only allows you to see your own data and not anyone else's, for example, the person who reported you.
Although we reply to the majority of complaints within 25 working days, if the matter is complex and requires greater investigation it may take longer. If this is the case, we will contact you again to let you know and advise how much longer it will take and why.
Under most state and federal laws, animals primarily are regarded as property and have little or no legal rights of their own. Because of this status, generally there is a presumption—provided no law is violated—in favor of the owner's control and use over the best interests of the animal.
Please only call if an animal is in urgent need
Or where an animal is in a situation that results in risk to life or imminent danger of it being harmed. We receive a call for help approximately every 30 seconds.
Cats are protected by law and are free to roam meaning they might go into other people's gardens or allotments. It is understood that some may wish to deter other people's cats from those areas.