Busy traffic is a real danger for adult cats, but even more so for little kittens. When these families saw little balls of fur in the road, they couldn’t just abandon them. We interviewed them to find out more.
Zoe rescued at 6 months old
Carly Gardener was only three years old when her mother rescued her cat from traffic. The family were driving to school early one morning when they approached an intersection and saw a large bus stopped in the middle of the road.
The driver was honking at a small, terrified cat in front of him. Sensing danger, Gardener’s mother safely stopped the car and coaxed the small kitten towards her.
Thankfully, the cat, now named Zoe, approached her. She was scooped up and taken to the vet, but no microchip could be found. Rather than send Zoe to a shelter, the family decided to adopt her!
The family of animal lovers have given Zoe her forever home for the last 16 years, and she’s doing great.
Gardener told Yummypets: “She’s basically grown up with me and my sister our whole lives, we always joke that she's our third sister.”
Just look at these adorable photos!
Traffic stopped to save Misty's life
On 30th August this year, Dianne O’Berry’s mother was driving home from work in Texas, USA, when she noticed something strange moving at an intersection.
What appeared to be a piece of material was in the middle of the four intersecting lanes of traffic. Pulling into the road, she suddenly realised that it was a kitten.
Her mother acted quickly. She stopped traffic and swiftly picked up the little feline. Once out of danger, Misty was safely put in the car and driven to the vet. The kitten was just five weeks old when they found her. Now four months old, Misty is loving her life with her new forever family!
Why do cats find themselves in road traffic accidents?
A study was conducted into whether there are factors that make certain cats more likely to be involved in road accidents than others. The results showed that younger cats were more likely to be involved in road accidents than older cats. The study states that 'for every one-year increase in age, the odds of a road accident decreased by 16%'.
This could be to do with maturity; perhaps older cats learn to be more cautious. Alternatively it could be to do with behavioural patterns such as spending more time indoors than older cats, or frequenting different areas.
Interestingly, males were almost twice as likely to find themselves in road accidents as females.
Have you got a rescue pet story to tell? Let us know in the comments below!
(Photos courtesy of Carly Gardener and Dianne O’Berry)