RTA

[Maddiesmum]

Hopefully she has learned that cars are baddies

[alisonandarchie]

It is sounding really promising

[Christina]

hi again! thanks for all the advice.
i have started to let her out again for a bit, but im very strict about it. she doesnt go out nowhere near as much as before. partly as she seams scared now. shell want to go out, and then shell be back within five minutes, or ill find her sitting on the window ledge.
my boyfriend did say the other day she was sitting on some grass in the grounds of our flat , and a car drove past, and she just bolted back in throught the window as if she was terrified. maybe thats a sign that she will stay away from cars? i really hope so. i wish there was a way of protecting them from the roads!

[CurlyCatz]

In response to the question of whether they learn or not..no i am fairly sure alot dont since i've seen many a cat in the vets surgery for a second and sometimes even 3rd time (not that often and the couple i know of were the very lucky ones !) after being involved with car incidents, I can remember one had previously lost the end of his tail and another had a leg amputated so they had been serious rta's but it didnt scare them off going near a road again. 

[ccmacey]

Hi Christina, so sorry to her about your cat. I would say if you are so worried just to keep her in, I know it's hard but they do eventially get used to it, and your only doing it for their sake.


And yours too Pav 

[pappilon]

I am not sure they learn their lesson, my cat Picollo, had RTA and made it home through the cat flap with a broken pelvis, it took a while for her to be able to walk again i even had to help her to go to toillet , but she did recover and back to normal with the terrible time she went through i thought she will never go back outside but she did and less than a year after she had RTA again but this time she didnt make it , i guess cats are different is not that they dont remember but is how bad they want to go out and she loved being out specially at night and come in at all hours with little prese .

I am really glad your little cat recovered and is fine now.

[Maddiesmum]

I live close to a busy road and Dragan was knocked down on his first birthday.  Luckily he wasn't badly injured and recovered but he has never set foot near that road again.  One time when I was on the other side of the road helping my neighbour when her cat had been killed he sat on the pavement opposite watching  me but would not set foot on the road.  don't know if they remember or learn but  something has stopped him from venturing across since the day of his accident.  I must add that there is a huge and interesting field across the road so it has probably taken a lot for him to learn not to go there.  Glad your cat has recovered

[Angiew]

  to Tan

Same story here - quiet road little traffic. 2 cats killed -  Binky last year and a little gorgeous feral a couple of years before. Moved here 'cos I thought it would be safer for the cats , having lived nearer the city centre and lost none though did have a broken leg which may have been RTA. Lived in residential inner streets for 14 years with 3 cats so thats 42 cat year equivalents. Lived here 16 years with an average of 6 cats and 2 RTA's so thats 96 cat year equivalents so if the broken leg was down to RTA then the statistics are pretty even.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I think this is very hard and agree with what Tan and Alsion have said.

I also think that the country roads are in a way so much more dangerous and although I live in the country with a field at the back, the front of the house is a terrible busy road .......not even a B road.......and I get worried that my two big cats will get out on it.

Today I saw my neighbours side gate left open by he duaghter and family and I know that Misa and Sasa climb over that 6 ft wall cos they like to perch on top and survey the world,

I shut it but do not know whether this was a one off or not, so am now very concerned.

Both cats are scared of people and I suspected of the cars and big HGVS that tank up and down the road but they would also run from my neighbour if she came out and they were there. If they ran through the gate, I know I cant trust her and she would most likely just shut it on them.

I am sorry I cant give you advice on this cos its risk v happiness like Tan says. I know my cats would not be happy being indoor cats and have to hope their fear will keep them safe 

[alisonandarchie]

I was so glad that your little one has recovered and really feel the turmoil you must be going through. We lived in the town centre for 17 years and I was frightened to get a cat having lost one some years ago on a busy road.
When we moved to our present house it was a quiet location near fields, so we got a a lovely cat. Our beautiful ginger cat used to spend most of his time in the fields and I assumed he was safe crossing a fairly quiet road. When he was six he died on the road, which was obviously heartbreaking. He would have been really miserable if Id have kept him in and quite honestly impossible.
A few months later we got our present cat Archie who is a very different personality. He stays in at night and does not wander, he does not know the fields exist.
We also have a more or less permanent visitor Scruffy and she had an accident on the same road, before she came to us. Now she does not go near the road so perhaps she remembers being hit.
As Tan says its very difficult to know what to do sometimes. What ever you decide I am sure it will be the right decision.
Best wishes

[Tan]

Hi Hun

So glad she has recovered  

I feel for you cause i have done exactly the same thing, ie moved from a busy town into country with less traffic and fields but all the years i was in the busy town not one of my lads were in an rta.  
Since moving 10 years ago out here i have had my Arnie (blue Burmese) go missing and in the last 2 years had my wonderful lads Ochi, Rio and Gizmo killed on the road at the back of my garden.  It's not a really busy road but it has random traffic on a long road that speed in a 30 mph limit with fields accross the road.

That road has been more of a danger to my babes than living in a busy town    It's the random traffic which gives false security, the unlawful speed of the cars and the temptation of the field accross it.
Coming from a town, i would have thought the quieter area would of been safer. They loved the area cause of all the fields.

I have two 7 months olds now and they are sadly indoor / cat proofed garden only.  They have never been out and apart form getting a bit bored at times, they are happy lads.  They love the garden and hunt etc and play alot in it. I know they would be happier if allowed to go out to the fields but they will die on that road at some point, i just know it.


When my Ochi died at 18 mths old, i was so devistated, i cat proofed the garden and kept his brother Rio in. Adopted a littleun for a playpal Gizmo and intended to keep them both in safe. But Rio was used to going out for a year and was very unhappy. I just couldn't see him that unhappy so after a while started to let him out again, keeping Gizmo in.  Every night i prayed and worried that he wouldn't come when i called to get him in or that in the day he wouldn't come home after an outing.  Months later all was ok. Had the rta with Ochi been an awful one off?  From being in a busy town, Ochi was my 1st rta.  Gizzy seeing Rio go out cryed to do the same so i relented and let him go out too.  I continued to pray and worry every second they were out.
Last year i lost Rio & Gizmo so very close to each other to that road. It is still to painful to talk about. Rio esp was my sole cat.

So i so know what you are feeling. The thing is would she be happy being an indoor only when she already knows whats outside? If she is then i would try and keep her in and if you can cat proof the garden so she has some outside life but safe.  If you find like i did with Rio and Gizmo that they were so very unhappy and their personalites changed then you have a decsion to make either to give her a happy but possible short life or a safe life but maybe not so happy life. It really depends on her, how she feels about going out.

It's a decsion that is so hard to make and worried me every second. Do i keep them safe but unhappy or do i give them happiness but can't secure their safety.

It seems with cats and living here, i will worry about something all the time. When Rio & Gizzy was out i worried for thier safety, when i had them indoor only, i worried they were unhappy.  Now with my two lads safe and thank god don't know what the front door means to go outside, i still worry they get bored in the same enviroment all the time. Thank god at the mo they show no signs of wanting to go out as they have the garden and i play with them.

This wont help ya alot i know but just wanted to let you know you def aint alone with how you are feeling.  

 

[Christina]

hiya. i live in a ground floor flat, so a run isnt an option, as the land is shared and i couldnt do anything with it. we live at the end of a private cul de sac driveway, nicer and quiet, with a bit of land and grass amd trees, almost like a huge garden, only its not fenced in or anything, its just all open. she is only young. about a year and 5 months. i do i hope that from now on she will stay away from the road now and just stay in the ground of our flat or neighbouring gardens. she is quite a house cat. she loves to go out, but she is never gone for long. i am going to be a bit more restrictive about how often she goes out now though. i never thought id worry so much about her!

[blackcat]

Hi Christina, sorry to hear about your babies accident. I have had indoor and outdoor cats and have lived in both rural and urban environments. All the cats I have lost to RTA were in the country and I suspect there is a certain degree of truth that in rural areas they are more at risk simply because they are unaccustomed to there being a threat on the roads. In an area where there is a relatively constant stream of traffic that does seem to provied a deterrent. But that is only personal observation and I don't know if anyone has ever collected statistics to demonstrate one view versus another. I do think that a cat, once hit by a car will be more wary, but it depends on their temperament. Smidgen, for example, is so gungho that if he hurts himself the first time, but really wants to do something he will try again and again.

So, the idea of a run is probably your best solution. I assume if you are in the country you have a garden, but it may not necessarily have 6 foot fences which are fairly necessary of you were to cat-proof the space. So a constructed run is probably your best solution. If you can attach it to the house, so that access can be gained through a window or cat flap, and furnish it with climbable surfaces then your cat can have the best of both worlds.

Good luck, whatever your decision.

[candyshandy]

Difficult one for me as mine are all indoor.....

The problem you face is that she is used to being an indoor/outdoor cat and will most probably find it difficult to adapt to being indoors only.  Is there any way you could cat proof the garden so she can still go outside but will be confined to the safety of your garden?  There are a few systems on the market - I have Roz's Secur-A-Cat system which I installed myself.  It is basically a bracket and net system that you attach to existing fencing.  I know there are others too.

Alternatively you could purchase/build an outside run where she could play and enjoy the outdoors.

If all these options aren't feasible and she will not tolerate being kept in then all I can say is that a few years ago my Mum's cat was knocked over when he was just one year old and lost his back leg.  As soon as he went back outside he avoided the road and just stayed in the gardens of our neighbours.  Not sure if this would apply to your cat but I suppose it is a risk.

How old is your cat?

Also, glad to hear she is ok and no long term damage has been caused. 

[Christina]

Hello everybody. i was just after your thoughts on something. my little cat was run over two weeks ago. luckily she was ok, just really badly cut and bruised.
i mooved from being by a relatively busy road, and a nearby very busy road to a quiet country village, where there is much less traffic. there is a country lane round the corner, but the volume of traffic is much less. i thought i was doing my girl a favour by moving her to a quiet place, but obviously not.
now she is better and can walk again, she wants to go out again, and i let her out yesterday. my problem is i am now so scared for her thinking that something will happen to her again. i suppose im wondering if a cat has an rta, are they more likely to have another one? or do they learn their lesson as such? i aslo read somewhere that it can be more dangerous for a cat in the countryside then in a busy area as they dont look out for traffic as much as their isnt as much. is this true? i now feel really bad for moving her, as she suffered so much after she was run over and couldnt walk etc.   i just wanted to do the best for her.