Equal rights for cats:

On Monday 13th March 2023, my beautiful cat Marsha was hit by a car and left to suffer.

She made it home and we rushed her to the vets. Initially thinking she would have a leg amputated if she made it through the night. Well my Marsha Mellow was a fighter. She made it to Tuesday morning and seemed somewhat happy considering the circumstances. Happy to be alive no doubt. 

But when I got the call I had waited for, to tell me the amputation went well, it was clear she couldn’t come home. The internal trauma was too bad and she had some internal injuries that were  not repairable. I was told I had to make my way to the vets. 

I had no option but to put my baby girl to sleep. The hardest part was that she was heavily sedated, as she was due in for surgery, and so I never got to see her awake again. 

Marsha was more than my cat, more than just an animal. She was my companion. She was apart of our family. She was my fur baby. 

In the eyes of the law, cats and dogs are classed as personal chattels (personal possession) and as a consequence they can be bought and sold like any other property. The current law in Guernsey states;

Under the Road Traffic (Guernsey) Ordinance, 2019, it is the duty of the driver to report an accident with an animal to the police within 24 hours if the owner of the animal is not present.

In this instance, horses, bovine animals, asses, mules, sheep, pigs, goats and dogs are defined as animals, cats are not included in the definition of animal in this ordinance.

Why are cats considered to be any different? 

Between 200 and 300 cats a year are injured or killed in RTA’s in Guernsey. 

cats should be included within the current legislation, so that drivers are held responsible for reporting any injuries or deaths caused to cats while driving, to the police, GSPCA or animal aid. 

Please help to give cats equal rights