Road traffic accidents are the leading cause of injury and death in cats with outdoor access, representing a major preventable welfare crisis across UK cat populations.
Road traffic accidents cause acute traumatic injury and death to hundreds of thousands of cats annually in the UK alone, representing an enormous scale of preventable suffering. Surviving cats frequently sustain orthopaedic injuries including pelvic fractures, spinal injuries, and limb trauma requiring major surgery and prolonged recovery. The welfare cost of RTAs extends beyond the injured cat to owners experiencing sudden bereavement, and to companion animals who lose their social partner. Keeping cats indoors at night — the peak risk period — is the single most effective preventive action available to individual owners, reducing risk by over 50% while preserving daytime outdoor enrichment.