A grieving woman from Streatham is campaigning to change the law on the roads after her cat was run over and abandoned.

Olivia Holland-Rose, 33, set up a petition after her cat, D’Artagnan, was killed after having been hit by a car on her residential street in January.

Currently, the law requires drivers to stop and report collisions with dogs, as well as some farm animals, but not cats.

Wandsworth Times:

The petition, which currently has more than 50,000 signatures, aims to also make it a legal requirement to report road collisions with cats.

Olivia, a West End actress, said: “[D’Artagnan, or Dart] was such a little character and everyone in our neighbourhood knew him, he was a huge part of our family.

“When something like that happens to you, you feel devastated and quite angry.

"Something so treasured and precious has been left on the side of the road like rubbish.

Wandsworth Times:

“It is about asking people to take responsibility when they hit a domestic animal, just like they would a dog.”

Olivia found out that Dart had been run over after her neighbours found him lifeless at the side of the road.

Not knowing who the cat belonged to, her neighbour went from house to house trying to find who he belonged to, which allowed Olivia and her husband, Chris, to say goodbye to their family pet.

Under the Road Traffic Act 1988, drivers who leave cats are not committing an offence, but the petition aims to bring the law on cats in line with other domestic animals.

Wandsworth Times:

“What really struck both Chris and I was the level of care and compassion those basic strangers took to reunite us in comparison to the motorist who just left him”, Olivia added.

“Thousands of people have reached out either privately or on social media saying they have never found out what happened to their pets weeks, months or even years later.

“There’s a lack of closure for these cat owners which we feel needs to be addressed.”

According to PDSA statistics from 2021, cats are the second most popular pet in the UK, with a population of around 10.7million.

At the same time, cat safety charity Cats Matter estimates that 230,000 of the animals are killed on British roads each year.

Wandsworth Times:

The petition needs 100,000 signatures by August to trigger a debate in Parliament on the issue.

It has the support of local MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy.

Ms Ribeiro-Addy, Labour MP for Streatham, tweeted: "As the second most popular pet in the UK, cats deserve the same protections as dogs, pigs and mules.

"That’s why I’ve tabled this EDM to extend the Road Traffic Act to our feline friends!

"Write to your MP and ask them to sign now."

Ms Ribeiro-Addy was contacted for further comment.

The petition can be viewed here.