630 cats are killed by cars every single day
Whether you’re a cat owner or avid watcher of cat escapades online, our feline friends are in our homes, on our phones and on our roads.
But we are killing them. Research shows that road traffic accidents are one of the leading causes of cat death, so much so that many people don’t even let their cats outside for fear of their beloved pet being squished.
From giant SUVs to precious parking, our streets and lives are dominated by cars. It’s not just cats that are victims, we’re also killing ourselves.
Road transport is the second biggest contributor of carbon emissions in Derby, and air pollution is regularly above safe levels across the city causing issues including heart attacks, hospitalisations for stroke and emergency asthma admissions amongst adults and children.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. We called on you and our politicians, transport planners and humans in charge to create a city that prioritises cats*, not cars.
Welcome to the world of cativism.
*or children, women, disabled people, any other vulnerable and underrepresented group in society. Unfortunately the council don’t seem to care about us though so we’re giving cats a go.
From transporting toy cats to taking to the streets, your support to make Derby a city for cats, not cars was greatly appreciated.
join our Cattical Mass
We took to the streets to join the global Kidical Mass rides, except ours was of course cat themed.
A wonderful combination of protest and family fun, we cycled together as a big group and complied with the rules of the road.
From tigers to tabby cats, toy cats of any kind came along and painted whiskers made a welcome appearance.
sponsor a cat
Our 30 cute (toy) cats started a road revolution. But we needed love, and rage.
So for a suggested minimum donation of just £5 to help us fund our work, you named our fluffy feline friends.
From Sprinkle Bum and Boo Boo to Foggy and Mr.Chuts, we made them handmade collars and name tags to wear as they fought the system.
support direct cation
Through a series of pawsitive and peaceful actions, we highlighted car dominance and the lack of safe and accessible walking and cycling provision.
Our fluffy feline friends visited various locations across the city to show how much better life would be with cats not cars.
Thank you to everyone who gave them solidarity squishes.
cattical mass | saturday 14th may
What do we want?
Safer streets
When do we want them?
MIEOW!
Thank you to everyone who came along to our cat themed Kidical Mass ride to call (and mieow) for safer streets for our kids (and cats)!
direct cation
Through a series of pawsitive and peaceful actions, we highlighted car dominance and the lack of safe and accessible walking and cycling provision across Derby.
a life of fear
Don’t take our word for it – here’s what our cats say:
My friend was killed when I was a kitten. Since then I’ve not been allowed outside. It makes me really sad but the humans won’t stop driving, even for short journeys. It also makes the air taste really bad. The little human has to use a special blue thing to help him breathe now and he can’t run around anymore.
Jasper
The lady human started to use a fun machine with wheels during the first lockdown. It was great as it made her happier and healthier (and she snuggled me more) but now she is too scared. She always says that those painted white lines will not stop her from getting hurt so she uses the big metal box again.
Luna
I’ve never chased a butterfly, felt the sunshine glisten on my fur or made a friend because of the big scary metal boxes. Recently they seem to be even bigger and so when I sit at the window longing to go out, I see people getting stuck on the pavement or having to walk in the road because they can’t get past. I don’t think this is very fair.
Milo
check out what else we do
When we’re not resorting to cat campaigns, we were busy delivering cycling projects, collaborating with like-minded partners and much more.