Barnaby's Story - Let Down by the Council

Barnaby had a hard start in life and was scared of people at first, but once he got to know us he became the most beautiful and friendly lap cat. He was my buddy and would sit beside me in the evenings and sleep next to me at night. If I clicked the kettle on, he’d appear on the worktop beside me and purr to ask for a bowl of cat milk. Another thing he loved was to go outside. Often he’d sun himself in the garden or on the roof of my car, but sometimes he’d go further afield, crossing the road into the village. When he was hit by a car on February 14th, we were away on holiday. The local Council (Edinburgh) collected his body, but they didn’t scan his microchip, even though they have scanners on their trucks, and they didn’t keep his body, so we never saw him again or had the chance to say goodbye. He deserved better than that. He was a member of our family.

We lodged a formal complaint with the council and asked our local councillors to take the matter up with them on our behalf. They did apologise and say they would look into their procedures, but really we need the law to change to stop cats being hit and left. I think it’s good to keep the pressure on them as I am always concerned when I see missing cat posts that the same may have happened to them.