RIP Rani

Somali cat Rani was 3.5 years old, and her owner S. Murthy loved her dearly. Rani loved exploring around the countryside, but on August 15th 2021 she was tragically found dead on the grass verge of a country road, not more than a 100 metres from the front door of her home in Cholsey, Wallingford. Using her GPS collar, her owner was able to retrace her last movements, and estimated that the incident took place around 7:30 AM, Sunday morning, 15 August, 2021, near the entrance to the Barn Fitness Centre, Church Road, Cholsey.

It is often a deserted road, and cars often come in pairs or threes travelling quite fast. The vet who inspected Rani afterwards suspected that she probably died due to head injuries caused by a vehicle. Despite her owners pleas for information, including in the local paper, no witnesses have come forward to date.

Apart from dealing with the significant grief of losing Rani, the owner is really angry and frustrated at the lack of reporting and information surrounding what happened. The owner was home at the time, but heard nothing. As Rani was found placed on the grass verge, it's wondered if a/the driver placed her there, which would signal someone tried to (hopefully) help her and move her from further harms way. However, the family would like this, and the circumstances around how she came to be hit in the first place, confirmed. The owner called the local police station to enquire whether anyone had called in an incident in the local area, but unsurprisingly there were no reports. Enquiries were also made at at a nearby fitness centre, and some information was obtained on when and where Rani was found, but there were apparently no witnesses to the incident itself unfortunately.

What happened to Rani has left her owner appalled and disgusted by the callous and indifferent attitude of people to cat deaths, and he firmly believes they should be treated with more compassion and respect. Her owner would like to request anyone with any information, or the driver themselves who sadly hit Rani on Church Road, to come forward with as much information as possible so as the family can understand the sequence of events that took place which lead to Rani being left deceased on the grass verge that morning.

S.Murthy has created a beautiful video in Rani's memory, telling her story from birth alongside precious photos of such a stunning little lady. You can watch the video here.