Buddy's Story

By Fern Doyle

October 2025

Somebody hit our Buddy and left him to die.

On his own. 

NO attempt to help him. 

NO consideration. 

NO compassion. 

NO thought.

November 2024

Buddy's story started off differently from most. 

He went out the bedroom window on November 11th 2024 and that was the last time we saw him.

For months we knocked on doors, posted well over 1000 leaflets, utilised the local Facebook groups and spoke to all sorts of people from vets, to the council, the bin men, window cleaners and shelters, desperate to find him. 

Any potential sighting we followed up, looking all over our town at all different times to bring him home. 

Buddy was extraordinary, he loved attention, sitting on your shoulder, laying completely stretched out, he would wait outside the bedroom window on the porch roof to come in every morning. He was tolerant of pretty much anything, from being prod and poked by our son or dressing him up. The only thing he wasn't a fan of, was when we went on holiday, he made his displeasure known! 

We knew that Buddy wouldn't just go off to someone else, he was such a big part of our family and he had a sister, Domino (from the same litter) to look out for. 

We kept looking, kept hoping, until we found out in October 2025 - 11 months since he went missing, that he had crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

We were told that despite surviving that long away from us, he was hit by a car and left. 

Even writing this 5 months later, I'm crying and upset that this was the ending for such a wonderful soul. 

What aches the most, is that perhaps if that person had compassion and acted, Buddy could have been saved and be back home with us. 

Telling our six year old that he wasn't coming home is a conversation that will stay with me. 

Buddy's sister Domino doesn't understand what has happened and she spent a long time looking for him and not being herself. 

The actions of drivers have consequences and it shouldn't be acceptable to shrug and drive off, whilst thinking "it's just a cat."

It is so important that the attitude of drivers and the law, change. 

Quite simply, it needs to be a legal requirement to report a cat being hit by a car. 

They are never "just a cat" - Buddy and all the other cats featured on this blog:

Had a Soul 

Had an Energy

Took up space 

Were part of a family 

Were so very loved 

And are missed deeply 

Buddy will always be a part of our family and missed always.