Raising Awareness: The Hidden Dangers of Cyclist and Cat Collisions on Bridleways

3 hours ago
6 min read

Cyclists and cats crossing paths on rural bridleways might seem harmless, but the reality is often far more serious. Collisions between cyclists and cats are an overlooked issue that can lead to severe injuries or even death for the animals involved. With more cyclists using rural lanes and paths, the risk of such accidents has increased, especially near farms, hamlets, and canal towpaths where cats are quite common. This post explores the dangers, the risks for both cats and cyclists, and what can be done to prevent and respond to these incidents.

Why Collisions Between Cyclists and Cats Happen

Cats are naturally curious and often roam freely in countryside areas. They may dart suddenly across paths, especially near farms or small villages where they live or hunt. Cyclists traveling at speed on narrow or downhill sections have little time to react when a cat appears unexpectedly. The weight and speed of a bike make collisions dangerous for the cat, often causing serious injury or death.

Increased traffic on rural lanes and bridleways means more chances for these accidents to occur. Unlike cars, bicycles are quieter and harder for animals to detect, increasing the risk of sudden encounters.

We get quite a number of emails regarding cats being hit by cars in quiet rural areas. Often owners are shocked this could happen in areas where traffic is much lower than in our towns and cities. Our response often shocks. Research indicates that cats in rural areas are at a higher risk of being involved in road traffic accidents (RTAs) compared to those in urban or suburban locations. A study found that cats living in rural areas were 2.66 times more likely to have a road traffic accident than their urban counterparts. We have noticed a pattern over the years, and theories were proved correct when we had a national lockdown during Covid. During this time there was a dramatic increase in reports of cats being hit by cars, with weekly incidents doubling in some areas. While it might seem counterintuitive that fewer cars on the road led to more accidents, we identified several factors that created this pattern of disaster, including:

Faster and More Irregular Traffic: With fewer cars on the road, the drivers who were driving (essential workers, etc.) were often driving much faster than usual, leading to higher impact fatalities.
Changed Cat Behaviour: Cats are intelligent animals that usually avoid busy roads. The quiet, empty roads during lockdown gave them a false sense of security, encouraging them to explore further, lounge on road surfaces, and wander into areas they would normally avoid.
Daytime Incidents Increased: Traditionally, most cat accidents occur at night. However, during lockdown, more incidents occurred during the day, as cats took advantage of quiet streets.
Reduced Driver Vigilance: Because the roads were largely empty, drivers were often less vigilant than they would be in normal traffic, resulting in less time to react to an animal.
Disruption of Services: Emergency vet and animal rescue services were limited, which affected the ability to rescue injured cats and may have influenced how and when accidents were reported.

The reasons we found for the rise in incidents during lockdowns go a great way in explaining why rural incidents are quite common. We can confidently apply the reasons why to rural areas too. Most cats will avoid busy main roads in our towns and cities, especially during busy periods throughout the day where taking that chance seems impossible. This goes part way in explaining why the majority of cats are hit during evening hours as there is less traffic and cats take many more chances to cross that road. In rural areas, irregular traffic means cats are lulled into a false sense of security. combine this with cars driving much faster through these areas and with less vigilance as they are not expecting constant stops with people or animals suddenly being in their path. Rural roads are often long, straight, and open, encouraging drivers to travel at higher speeds, which also reduces the time a driver has to react to a cat, or any animal, on the road. Sadly many animals are left roadside in rural areas because some people are happy to drive on if no one saw, but also due to reasons such as they are unaware of what help is available in these areas. Similar to lockdown when vets were only taking emergencies and other avenues to report, such as scan angels or councils, were working at limit capacity, if at all running, people can be confused as to where to take the animal or who to phone when miles from the nearest vets or rescue.

Bringing the conversation back to cyclists specifically, many will feel they are free to drive at speed as they are away from towns and cities and people and animals on the path they are riding tends to be very limited so they feel confident to reach high speeds with less vigilance than they would apply on urban roads.

Risks to Cyclists from Collisions

Collisions with cats do not only harm the animals. Cyclists can also face risks such as:

Losing control and falling after hitting an animal
Sudden swerving to avoid a cat, leading to accidents
Injuries from crashes caused by unexpected obstacles

These risks highlight the importance of vigilance and caution when cycling in areas where cats and other animals are likely to be present.

Close-up view of a cat sitting near a rural path

What Cyclists Should Do If a Collision Occurs

If a cyclist hits a cat, stopping immediately is crucial. Here are the steps to follow:

Stop and Check: Safely stop the bike and check the cat for injuries.
Locate the Owner: Look for a collar or identification. If near houses or boats (on towpaths), try to find the owner quickly so they can take over care needed. If there is a cat, there should be a farm, house(s) or boat located nearby where the cat lives.
Vet Care: If you are in a position to take the cat to the nearest veterinary clinic, you can find the nearest vet practice here. Prompt care improves the chances of survival. It might be possible for a rescue to come out to help. You can find your local cat rescue here, or local wildlife rescue for other animals here. Using what3words could help them pinpoint the location the animal is in if it is not easily explainable. The RSPCA help line phone number is 0300 1234 999. This number is available for urgent advice regarding sick, injured, or trapped animals. Lines are open 24 hours for urgent matters.

Failing to stop and assist can worsen the cat’s condition and leave owners distressed. Responsible cyclists play a key role in ensuring injured animals receive help.

How Cyclists Can Prevent Collisions with Cats

Preventing collisions requires awareness and preparation. Cyclists should:

Stay Vigilant: Watch carefully for animals, especially near farms, villages, and canal towpaths where cats are common.
Reduce Speed: Slow down on narrow paths, blind corners, and blind spots where it is possible animals or people could be.
Be Ready to Stop: Expect animals to move unpredictably and prepare for sudden braking.

These simple steps can reduce accidents and protect both cats and cyclists.

Raising Awareness and Encouraging Responsibility

Many cyclists are careful and respectful of animals, but the lack of mandatory reporting for hitting cats means many incidents go unrecorded. Raising awareness about this issue is essential to:

Encourage cyclists to stop and help injured animals
Promote safer cycling habits in rural areas
Support timely veterinary care for injured pets

Community education, clear signage on bridleways, and sharing stories from affected pet owners can all help reduce these hidden dangers.

How Can People Who Live By Bridle Paths Keep Their Cats Safe

Living near a bridle path, which often brings horses, cyclists, dogs, and potentially faster country-lane traffic, requires proactive measures to keep cats safe. The most effective strategies involve limiting their access to the path, increasing their visibility, and making your home environment more appealing than the path to stop them wandering.

Garden Barriers: Use things such as prickly plants or uncomfortable surfaces like stone chippings on top of soil to make it less inviting to jump up any walls and over on to the path.
GPS Trackers: Place a small, lightweight GPS tracker on a quick-release collar to monitor their location, which can help you understand their patterns or find them should they fall into trouble.
Signage: You can usually put up small, non-illuminated signs (under 0.3 square metres) on your own property so consider a sign to warn persons using the path that there are free roaming cats around. With permission from any landowner, they might allow signage to warn people on the approach to your property, giving time for cyclists to slow down.
Curfews: Consider restricting their time outside when traffic is busiest. The time the pathway might be most dangerous could be at a certain time of the day so consider meal and nap times during those busy periods.
Motivate your cat to stay close: As tempting as it will be for your cat to roam further afield in the vast countryside on offer to them, motivating them to stay as close to your property as possible could help them stay off the path where danger is a potential. Some of the advice on our typically urban checklist could be useful here too.
Dog Awareness: Bridle paths are frequented by dogs. Make sure your cat has a safe, high place to escape to in the garden, such as high shelving or trees.