One year old stray Abigail and her male companion were closely bonded, and cared a lot about each other. They explored everywhere together and were a familiar sight around Wembley – until one day, tragedy struck.

A member of the public noticed a male cat lying very still in the road near her house, and another cat sitting right by his side.

On closer inspection, she realised that the male had been hit by a vehicle, which had then driven off. Sadly, he had suffered extensive injuries, and had died at the scene.

However, his companion – who we later named Abigail – was refusing to leave her mates body, and remained by his side whilst the member of the public called us for help.

Animal Welfare Officer Tania Mazzoni answered the emergency call, and went straight out to investigate.

She discovered Abigail sitting close to her deceased companion, and brought them both back to our Home.

Once there, we checked Abigail for injuries and scanned her for a microchip. Luckily, she hadn’t been in the accident herself, and was perfectly healthy aside from being scared and shaken.

We settled her down in our Cattery to recover from her ordeal, and made sure she felt safe, and was warm and comfortable.

Sadly, Abigail did not have a microchip, and no one came to collect her. She was clearly domesticated as she was incredibly tame and loving; and so as soon as she was ready we neutered and vaccinated her, gave her flea and worming treatment, and placed her up for adoption.

Thankfully, it wasn’t long before someone fell in love with Abigail and wanted to take her home. She showed herself to be such a sweet and affectionate cat, and we are all thrilled that she got the happy ending she deserved, after such a traumatic experience.

Our Animal Welfare Officers are sadly called out to attend many emergencies like this one every single year.

If you happen to witness or are involved in a road traffic accident involving animals, please report it straight away to your local animal rescue organisation. In some circumstances it may be possible to save an animals life if they receive help quickly enough.