Marlow: Woman's plea to 'stop speeding' after death of cat

Claire Rossiter, 45, who lives on Lock Road in Marlow, took new-born kitten Munchie (short for Munchkin) into her home back in 2020, and the two quickly became attached at the hip.

Their bond was solidified when Munchie accidentally scratched Claire while having a scare, and a doctor's appointment revealed that the 45-year-old had cancer - something she may not have survived if not for the early diagnosis.

It was a pronounced kind of heartbreak, then, when Claire's "little shadow", who had helped her get through chemotherapy amid a global pandemic, was hit by a speeding car on her residential road two weeks ago, causing extensive injuries that meant the four-year-old cat had to be put to sleep.

"She effectively saved my life. I owe her a lot and she meant so much to me. Whenever I gardened, she'd be there digging a hole beside me, and she'd always be waiting behind the gate mewing when I got home.

"Whoever hit her hit her hard because she dislocated her hip, but even though she was paralysed from the waist down, she dragged herself back into the garden and up the stairs to our flat on the second floor.

"It all happened in about 15 minutes. I was absolutely devastated."

Motorists speeding along Lock Road and disregarding the area's 30 mph limit is nothing new, according to Claire, who attributes much of the dangerous driving in her local area to young people racing down to Gossmore Park on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings.

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"It was Sunday evening when my poor little cat got hit. You can always hear them revving their engines and going fast along the road.

"Munchie grew up here and she was traffic-wise - she'd stop and listen and look. Cats aren't stupid, they're good at avoiding cars so long as drivers are going the right speed."

She wants Buckinghamshire Council to install speed bumps on the road as a deterrent to boy racers, but the responses she has supplied to resident consultations in the past haven't created any meaningful change.

"We've been thinking of moving somewhere else for a while, and this has been the final straw. We're looking for somewhere quieter now, further into the countryside.

"You'd think in a nice residential area with a bit of grass, your pets would be safe, but I'm worried it's only going to get worse. We've always known the road was a risk but we've got two other cats and we don't intend to lose them too if we can help it."