Before Monty came into my life, I was actually scared of cats. I never imagined I would become someone who adored them, let alone someone who would one day campaign for their protection.
Then Monty came along.
Somehow, this tiny kitten changed everything. He showed me the love, companionship and comfort a cat could bring, and he made me fall completely in love with them. What I never expected was just how much he would change my life.
I got Monty during one of the darkest periods of my life. He gave me a reason to keep going when I desperately needed one. He saved my life, and in those six short months together, he changed my world forever.
I went from being frightened of cats to understanding just how much one little life could mean.
And now, nearly five years after losing him, that love is part of the reason I’m fighting for Monty’s Law.
1,666 Days Without Monty
There are 1,666 days between 31st March 2022 and 22nd October 2026.
193 days is how long I got with Monty.
I have now been without him for longer than I was lucky enough to have him. I have been without him for a long time.
Would stopping have saved him? I don’t know.
Would stopping have allowed me to say goodbye? I don’t know.
Would stopping have saved me some heartbreak?
Yes.
The most heartbreaking part of Monty’s story wasn’t that he passed away. It wasn’t even that he was hit by a car, or that I was unable to say goodbye.
It was that the driver didn’t stop.
Monty was my world. My everything. The driver hit him and left him as though he was nothing.
But let me tell you something.
Monty was really quite something.
He was my boy. He was loved. He mattered. And he deserved better.
Within this blog, I’ll fight for change. I’ll campaign for Monty’s Law. But I’ll also tell you stories about my boy. I’ll tell you about the little cat behind the campaign, the one who changed my world and whose story deserves to be told.
Telling his stories and campaigning for change are two of the ways I keep my boy’s memory alive.
There is nothing I can do to change that day. I can’t go back and make the driver stop. I can’t rewrite our ending.
But I can fight to make sure another cat gets a chance. Another family gets answers. Another person gets the opportunity to say goodbye to their feline friend.
I can’t promise that I’ll succeed. But I can promise that I’ll try.
For Monty.
For all the cats who deserve a chance.
And for all the people who deserve to know what happened to the little lives they love.
For Monty. Always. 💙
Monty’s Story Begins
September 2021, I met Monty for the first time.
I went to pick up his brother with a friend and in the days that followed I couldn’t stop thinking about this little cat. The last in the litter, it’s safe to say I fell in love with him from the moment I met him.
I was always scared of cats growing up, I had one in my early childhood so I hardely remember him really. I do recall him stitting on my lap and digging a claw into my knee, perhaps thats where the fear came from.
Monty changed all of that.
Going back to Septmeber 2021. I was in a dark place in my life. I felt that this little cat could bring some comfort and with him a reason. A reason to keep going.
Within 5 days of meeting Monty, I had arranged his homecoming. He was a half an hour drive away so a friend came to collect him with me.
He didn’t make a sound the entire way back.
Little did I know the impact this little furball would have on my life. He didn’t just make an impact, he saved me, more than once.
He gave me a reason.
He made me laugh.
He loved me, unconditionally.
A little cat who had no idea he would change someone’s world.
I got him home, settled in for the evening and seconds after sitting down. I had a furry attachment at my shoulder. I knew the second I saw him, he would be a choice I would never regret. Not for one second.
For my boy. Always.
💙
Parliment Debate
Tonight, I watched the debate on Monty’s Law in Parliament. And I need to say something.
Because I’m angry. I’m heartbroken. And I refuse to let the most important part of this conversation get lost.
Yes, reuniting cats with their owners matters. Whether they are found alive or deceased, families deserve answers. Microchipping matters. Identification matters.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE CATS WHO ARE STILL ALIVE?
What about the cat lying injured after a collision, frightened, in pain, and needing urgent help?
What if someone had stopped? What if someone had reported the collision? What if help had arrived in time?
What if that cat had been given a fighting chance?
I understand that cats are small and that a driver might not always realise they have hit one. I have never suggested otherwise. I am not campaigning to punish someone for an accident they genuinely didn’t know had happened.
I am campaigning for accountability when a driver KNOWS they have hit a cat and chooses to drive away.
Monty’s Law is about requiring drivers who know they have hit a cat to stop safely and report the collision, so that appropriate help can be sought as quickly as possible.
Because this is not JUST about reuniting families with their beloved pets after the worst has happened.
IT IS ABOUT GIVING THOSE CATS A CHANCE BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.
My eight-month-old kitten, Monty, was hit by a driver who did not stop. I will never know whether he could have survived. I will never know whether help might have made a difference.
And that uncertainty is something I will carry for the rest of my life.
I cannot rewrite Monty’s ending. But I will fight to change the ending for another cat.
Tonight’s debate has not extinguished my determination. If anything, it has made the fire burn brighter.
Monty’s Law is not going away.
For Monty. For every cat who deserves a fighting chance. For every family who deserves answers.
💙🐾
GiveCatsAChance
💙🐾 INTRODUCING THE MONTY’S LAW CAMPAIGN BRIEF 🐾💙
Monty’s Law is moving forward.
Today, I’ve put together a campaign brief setting out what we are fighting for, why it matters, and what we want the Government to do next.
This campaign is about more than identifying cats after a collision. It is about the cats who are still alive. The injured cats who may need urgent veterinary attention. The cats who deserve a fighting chance.
We recognise that drivers may not always realise they have hit a cat. We are calling for a clear, practical legal duty for drivers who know they have hit a cat to stop safely, check on the animal and report the collision so that appropriate help can be sought.
My eight-month-old kitten, Monty, was hit by a driver who did not stop. I will never know whether earlier help could have changed the outcome.
I cannot rewrite Monty’s ending. But I will fight to change the ending for another cat.
Please read and share the campaign brief. Every share helps raise awareness and brings us one step closer to getting this issue heard.
Monty’s Law — a voice for every cat on our roads.
💙 Stop. Check. Report.
A very special cat
Monty was a special cat.
I doubt he ever knew just how special.
When I got Monty, I was in a very dark place. Selfishly, I thought perhaps this little cat could give me something to live for.
What he actually gave me was nothing short of exceptional.
I didn’t realise just how much Monty would bring to my life. I thought I was giving a little cat a home, but in so many ways, he gave me one, too.
Without fail, within ten minutes of me getting home, he would be there to say hello.
Like clockwork, he would go out in the morning and be back by 8:30, curling up on my chest and falling asleep.
These little things became my normal. My routine. My happiness.
I never needed grand gestures or big adventures. Sometimes, all I needed was Monty curled up on my chest, knowing he was there.
He was my world.
And then, one day, he wasn’t there anymore.
When Monty died, I went right back to that dark place.
I wanted my happy back. I wanted the little cat who greeted me at the door, who slept on my chest, who made the world feel a little less heavy.
My happy was wherever Monty was, and that was where I wanted to be.
Losing him was more than losing a pet. It was losing a part of myself, a source of comfort, and something that had helped me through some of the hardest times in my life.
But I’m still here.
And I’m so glad I am.
Because if I weren’t, who would be fighting for Monty’s Law?
Who would be telling his story?
Who would be trying to make sure that what happened to him could lead to something better for other cats?
Monty was my world. And Monty is the reason I’m fighting so hard for this law to come in.
I cannot change his story. I cannot bring him back. I cannot undo what happened to him.
But perhaps I can help change what happens next.
I don’t want anyone else to have to feel the way I did. I don’t want another person to lose their cat and be left wondering whether someone could have stopped, checked, and sought help.
I don’t want another cat to be left without help when someone could have done something.
Ever.
This campaign will always be bigger than Monty. It has to be. Because there are so many other cats out there, and so many people who love them just as fiercely as I loved him.
But it will always start with him.
With the little cat who came into my life when I needed him most.
The little cat who made me smile when I struggled to find a reason to.
The little cat who gave me more than he could ever have known.
So, when I say Monty was special, I really mean it.
He wasn’t just a cat I loved.
In some ways, he was a lifesaver.
And now, I’m going to spend as long as it takes trying to make sure his life, and his loss, can make a difference.
For Monty. Always. 💙
Alfie’s Story
An accident, a fight for survival, and a reminder of why reporting matters.
Alfie is now a much-loved, happy and healthy 10-year-old cat. But things could have been very different.
In February 2017, when Alfie was just eight months old, he was outside his front door having a little sniff around. One minute he was there, the next he had disappeared.
His owner immediately went out looking for him, calling his name and shaking his treat bag. Worried sick, they eventually caught sight of his tail underneath a parked car further up the street.
The relief was short-lived.
When Alfie emerged, blood was pouring from his face and running down onto his chest. He darted back into the house, leaving a trail of blood behind him.
Like many injured cats, Alfie was trying to find somewhere safe to hide.
Thankfully, his owner managed to get him into a carrier and straight to the vets.
He was placed on a drip and transferred to another veterinary practice because his usual vet wasn’t open 24 hours. A friend drove them there, with Alfie in his carrier and his drip attached.
He was taken away for emergency surgery, but there was still a risk he wouldn’t survive.
Alfie had suffered a fractured jaw and a broken canine tooth. He was also in shock, which can be life-threatening.
Thankfully, he pulled through.
The blood loss alone could have killed him if his owner hadn’t found him and got him treatment when they did.
Today, Alfie still has a slightly wonky jaw and some missing teeth, but he’s alive, happy and very much loved.
And that is what matters.
Why Alfie’s story matters
The message behind Alfie’s experience is simple.
Reporting a road traffic collision involving a cat, even when that cat runs away and appears to be fine, could save their life.
Cats are incredibly good at hiding pain and injury. A cat that runs off after an accident may be seriously hurt and in desperate need of veterinary attention.
Had Alfie’s owner not found him, his injuries could have gone unnoticed.
And even when a cat sadly doesn’t survive, reporting the incident can spare a family the uncertainty of never knowing what happened to their beloved pet.
Alfie was one of the lucky ones. But luck shouldn’t be what determines whether an injured cat receives help.
