[Guns N' Coffee]

https://www.latimes.com/california/s...ancisco-mourns

San Francisco has been mourning the death of KitKat, a beloved corner-store cat who died after being struck by a Waymo robotaxi last week.

KitKat graced the counters of Randa’s Market on 16th Street, near the historic Roxie Theater in the Mission District. KitKat was first introduced on the store’s Instagram page six years ago, quickly winning over the hearts of customers. He wasn’t a surly or suspicious cat — he could be seen playing with someone’s dangling hoodie drawstrings; snoozing in front of shelves with liquor bottles; inside a cardboard box marked with his name; greeting the neighborhood dogs; even dressing up as Santa Claus.

He shot to fame during the COVID-19 pandemic’s first year. Not only was he posted on the @bodegacatsofinstagram account (which now has more than 500,000 followers), but he also won a mention in a news story on beloved store cats. “The atmosphere in the store definitely changed after KitKat arrived,” Daniel Zeidan, the store owner’s son, told SFGate. Not only did he get treats from customers, but also “someone recently brought him a blanket so he would stay warm in the winter.”

More recently, he was caught curled up asleep on his own heating pad.

He even made appearances in the next-door bar, Dalva, where his arrival felt like “the president had arrived, making their rounds, shaking hands and charming everyone,” said one mourning Instagram commenter.

But he was fatally wounded around 11:40 p.m. on Oct. 27 just outside the market, Mission Local reported. Two witnesses, speaking anonymously, told the news outlet that they had just left Dalva and saw KitKat sitting in front of a stopped self-driving Waymo for about seven seconds. Then the cat walked under the vehicle, heading toward the sidewalk, as the car pulled away. The right rear tire ran over KitKat, the website said.

“It was an awful sight,” one of the witnesses told Mission Local.

Another person driving by saw the Waymo swerve and told Mission Local he thought the robotaxi was driving faster than he would expect a human would drive on a busy street. “Killed the neighborhoods baby,” a comment on the city’s 311 website said shortly after the collision.

A bartender from another nearby bar, Delirium, rushed KitKat to a veterinarian hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to Mission Local.

The cat was 9 years old, the San Francisco Standard reported.

“We’re heartbroken,” Randa’s Market said on Instagram. “He brought warmth, smiles, and comfort to everyone who walked through our doors … The store won’t be the same without his little paws padding around.”

One mourner, responding to the post, called KitKat “the best city bodega cat anyone could ever ask for. His lil pet requests meant a lot for some of us passing through, whether we missed our own pet or just wanted to share some love with a neighbor.”

In a statement, Waymo said: “We reviewed this, and while our vehicle was stopped to pick up passengers, a nearby cat darted under our vehicle as it was pulling away.

“We send our deepest sympathies to the cat’s owner and the community who knew and loved him, and we will be making a donation to a local animal rights organization in his honor,” the statement said. “The trust and safety of the communities we serve is our highest priority.”

A Waymo has had a run-in with a pet before. News outlets in 2023 reported on a Waymo striking and killing a small off-leash dog in San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood; in that case, a test driver was in the vehicle, but the car was in self-driving mode.

In one close call, a Waymo narrowly avoided running over a runaway dog in Santa Monica in May. An 8-year-old Labrador mix, Trevor, had escaped his owner’s yard and ran into the street in front of a Waymo, which braked suddenly, KCAL-TV reported. The station broadcast video of the near-collision. The dog was uninjured, and his owner praised the car’s quick action.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles has received reports of 884 collisions involving autonomous vehicles dating to 2014.

The self-driving cars are also available in Phoenix.

[rohmell]

Poor Kitty.
I would have set that fucking Waymo robotaxi piece of shit on fire.

[pokerplay]

fuck that cat, feline aids is the #1 virus in the world.

[kellyhound]

pretty sad but it's not the only cat that dies this way and don't know if you can blame a self driving car for this when a cat goes sitting in front of a parked car.

he National Traffic Safety Administration:

An estimated 5.4 million cats are hit by cars each year in the United States.

The states with the least amount of cats hit by cars are Wyoming with 22,000 run over each year and Maine with 95,000 run over each year.

Even if cats are careful and wait for cars to pass, swerving drivers such as when they are on cell phones, can still hit animals.

62% of run over cats are caused by drivers using cell phones.

81% of people don’t stop after they’ve made some kitty road kill.

97% of cats do not make it after they have been hit by cars.



22,000 cats die every day.

The leading cause of death in cats is Feline Leukemia which is picked up outside from cats getting scratched or bitten by infected strays.

A kitty is fair game for the pound or bunchers even if they are sitting in your front lawn.

93% of people who let their cats free roam have lost at least one cat due to a reason it was roaming around.

In many towns in the United States, you will be fined with Felony Animal Neglect Charges if you let your cat free roam.

[Major_Tom]

Originally Posted by kellyhound ↗

.

In the UK, you can go to jail if you let your cats free roam, because it’s considered Animal Cruelty.

.

No you can't

[Major_Tom]

And no it isn't.

[Pyramid_Head]

Sad but seems it ran the cat over because the cat went under the vehicle. Hopefully they'll improve the computers ability to detect anything under the vehicle.

I'd imagine the same could happen to a human child if they were in a similar situation. Some kids crawl under things including cars.

[azblue81]

fuck that cat

[rohmell]

youtube.com/watch?v=K3LZWMyEljE