Family protests against hit-and-run cat killers Family protests against hit-and-run cat killers (March 12, 2004)

by Bill D'Agostino

As Penny Maijala-Korecky signaled to turn into her driveway last Saturday night, a white Honda going the other direction, ran into her family's gray-and-black cat, Sputter, and drove away.

It was the second of the family's cats to be killed by a hit-and-run driver since the family moved into their home on Alma Street, one of Palo Alto's busiest thoroughfares, last summer. Two tikki torches in the family's backyard mark the spots where the two felines -- Sputter, a fat gray tabby with black stripes, and Sammy, a cream colored cat with pale gray stripes -- are buried.

"People just don't care," said Chris Maijala-Korecky, her 17-year-old son. "They really don't."

In response to the hit-and-runs, Maijala-Korecky put up a sign on Alma Street warning drivers. The white sign with blue lettering reads, "Please Slow Down / We lost 2 already!!" Christmas lights surround it, so drivers see it at night.

Both cats probably snuck out through a hard-to-close garage door, Maijala-Korecky said.

The family has one remaining cat, named Link, who was skittish around a visiting reporter and photographer. Between the family's penchant for allowing its cats to wander outdoors and the speeding Alma traffic, the cat has reason to be afraid.

During that same visit, a screech and a crunch were heard from outside the family's home, which is less than a block away from the light at Churchill Avenue.

Opening up her door, Maijala-Korecky spotted two cars, pulled off to the side after a fender-bender.

"Hit and runs, all the time," she sighed.

Bill D'Agostino can be e-mailed at bdagostino@paweekly.com

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