Campaigners have called for measures to help reunite distraught cat owners with their dead pets when they are found.

Freedom of Information requests from charity CatsMatter revealed that between 2015 and 2018 just 75 out of 4,193 dead cats collected by councils in the capital were scanned for microchips and returned to their owners.

When a dead cat is found by a local authority there is no requirement for staff to scan the animal for a microchip so it can be returned to its owner – instead, most dead pets are sent to landfill.

Now CatsMatter is calling on the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to make it mandatory for all London councils to scan dead cats for microchips.

Julie Mans lost her family cat Diesel last year when he was killed by a car.

Despite a desperate search for her cat, it wasn’t until a neighbour found it on the road and posted in a local Facebook group that Ms Mans realised what had

happened.

She repeatedly tried to contact Harrow council to get her cat back but heard nothing back.

After the case, Harrow Council said it would be changing its policy to make sure all dead cats found were scanned for microchips and returned to their owners.

Ms Mans said: “Scanning cats is not that hard to do and it saves an awful lot of heartache.

“We are supposed to be a nation of animal lovers and we don’t seem to be doing the right thing.

“When I lost Diesel, I was angry and heartbroken. You just hope if something bad happens to your pet you can say goodbye to it because it would save a lot of distraught owners.”

But Ms Mans does not think this enough and stressed it should be mandatory for all London councils to do have to do the same.

She said: “Most responsible cat owners get their cats microchipped in the hope that if their pets go missing they will be reunited with them and the fact councils aren’t doing that is a shock.

“It is a frustrating process dealing with the council and dealing with your own grief at the same time.”

A City Hall spokesperson said they were aware of the figures and looking into the issue.

London Assembly Member Sian Berry also moved a motion last year calling on Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to make it mandatory for dead cats to be scanned for microchips, so they can be reunited with their owners.

Ms Berry said: “Effectively cats have no more status than squirrels as far as most councils are concerned.”