San Francisco
Waymo Accused of Killing Bodega Cat
Published October 30, 2025 9:09 AM PDT
San Francisco is reeling after the loss of one of its most beloved bodega cats … a community fixture who, according to his owner, was tragically struck and killed by a Waymo self-driving car.
KitKat — the resident feline at Randa’s Market in the Mission District — was reportedly hit by a driverless Waymo late Monday. A local resident told Mission Local he was driving down the street when he saw the Waymo suddenly swerve … and people on the sidewalk started shouting and grabbed the cat as the Waymo drove off.
Tragedy has struck 16th St. in the Mission.
KitKat, the beloved bodega cat of Randa’s Market, was killed earlier this week.
Neighbors & friends blame a Waymo autonomous car. https://t.co/V7ozeUp7Fc
— Mission Local (@MLNow) October 29, 2025
@MLNow
A 311 city complaint stated KitKat was near the store, sitting on the sidewalk next to the transit lane when he was struck — and the self-driving taxi “did not even try to stop.”
A growing memorial now sits outside the liquor-store market near 16th and Valencia, with neighbors gutted over the loss of a true community fixture.
For nearly a decade, KitKat wasn’t just a cat — he was the “Mayor of 16th Street” — and store owner Mike Zeidan says the outpouring of love has been incredibly touching.
Just another reminder that self-driving doesn’t always mean safe driving, something Elon Musk is being reminded of — his car company Tesla offers self-driving options — with folks flooding his X feed by tagging him in KitKat’s heartbreaking story.
We’ve reached out to Waymo … so far, no word back.
