On October 27, a Waymo robotaxi struck and killed Kit Kat, a bodega cat known in San Francisco's Mission District. TechCrunch reported the case on November 16, drawing on New York Times coverage published the previous day. Residents placed flowers and signs at a curbside memorial, while other signs pointed to deaths caused by human drivers. Waymo said the cat “darted under our vehicle as it was pulling away” and offered sympathy to his owner and the community. The company's account describes a sudden movement at low speed. The available reporting does not establish further details about the vehicle's detection or braking.

Supervisor Jackie Fielder cited Kit Kat while supporting a city resolution asking California to let local voters decide whether driverless cars may operate in their neighborhoods. Her argument concerned accountability at the scene. A human driver can stop, identify themselves, speak to witnesses, and be investigated as an individual. An autonomous fleet routes those demands through corporate statements, vehicle data, police procedure, and state regulation. That arrangement may still produce evidence, but it changes whom neighbors can confront and which government can answer them. San Francisco currently cannot settle the operating question by neighborhood vote. Grief entered the jurisdictional dispute through flowers at the curb and a proposed resolution before the Board of Supervisors.