Cat has hurt the postman - help!

He could. Cat owners have a duty of care under common law.

Cases are rare but still possible.

I think people are being unfairly critical of @rainbowsweets

I don't think there was any obligation to open the door or apologise - she could have been out at the time and totally oblivious to the incident. Cats can be left alone obviously.

There is no need for any postal worker to put their hands through a letter box. The letters go through, fingers stay outside.

No harm in putting up a "beware of the cat" sign but any delivery worker who is not a total noob learned not to put fingers through doors in their first week on the job. Fingers in doors where dogs live get much worse than this.

Too bad it’s a different person every time. Otherwise you could have offered the postie a pair of these.

It will have been reported to the health and safety officer at the DO, you may have a visit from them or a letter. I would suggest a postbox on the wall or even attached to the front of the door. Everyone that delivers to you will be made aware of the situation from now on to avoid this happening again

You have no care or regard for people being hurt in the course of their job? Shameful.

I just wanted to come on and say I'm amazed and cross by the bashing you are being given, when you've explained so many times what happened and that you regret it. Please ignore all these nasty comments.

If he'd had a real problem he would have rung the doorbell. And despite the IV antibiotics, cellulitis et al., in the real world people are scratched and bitten all the time by their cats and are perfectly fine. I remember getting puncture wounds both sides of my wrist one time my cat got really eggy with me... nothing that some well rubbed in Savlon couldn't handle.

It's possible they carry a rudimentary first aid kit to cover incidents like this, anyway.

What I'd do now - wait for the post person the next day and explain to them and apologise/ ask their advice. Once you have a name, go to the local place you pick up missed parcels etc. with an apology note and chocs or something.

Not sure where this myth comes from about trespassing! Posties are not allowed to leave mail sticking out of letterboxes and must therefore use hands or postal stick to get mail into the house if letterbox is stiff. If they do not know there is a hazard then using fingers is acceptable.

Case in point : Royal Mail wins appeal over Ipswich postman dog bite www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-58010953

"A postal worker in the position... is not a trespasser as a result of putting their fingers through a letterbox."

Article relates to a dog but point is it's not trespassing. You are very much in the wrong. The man was just doing his job, nobody should be harmed doing so.

Exactly this! They have whole courses about dog bites and avoiding them as it happens so often. If the postman reports it there will be a procedure to follow like the letter a PP received but probably nothing more unless it happens again.

Yes, OP should’ve gone out but it was a split second decision and she could’ve just as easily not been home so no point going back over it now.

If the postman's hand enters your property it's classed as trespass I know because my grandparents dog bit postman and he tried to sue and get dog destroyed and they said he wouldn't of got bit if his hand didn't come through letter box so nothing came of it.

' Always up for a cat pic. The blood…not so much!'

Here's the culprit! I don't have a picture of the blood splattered bathroom!

What about one of them cages that go over your letter box or an outdoor letterbox? We've just had to get an outdoor letter box as our cat likes to rip up the letters and grab the postman's hand.

@rainbowsweets As you have a different post-person every day, I would not attempt to contact RM nor acknowledge this further. Just prevent the cat from doing it again. Perhaps, in addition to the velcro bag, you could install a warning sign to not put hand in flap due to “playful cat”.

colleague of mine nearly lost his finger due to a cat bite (his own, he tried to stop it falling out of the window)

I hate cats.

I know that, I wasn't saying it would be 🙄

Did you read the post I was replying to? The poster seemed to think OP was wrong for worrying about her cat more than the postman.

My friends post got delivered to the sorting office because her cat was a shit to the postman and he'd had enough.

The cat was put to sleep eventually after multiple attacks on their neighbours, neighbours children and their pets.

Is this really the first time something like this has ever happened?

OP, sorry you’re getting such stick on here. FWIW, I think we’ve all been in situations where we’ve had to make a split second decision and we don’t always make the right one. I’m not saying it’s okay but I do think it’s an occupational hazard for Royal Mail staff. When a friend’s dog attacked their postman/woman, they got a letter from RM saying they wouldn’t deliver any more unless steps were put in place to prevent it happening again. That was the end of it. Good luck. X

Apologies, I haven’t read past the first few pages, but could you create a waterproof box to sit in the ground by your door, clearly marked ‘post’ with a slot in the top?

Probably screaming.

My dad is a meter reader and he was issued with plastic tongs so that he didn't have to put his hands into the letter box. Posties should have this as well. Rather than just using bare hands and then complaining when they get bit. A dog or cat's home is its safe haven and it is natural that they are protective of this. They don't understand that it is just someone delivering mail. At the end of the day, I wouldn't like a stranger poking parts of their anatomy into my house if I didn't understand what they were doing, or if they were a threat or not.

This thread is INSANE 😂 as if Royal Mail will turn up at her house? What do you think they’re gonna do? Kick her door in and confiscate her cat?? They have zero power to do anything. This is one of the most batshit threads I’ve ever read here.
OP, read @Autumn245 post above-sensible advice from someone who’s done the job.

Have you borrowed by cat op? My very large cat got into the routine of hearing the bleep from the postman's signature pad thing and running for the letter box. I never thought it would end in injury, but one day I came home to blood all over my front door. The postman knocked several days later and asked if I had a dog. I was very apologetic and promised to get an outdoor mail box which fixes to the wall. It all turned out ok, please don't worry yourself, your cat will be fine. Just ensure you take steps to prevent this from happening again as the royal mail can refuse to deliver to you. My cat still insists on greeting the postman if he knocks. I have no idea why as he hates other people knocking on the door!

Hello postwoman here! I've been attacked by a cat before. I didn't put my fingers through the letterbox but the cats paw came out as a opened the flap and it's claws got me. I bled for 10 mins but was fine other than that. I reported to managers who added the cat to the hazard list for that route so other posties would know. Next time I delivered there I used my posting peg.

Maybe if you see the postie again then ask if he's OK. If you cant get a cage for mail then maybe you could put a sticker on letterbox to warn of said cat?

Bake some biscuits and take them to the local sorting office, they'll know which postie it was.