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Original poster

Who should pay for this?

66 replies

TheDoveFromAboveCooCoo · 23/04/2022 23:27

I shall preface by saying that neither of these people is me but I speak to neighbour 1 and neighbour 2.

Neighbour 1 had an oil leak on his car. Quite a big one. It was at the side of the road and not a risk to other vehicles and he didn't do anything about it, just got the car taken away to be fixed.

Neighbour 2 has a cat. Said cat has rolled in the oil and required expensive vets treatment to wash all of the oil out of her fur.

Neighbour 2 has spoken to neighbour 1 who has FINALLY covered the oil puddle in sand and offered to pay the vets bill. However N2 wife has now kicked off and refused to pay the bill as we should all be keeping our cats under control.

I am a little stuck in the middle as I have both of them speaking to me about it but I am with neighbour 2. He should have cleaned up the oil way before he was asked to.

Who do you think should pay the vets bill in this situation? I mean it's not gonna make a difference as N1 is adamant it won't be them but I was interested in others opinions on this!!

OP posts:

Original poster

TheDoveFromAboveCooCoo · 24/04/2022 00:24

Just to answer a few things

Cat owner did not chase neighbour for vet bill. She went round to ask him to put sand on the spill because her cat had needed vets treatment. He immediately offered to pay and then his wife has retracted and kicked off.

It was impossible to bath cat at home. She is incredibly feisty to the point of needing sedation for the treatment or she would have ripped them to shreds!

It was a pool of oil not just a patch.

And call BS as much as you want 😂 silly old lady cat ended up with a coat full of oil. Not sure what you would like me to do to prove that??

OP posts:

Sandra2010 · 24/04/2022 00:59

Love cats, have owned them in the past. One of the risks you take is that cats are a law unto themselves and often a total liability. No one else is responsible because cats are twats and you own one. Live with it.

InkyPinkyParlez · 24/04/2022 01:06

Cat owner should pay. It's a risk you run when you let a cat off your property, and the price you pay for giving them that freedom. She could equally well eat weedkiller, or a poisonous plant, or get injured on someone else's property any day. What if sand had been put down and she'd eaten it or something - would that be the neighbours fault too?

The owners knew that they run risks letting her out every day, and furthermore they knew about this specific hazard and still let her out. Their risk, their bill. Lucky cat to have such a full life.

thatweirdhippygirl · 24/04/2022 01:33

These are the risks you take when you let your cat roam. Anything could happen to your cat, they could get hit by a car and need expensive vet treatment etc, if your cat ran out on the road are you going to chase the poor driver who hit it for huge vet bills?

WildCoasts · 24/04/2022 01:49

Some people choose to have confined cats to keep them safe. I think this is on the cat owner to pay for.

It would have been nice if the oil spill neighbour had covered it straight away (must have been a hazard?).

At best, if unsure, they could go halves.

Ponderingwindow · 24/04/2022 02:01

If any of my cats had done this, I would not think of asking for money. Supervision is my responsibility.

LegMeChicken · 24/04/2022 02:44

Cat owner should pay. It’s the risk you take letting a cat roam.
having seen the things do all manner of damage to other peoplw’s property I’m not inclined to be charitible

ScaldedBy · 24/04/2022 03:16

Cat owner should pay. If they're irresponsible to allow it to roam they pay for any issues that arise from doing so. We don't allow ours out and they have a wonderful, safe, long, fulfilling life inside with us. If I was to let them roam and annoy others then I'd have to pay for anything that happened to them for my irresponsibility. But to be honest if I didn't want a cat in the house I wouldn't have one at all. I prefer to keep animals I can house and keep protected under my care. Not ones that I boot out in the morning to go kill wildlife and use other peoples gardens as a toilet. Not to mention things like being injured or killed...

ScaldedBy · 24/04/2022 05:18

If someone slipped and injured themselves in the oil it would be obvious who was at fault. As cats have the right to roam its the same.

This analogy is in no way the same situation.

Cats are not people they are property in the eyes of the law. Protect your property or pay for the issues that result from it.

HairyMuttttt · 24/04/2022 06:05

did this warrant a trip to the vets? Would have been cheaper to DIY

Blarting · 24/04/2022 06:43

I think the cat owner, when you have pets it's your responsibility to deal with their illnesses and accidents.

MichelleScarn · 24/04/2022 06:49

I'm surprised if cat so elderly vet agreed to sedation. Did the vet get paid directly or was money handed to owner?

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 24/04/2022 07:15

The cat owner- it’s only because they know the culprit of the oil they are trying it.

BuffyFanForever · 24/04/2022 07:16

Definitely wouldn’t pay. It wasn’t even on their land? The cat was just wondering about. Their owners choice to allow them to be out and about.

gggchick · 24/04/2022 07:21

ScaldedBy · 24/04/2022 03:16

Lucky cat it's not like it's their nature to want freedom or anything

MrsLargeEmbodied · 24/04/2022 07:36

well you are not involved so let them get on with it.
the car owner could offer to help towards vets expenses - how long was there a pool of oil?
worse could have happened, someone could have slipped in it, a car could have slid in it

BeerLoas · 24/04/2022 07:39

Cat owner pays.

There’s all manner of nasties and dangers outside her home and that’s the risk. Rubbish for the neighbour to have left it but could be anyone and maybe he didn’t have sand to hand?

OverByYer · 24/04/2022 07:41

SW1amp · 23/04/2022 23:35

The owner pays
that’s the joy of cats, they do their own thing, wherever they want

unless the cat owner wants to follow the same logic and pay to clear up cat shit from all their neighbours gardens

This

Butitsnotfunnyisititsserious · 24/04/2022 07:41

Cat owner should pay. Whilst the car owner was an idiot, if you allow your cat to be an outdoor cat, this is just one of the risks you take. I wouldn't have offered to pay for it, that's what pet insurance is for.

PhileasPhilby · 24/04/2022 07:55

As a cat owner, I would be annoyed my neighbour hadn’t sorted the oil but wouldn’t be expecting them to pay. My cat, my responsibility.

ImAvingOops · 24/04/2022 08:06

Lucky cat it's not like it's their nature to want freedom or anything

It probably doesn't want to be hit by a car though, so keeping cats at home is safer. You could make the argument that no one should be owning cats if keeping them at home is detrimental to their well-being, those of us who have home cats can see that ours are pretty contented.

I think that a small patch of oil is not that big a deal - yes he should have cleared it and if he'd thought about the potential harm then he probably would have. But the cat is the owner's responsibility and if you let them out you do risk them getting injured or covered in mess.
Half and half would probably be the most neighbourly solution.

willowstar · 24/04/2022 08:29

I am a cat owner. I would pay. It is my cat, my responsibility.

If the oil leaker neighbour offered to pay I would accept something towards the cost, but I wouldn't ask or expect them to pay.

Cars leak oil sometimes. In ideal world he would have cleaned it up sooner, but for all kinds of reasons, things happen/don't happen as they should etc...just part of life.

mariebaby3 · 24/04/2022 08:31

As a cat owner I completely understand why they’re annoyed but if it were me I would just take it as one of those things and pay for it myself. I can’t control my cats when they’re outdoors they do what they want and that’s the risk I take.

I think the right thing to do in this situation has already happened, the cat owner sorts their cat, and then speaks to the neighbour who sorts out the oil to help prevent it from happening again.

Goldbar · 24/04/2022 08:43

Cat owner (and I'm a cat lover). First, because cats are no respecters of public or private property and can get into all sorts of trouble anywhere. What if one of your neighbours had had concrete setting for a patio in their garden? Would you think they should pay if your cat stepped in their concrete? Also, if they had been putting down weedkiller or other perfectly legitimate activities in their own gardens? Second, it's not really your neighbour's fault that the cat is a feisty little bugger who the owner couldn't manage to bathe and clean at home and therefore needed to take to the vets for sedation and expensive treatment. I think it would be fair of them to offer to cover an amount equal to the cost of cat shampoo, though.

Having said that, neighbour 1 is an arse who should have cleaned up the spilt oil (which was clearly a hazard) much sooner, especially if it was on public land and not his own property.

CarmenThePanda · 24/04/2022 08:49

We are not all responsible for keeping the environment conducive to other people’s pets that they let roam freely at will.

And certainly not while the same cat is free to shit in our flowers and veg plots, and kill the birds for whom we provide nesting boxes etc in our own gardens.

It was inconsiderate to leave oil in the road, but not his fault that their stupid cat rolled in it.

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