Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Who's responsible legally for vet fees

137 replies

atomsandphysics · 19/08/2016 10:47

Dog is in its garden. Six foot fencing.
Cat jumps into garden meaning dog chases cat. Cat grabs dog. Dog grabs cat.

Who is responsible for the cats vet fees legally and can anything be down about the dog.

OP posts:
AppleSetsSail · 19/08/2016 12:08

I see. Just so you know then if it comes into my garden or approaches my property, I will throw something/chase/release hound/throw a bucket of water on it.
Nowt you can do about that, its a free-roaming animal remember? So if it accidentally injures itself whilst free-roaming, suck it up.

I totally agree, but of course the cat lovers can't understand that not everyone loves cats.

I love dogs and understand everyone doesn't like mine, and certainly doesn't want her in their garden. Consideration!

shovetheholly · 19/08/2016 12:10

Barbara - what can I say, except that we've had really different experiences of the same company? They really were useless for me when it came to it. I don't think I'm the only one to have had negative experiences though - there are several negative reviews saying similar things online, even though most people seem to have positive things to say.

For me, I think it just works better to save the money each month for when it's needed. But I am in the lucky position of having savings I can draw on, and an extremely reasonable vet.

Lemonlady22 · 19/08/2016 12:23

i think there are different degrees of pet insurance....theres a basic one or top notch full cover...£16.00 a month for my cat now and thats after a big payouts totalling £7000 for being hit by a car.....i only payed the excess of £75.00.....i would not be without pet insurance...without it my cat would not be here!

foursillybeans · 19/08/2016 12:29

I'm a cat owner and if my cat came home with injuries I would just take it to the vets and pay the appropriate fees. I am not sure why you think problems will land on your parent's doorstep. How would the owners know that the cat was injured by your or your parent's dog? If my cat was injured I wouldn't go around locally looking for the houses with dogs to then pick one and bill them. You wouldn't be able to say the injury was caused there or by the dog. Cats injury themselves all the time. They fight with dogs, other cats, badgers, squirrels, foxes. An owner really won't be able to tell who hurt the cat. Don't worry OP.

sizeofalentil · 19/08/2016 12:43

I'm a cat owner and just wanted to add that lots of cats scream/make a massive fuss as part of their defence mechanism. So chances are it wasn't that injured, was just issuing a warning.

Mine scream like their are being murdered when they are playfighting. It's a horrible sound.

RainyDayBear · 19/08/2016 12:45

I'm a cat owner and would expect to pay the fees. If a dog had run into my garden and attacked the cat, or if it was on the street and the dog wasn't under control, I'd expect the dog owner to contribute or pay. I honestly think outdoor cat owners need insurance as they can roam anywhere!

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 19/08/2016 13:04

*If it was my cat there's no way I would be paying the dog's vet fees

How bizarre, I bet if a dog came into your garden and savaged your cat you would reckon the dog owner should pay. Frankly if I had a neighbour with an attitude like yours kitty cat would meet .22 when next venturing into my garden.

You're a charmer aren't you? You would then be meeting the local police! People like you are the reason I rarely post on AIBU. As my cat rarely leaves my back garden I wouldn't expect someone's dog to be in my BACK garden!

KoalaDownUnder · 19/08/2016 13:18

Pink, I agree that was a nasty post, and I'd never hurt a cat myself, but I think you're missing the point.

Which is that just as you wouldn't expect a dog to be in your back garden, I wouldn't expect a cat to be in mine!

As a sighthound owner, I've spent a fortune on high fences and pet insurance. I think it's pretty unfair that I should have to pay the insurance excess if your cat comes onto my property and scratches my dog's face.

I understand that cats roam, but it's pretty poor to expect a dog owner to pay for your choice to have a roaming pet.

MindSweeper · 19/08/2016 13:22

People who have free-roaming cats need to realise that this is the risk with that sort of freedom - so no I wouldn't be paying for the cats fees.

If a cat came into my garden and and harmed my dog, I would be very tempted to ask for vets fees but I think ultimately we all have to have give and take here, I don't believe cats should be kept purely indoors so if they're free roaming there's not really much to prevent them going into my garden.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 19/08/2016 13:32

Koala, I think we could be talking at cross purposes. Depending on the excess I would consider paying that, but it would obviously depend on circumstances and also the neighbours. I wouldn't entertain paying anything to the twat who thought it was entertaining to point out my cat to his dog when my cat was sitting in my garden!

I wouldn't however expect to pay vet fees in full as it's down to the owner to have insurance, the same way as I have insurance for my cat.

blindsider · 19/08/2016 13:36

Pinksparklypussycat

You're a charmer aren't you?

Hang on you are the one that said you wouldn't have any intention of paying for damage caused by your cat.

Of course I wouldn't shoot your cat that would be illegal, I would run it over instead (that isn't) Wink

murmuration · 19/08/2016 13:37

OP, I don't think you have to worry - you don't know who owns the cat, and it is extremely unlikely the owners will identify your non-dog-owning parents as the household where the event happened, so even if you got a weird cat-owner who would want to complain (based on this thread, it sounds true - every single cat owner has indicated they would expect to be responsible themselves), they couldn't find your parents.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 19/08/2016 13:39

No, I wouldn't because it's down to the dog owner to have insurance. As I said in my previous post to Koala I would consider paying the excess depending on the circumstances and who the dog belonged to.

AppleSetsSail · 19/08/2016 13:41

I wouldn't however expect to pay vet fees in full as it's down to the owner to have insurance, the same way as I have insurance for my cat.

And if you damage someone's car, do you also tell them that they should claim on their insurance because it's their responsibility to have insurance?

I'm slightly gobsmacked that anyone would take such a cavalier attitude towards their pet harming a neighbour's pet. Neighbours are there for a long time, I'd always err on the side of consideration to avoid a falling out.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 19/08/2016 13:53

I don't have a 'cavalier attitude' at all. I would consider the circumstances and possibly pay the insurance excess. I would not expect to pay the fees in full, THE SAME WAY AS I WOULDN'T EXPECT ANYONE TO PAY MY CAT'S VET FEES IN FULL!

I don't know why I'm bothering to be honest, mention a cat on AIBU and it always goes the same way.

FFS!

AppleSetsSail · 19/08/2016 14:05

I don't have a 'cavalier attitude' at all. I would consider the circumstances and possibly pay the insurance excess. I would not expect to pay the fees in full, THE SAME WAY AS I WOULDN'T EXPECT ANYONE TO PAY MY CAT'S VET FEES IN FULL!

The scenario in question is when a roaming cat injures a dog in its own garden. There's no symmetry to the situation, which is what you seem to imply.

PersianCatLady · 19/08/2016 14:10

The thing is regardless of who is legally responsible I would still get your dog checked out to see if it needs prophylactic antibiotics.

I also don't think that you are responsible for the cat's vets fees.

The cat owner should get the cat treated and TBH it should be insured anyway so it should only cost the owners the insurance excess.

If they really believe that you should pay for their cat's treatment, let them take you to the small claims court. I very much doubt that they will do this and even if they did I doubt they would get a judgment against you.

If the cat's owners are complaining that the cat is uninsured and they cannot afford treatment for it then you should suggest that they call the PDSA.

Personally if I were you I would just leave it at that and I definitely wouldn't say things like you are sorry for what has happened or make any sort of indication that you feel to blame about it.

The situation is sad but your dog was only chasing away an intruder into its personal space.

blindsider · 19/08/2016 14:12

I would not expect to pay the fees in full,

I am not sure you fully understand the term liability.

Should your cat savage an uninsured dog is it the owners fault for not preparing for that eventuality?

diddl · 19/08/2016 14:27

Did the neighbours hear/see anything?

If not & there's not usually a dog at your parents then they aren't likely to think anything happened there, are they?

shovetheholly · 19/08/2016 14:34

Isn't it a psychological thing that people who threaten or harm animals are far more likely to go on to threaten and harm or abuse people? Isn't it an element in psychopathic behaviour? Like a sign of missing empathy?

user1471428758 · 19/08/2016 15:00

Dog owner. Wholly responsible, and irresponsible for keeping such a badly trained dog in the first place. Should have trained the dog better and taught the damn thing not to attack.

MiddleClassProblem · 19/08/2016 15:16

Sight hounds are not badly trained, it's part of their temperament and they shouldn't have to be muzzled in their own garden just in case a cat comes in.

PersianCatLady · 19/08/2016 15:27

Isn't it an element in psychopathic behaviour?
I think you are thinking of the Macdonald triad which links cruelty to animals, fire-setting and persistent abnormal bedwetting to violent behaviour.

hippydippybaloney · 19/08/2016 15:32

My dog and very miniature cat fight all the time. It always looks like the dog is going to kill the cat but she's actually very gentle and never hurts him.

The cat, however, goes hell for leather and the dog is always worse for wear in their play.

If your dog wanted to hurt the cat it would probably be dead. I'm sure the cat is fine.

shovetheholly · 19/08/2016 15:33

persiancatlady- I wasn't thinking of that, because I have never heard of it. Fascinating though!

It was this report I had in mind. It's from the NSPCC and the literature review finds a connection between animal abuse and violent criminal behaviour, including domestic abuse. There is also some evidence of a link to child abuse.

www.nspcc.org.uk/globalassets/documents/research-reports/animal-abuse-child-maltreatment-summary.pdf?_t_id=1B2M2Y8AsgTpgAmY7PhCfg%3d%3d&_t_q=animal+abuse+and+child+abuse&_t_tags=language%3aen%2csiteid%3a7f1b9313-bf5e-4415-abf6-aaf87298c667&_t_ip=143.167.232.66&_t_hit.id=Nspcc_Web_Models_Media_GenericMedia/_077f9264-d7be-40c3-8307-473b05a421a8&_t_hit.pos=1