Who's responsible legally for vet fees

[atomsandphysics]

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.

[Evilstepmum01]

User12345689...You are correct, you did not say that, your mis-informed statement merely insinuated it. I apologise unreservedly and totally.
Am off to have my dog pts as he too was jumped by a cat and defended himself. In his garden. He;s clearly unsafe around my kids.

I get through my day in blissful ignorance as I;m too busy trying to tame my savage pets.

[MrsMushrooms]

Sounds like the cat owner is responsible for the whole thing, but I don't think they'd legally be responsible for the dog's vet fees (sadly!)

[BoneyBackJefferson]

atomsandphysics

Don't muzzle her, you have fences, gates etc. these are sufficient.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Zombie is correct some states in the US have local laws prohibiting free roaming of cats. In some states (Colorado springs to mind) it is unwise to allow your cat to roam in rural areas due to the Cougars.
In the Northern Territories of Australia cats must be kept in to protect the indigenous wildlife.
In law cats are not owned and are free to roam and their owners are neither responsible for their behaviour nor can they claim for injury sustained. This is totally the opposite from dog law. In this case the dog was enclosed on private property and therefore any trespass onto the property can not claim against the dog.

[CheshireChat]

Please don't muzzle her, she was just defending herself. No matter how much I love dogs and cats, if one attacked me, I'd defend myself even if it meant harming the animal. Same applies if a human attacked me, actually.

[TheSilverChair]

It's a risk cat owners take if they let them roam.

No need to muzzle your dog unless you are worried about DCs living in the same house.

[murmuration]

In the kindest way, OP, I think you're overreacting. What got into her was a cat on her face. I might bite a cat who jumped on my face. She probably doesn't need to be mussled, that seems to be going too far. Hopefully the cat has learned its lesson and won't bother your dog again.

[Jacobbay]

How about a 'cat on cat' incident, as it were? I own a very pugnacious male cat. Small but deadly. He was in his usual lookout bush in my drive this morning when he discovered an intruder cat eyeing up the mouse hole. A huge ruckus ensued - my thug whacked intruder cat repeatedly and chased him into the road, narrowly missing a car. Who would have been at fault?

[MsMims]

OP you're not under any obligation to cover vet bills in this situation, although I probably would if the cat is injured.

Based on how much damage a dog can inflict on a cat (often fatal), I don't think you're being over the top by taking precautions from now on. Even cat haters must appreciate that they are still someone's loved pet. Also, as a relatives cat was killed by a dog while minding her own business (not on the dogs property, the dog was off lead in the road) thank you for taking it seriously as its heartbreaking to lose an otherwise healthy pet in this way.

I also have dogs who will chase and catch birds given the chance. I always do a quick sweep of the garden to check for wildlife before letting them out, then play with them rather than leave unattended in the garden. Likewise, I don't think this is excessive, just responsible to make sure my pets don't kill anything.

[TheWitTank]

User -a lot of dogs chase small, furry animals. It is instinctual. This does not mean that they are aggressive or will attack a human being. My rescue is the nicest, softest dog you could imagine with people, but she would kill a rabbit gleefully. Consequently, she is muzzled when out. She is not muzzled on my private property as she poses no risk to anyone here. If a cat effectively tresspasses onto my property, I am not responsible for its welfare -if my dog bites it, if it gets caught in the trellis, shut in the shed, cut on gardening equipment. I actually like cats and would never encourage my dogs to hurt one, but I refuse to confine my dogs to the house just because someone else chooses a free roaming pet.

[PersianCatLady]

OP you're not under any obligation to cover vet bills in this situation
Really though if everybody had insurance for their pets it wouldn't even be an issue.

In the OP's situation I would not pay for the cat's vets bills as where does it end?

If the OP pays the vets bills now, the owner of the cat can then keep coming back for more money if the cat needs further medical treatment as a result of the initial injury or treatment.

It is so awful these days that you always have to cover yourself but giving the cat's owner any money could end up costing the OP dear.

[BikeRunSki]

Our cat was attached by a dog on a public road about 15 years ago. We contacted the police, CPL and RSPCA, who all told us that cats have no legal protection. They are classified as vermin, even pets. Clearly, the law may have changed since then though.