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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To tell my sister not to pay for a dead cat?

242 replies

Pecano · 01/10/2018 18:04

My sister went away and her friend offered to look after her kitten for the weekend (my sister didn’t ask, the friend offered). The kitten is very friendly, puts up with her kids wanting to play all the time etc, and the friend has several cats (like over 10!) herself so said it wasn’t any trouble for her to look after an extra one for a few days.

On the first day, her friends partner stopped my sisters ex in the playground when collecting the DC from school and gave him the cat, stating that it had to go back as it had killed one of their cats. He said their cat was a very expensive breed and she now owed them £80.

My sisters cat has never been vicious or anything, but presumably being around lots of new cats could have led to some fighting over territory etc -apparently the friend/her partner took my sisters cat home and then promptly left for the day, returning at the end of day to find her own cat dead with a neck wound, and my sisters cat with some blood on the fur near his mouth.

Surely if introducing a new cat, you’d supervise them for a while first, or keep them in separate roles to avoid this sort of thing? Obviously they should have arranged some visits or something beforehand but it was a bit last minute and my sister assumed someone who owned several cats would know how to handle this.

AIBU in telling my sister not to pay? She doesn’t have a spare £80 and I think that if you have an expensive cat then you must have insurance surely?? I appreciate that they have lost a beloved pet but it’s not as if it was intentional!

OP posts:
Honeyroar · 01/10/2018 19:58

It's highly unlikely that her kitten killed an adult cat on its own territory with other cats living there. She was an idiot for taking it there, and so was your sister for letting her!

Dollymixture22 · 01/10/2018 19:59

Also I would never send my kitten to be looked after In a house with this many cats. My kitten couldn’t cope with one, and as others have said would be petrified. Poor kitten.

sarcasticllama · 01/10/2018 20:02

I just don't believe this happened. At all
Me neither.

SummerGems · 01/10/2018 20:02

2.5 years ago I adopted a moggy from Battersea, she came wormed, flea treated, spayed and she cost me £85. If it was a pedigree cat then it would have cost more than £80.

Also, when I insured my moggy the insurers asked if I wanted the cost of her adoption covered in the event of her death. It didn’t feel quite right to say yes so I didn’t, but presumably the same could be done for a pedigree cat? But it would never have occurred to me to want the cost of her back if she died, which sadly she did after six months. Sad

I would tell them to do one and that I’d see them in court then.

Cupoteap · 01/10/2018 20:03

As so as someone says or else I will take you to court - tell them to go ahead!

Original poster
Pecano · 01/10/2018 20:03

Thanks for all the advice everyone - have passed your wise words on to my sister and advised her to say she’ll see them in court. Thinking she can say she’s consulted some “feline experts” (I.e you lot 😂)

OP posts:
CottonTailRabbit · 01/10/2018 20:05

Before your sister sends that refusal message, maybe she'd better double check that her kitten isn't one of the ones in this video of

EK36 · 01/10/2018 20:07

I believe the cat died but I don't believe that your it at all. I've grown up with cats and sisters kitten killed it. Cats fight but dont kill each other! Did it happen in the garden as it may have been a fox? I would advise your sister to use a cattery next time she goes on holiday. What is the £80 supposed to be for? To replace their tenth cat? That's just a crazy amount of cats?! Tell her not to pay it...it's crazy!

Dollymixture22 · 01/10/2018 20:08

Also tell her off for the very unsatisfactory cat sitting arrangement. She never have foreseen a potential homicide, but this was always going to be really awful for her little kitty. Catteries aren’t that expensive and keep the cats isolated from each other. They understand cats get stressed by other cats so usually they can’t even see each other.

Bad kitty owner😼

Gammeldragz · 01/10/2018 20:09

This story is all kinds of crazy...
I'm pretty sure for a single neck wound to cause death there would have been a LOT of blood. Possible heart attack, triggered by shock of kitten confrontation, but even that's a stretch.
I didn't think cat owners were liable for the consequences of their cat's behaviour in the same way dog owners are?

bunintheoven88 · 01/10/2018 20:10

They seem more bothered about the £80 than the fact their cat has been apparently killed.

Hmm
Beamur · 01/10/2018 20:20

Don't quote me on this (am not a lawyer) but I think liability for cats is very different to dogs. I don't think legally there is a leg to stand on here. An owner is not generally held responsible for damage caused by a cat.

McFugget · 01/10/2018 20:29

My giant bruiser of a barn-cat hated the smaller one (a small weak pedigree) when he was a baby. They do still enjoy a good old tear-up, but its all screams, hisses and chasing. They tend not to kill each other though. Cats are quite sensible like that.

I wouldn't dream of dropping them into a house inhabited by 10 other cats though - their poor nerves would be shredded and I'd worry they'd just bugger off and be lost forever. Best to ensconce cat comfortably in a well researched cattery or ask a friend/pay a catsitter to take care of cat's needs in its own home.

Singlenotsingle · 01/10/2018 20:36

Let this woman go to court over £80 if she wants to. Highly unlikely that she would get anywhere with it, and there is an issue fee for her to pay anyway. Maybe she should go on Judge Finder.

Original poster
Pecano · 01/10/2018 20:37

She will definitely make other arrangements in future! I’ve told her to stop engaging with the knobhead partner and just message he friend instead. If she chooses to continue to ignore her messages the that’s the end of that!
My sister is worried about confrontation in the playground tomorrow morning so has arranged to walk with a a different friend just in case. As I said, she doesn’t like confrontation so I’m a bit worried that if either of them starts having a go she’ll just agree to pay!

OP posts:
yumyumpoppycat · 01/10/2018 20:37

It's bonkers and unlikely, but awkward for your sister as it is a friend. Would a court even take a case like this Confused

yumyumpoppycat · 01/10/2018 20:39

Pecano they/the partner have probably sussed that she is likely to just give the money to draw a line under it .

maddiemookins16mum · 01/10/2018 20:44

What is this The Lion King!!! No way did one small cat kill another!!

SplishSplashSplosh · 01/10/2018 20:58

I think they may have smeared blood on your sister's kitten face to make it looK like it was the kitten that killed the cat.

lisasimpsonssaxophone · 01/10/2018 21:00

What kind of person demands the price of the cat, when their cat dies, anyway? That’s such a weird and heartless way to respond to your own pet’s death!

I was about to type pretty much exactly this. I adored my cat, loved him to absolute bits and I can tell you that when he died the last thing on my mind was how much it had cost me to get him! Who thinks of their pet as a financial asset?!

KC225 · 01/10/2018 21:03

My Devon Rex was 300 pounds 12 years ago. How do they know it was the kitten that killed their cat?

Thesmallthings · 01/10/2018 21:09

In this k she should pay half.

Whilst the friend should have known introducing another cat would be stressful so should your sister.

I wouldn't let my cat go to a house with other cats esp not 10.

There both to blame.

lostvoice · 01/10/2018 21:10

Would love to see what judge tinder would have to say Hmm

sirmione16 · 01/10/2018 21:13

£80 is NOT an expensive breed HmmHmm

No she's not liable for that at all. CF trying to get some money out of their now dead animal is disgusting

LynetteScavo · 01/10/2018 21:15

I don't think a small claims court will even deal with a figure as small as £80 - so I wouldn't worry about court.

Firstly leaving a new cat with 10 others is asking for trouble.

Secondly cats dint kill each other.

If there had been a fight, as others have said, it would be obvious.

Thirdly expensive cats cost more like £600 - the one I wanted was anyway. DH wouldn't let me, and got me an £80 moggie instead.