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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:
Underpressure101 · 02/10/2018 21:25

Bullshit. I had a cat once who was a rescue and semi feral. He’d got accidentally shut in the same room as one of the foster carers smaller cats (my cat was a fearful/aggressive/vicious starving rescue at that point) and my cat killed her cat (before i had him. Apparently both cats ended up with loads of wounds, my cat lost an eye and ear and the foster carer blamed herself for not supervising better. But my cat was an entire semi feral enormous (was over a stone in weight by the time I had him and the size of a cocker spaniel) tom cat. No way a kitten would kill a grown cat without getting wounds itself. Your sister needs to put her big girl pants on and tell them where to go. They are not friends.

Santaclarita · 02/10/2018 21:41

Underpressure101 see I can believe that. I had a cat as a kid that was enormous too, I think he was part wild cat to be honest as he was born on a farm and the female cat just wandered in the forests at the bottom of the mountains, where there were wild cats. He was huge, but a complete coward, think he only ever killed one animal and that was my hamster. His sister however, could fully believe she would kill another cat. Never did though, but she was vicious. Not to people though, liked people, just not anything else.

AlpacaPicnic · 02/10/2018 21:45

Yup, I call shenanigans. Sometimes my cats fight each other and the fur flies! No clean bites and that's that. Cat bites can kill... mainly due to infections because cat mouths are filthy.
And j was looking into getting a fancy expensive cat and breeders were looking for 5/600 plus... The little one-man-band cat rescue near me asks 75/80 per kitten and they are normally moggs.

Aintnothingbutaheartache · 02/10/2018 21:53

Sorry if this has already been said but it was a very stupid idea to introduce a cat to an established household of 10 in the first bloody place.
So many possible problems, death obviously the worst
No one should be paying £80
Very saddened by this as it could easily have been avoided

thegreylady · 02/10/2018 21:57

My pedigree cats have always cost between £350 and £550 . £80 would be a rehoming fee from a rescue. A kitten is unlikely to attack and kill another cat! No one just leaves two strange cats shut in together they might fight but surely not to the death.

Ginburee · 02/10/2018 22:50

Anyone that has cats know that you do not take other cats from their territory.

I would never holiday home a cat as it might shit, piss and scratch the place up. Let alone scrap with my cats.
Totally call bullshit on this and no, there is no money owed.

Mummyof0ne · 02/10/2018 23:02

Sounds like a right catastrophe to me, the purrfect solution would be to tell your sister not to pay

MadMaryBoddington · 02/10/2018 23:35

If your sister hands over any cash at all she is the biggest mug alive.

Honey2468 · 02/10/2018 23:40

if the kitten didn’t have any injuries then I’d bet my house it wasn’t the kitten. No adult cat in his own territory is going down without a fight. My semi feral kitten was £90 a few years ago from rescue too. If she was worried about the price of the cat it’s easy enough to insure them. Another vote for no pay!

smilingontheinside · 02/10/2018 23:44

I'd call their bluff and say that you need evidence from the vet for your solicitor as there has been talk of court. I've worked with cats (rescues/ferals) & despite having dealt with some real beasts never had a kitten or any other cat kill another. My own have had fights with local cats and got abcess' but none have died. I smell cat shit Hmm

stayathomer · 03/10/2018 02:42

Definitely get your sister to read this thread!!! No matter what happened I would have thought that firstly the friend offered and secondly unless your sister and the boyfriend are very good friends I think he had a nerve approaching you. Maybe he was in a bad mood, caught up in the moment of loss etc but still

UnrelentingFruitScoffer · 03/10/2018 03:26

On the facts, there is no proof that any cat is in fact dead or was valued at £80. These would both need to be documented for court. That means a vet has to do a report which willl cost far more than £80 and someone in the pet trade has to value the dead cat or a suitable replacement. Ludicrous.

The idea that your sister’s kitten killed the allegedly dead cat is even more shaky - nobody was there and nobody saw what happened. No proof is even possible.

But probably none of this even matters. Your sister’s friend was in charge of the kitten at the time. She was its keeper. She is therefore the one who is liable for what it did, not your sister. See Animals Act 1971, section 2 at

www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1971/22/section/2

cantsleepwithnofan · 03/10/2018 04:05

Tell your sister to contact them and tell them that her kitten has advised that the other 9 cats are in a gang, and one had it in for the $80 cat - they wanted to collect his life insurance. It's a believable as their story.

Belina · 03/10/2018 04:43

Long term cat owner and youth sisters cat did not kill their cat.
The cat probably died from something else and they want to make a quick 80 pounds no she shouldn't pay nothing

Belina · 03/10/2018 04:45

The kitten likely was licking the dead cat wound to comfort it or smelling it out of curiosity doesnt mean it killed the cat and as others have said 80 pounds is not an expensive breed cat
My cat is a standard black cat and she cost me 70 pounds

Belina · 03/10/2018 04:46

Lol can'tsleep

strawberrisc · 03/10/2018 06:14

Let him take her to court (preferably Judge Rinder). They may consult an expert who will expose him as a liar and SHE may get money off THEM!

PastaOfMuppets · 03/10/2018 06:58

Blood was probably wiped on the kitten.
A fight that ended in the death of an adult cat would have been vicious. There would have been many injuries on both cats and clumps of fur left everywhere.
These people are not your sister's friends.

bellinisurge · 03/10/2018 07:26

£80? My rescue moggy cost me a £70 donation- spay, vacs etc at the rescue place.
Poor little kitten. Keep it away from these loons.

Original poster
Pecano · 03/10/2018 07:42

Update: my sister has told them she’s not paying and will happily see them in court. The friend finally replied saying “nothing to do with me, I wasn’t there so it’s between you and DP”. Not sure how that works as it was her cat!! Abusive messages have stopped, and everyone ignored each other in the school playground so I’m hoping they’ve dropped it as they’ve realised she’s not going to cough up. I suspect the friendship is over, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing tbh

Sister is well aware now of how stupid it was to send her kitten to them etc. I think she was a bit naive and believed a more experienced cat owner who said it would be fine. Obviously not going to make that mistake again!

OP posts:
WhoLetTheCatsOut · 03/10/2018 07:52

The whole thing sounds like a load of rubbish.

If someone has 10 cats they know not to put a cat they're cat sitting in with all the other cats. They'd also know it's much better and more normal to look after in the cats own home.

There is no way any special breed of cat costs £80.

The whole thing is dodgy.

bellinisurge · 03/10/2018 07:54

Good news. This person's partner is this person 's biggest problem. Childish loon who shouldn't be near animals or, frankly, children .

Robin2323 · 03/10/2018 07:56

Good result !
Well done.
Poor kitty- big bowl of cat food and lots of cuddles:)

Deadpoet · 03/10/2018 08:26

Basic moggies are about £80. Pedigree cats can run into the thousands. I wouldn’t be paying. If she got home and the cat was dead it wouldn’t be for a vet bill and, a vet bill would probably be more than that anyway. Sounds like she’s trying to have your sister over.

princesstiasmum · 03/10/2018 08:45

Rubbish.a 6 !month old kitten with a l it if cats wouldn't have a chance .more likely the cats started fighting and one of the other cats killed it.but wouldn't even believe that.tell her to take you to court.she will he laughed out.also tell her you want proof from a vet.an expensive cat would be at least £300.Silly to put a kitten with so many strange cats anyway..I don't even think a cat would kill another cat.