My dog bit a cat 😪

[Bluetoybear]

Please be kind as I am so stressed over this.. name changed for this I have a 7 year old dog which is only walked on a lead 3 times a day in local park and let out in my back garden throughout the day for a wee etc. My back garden has a 6 foot fence around it so my dog can't get out. Yesterday the neighbours cat jumped into my garden and my dog ran after it and bit it on its leg. My neighbour has taken the poor cat to the vets and has had a big vets bill for it and neighbours husband has came round at tea time demanding I pay it all. He was very vocal about it and said if I don't pay it he will 'sue/take me to court/get in touch with authority's saying my dog is dangerous etc. I am so worried as the cat has awful injuries. I have offered to pay half out of goodwill but neighbours telling me I need to pay all of the bill which I can't afford.

Your neighbour sounds awful and you shouldn’t pay a penny.

Sorry this happened, I’d also be terribly upset, but...

Your dog was in a secured space and was entitled to be there. The cat got unlucky through entering the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s a hazard of having a cat.

Tbh, free roaming cats are really problematic. When I was a child, our rabbit got bitten in our garden by a cat. Don’t know whose cat, but luckily we heard the scuffle and could chase the cat away. It had a collar, so was a pet.

A cat we inherited some years later lost an eye and eventually had to be put down after fighting with another cat.

All the damage to wildlife they cause by being natural little predators.

The fact they crap all over other people’s gardens (neighbour’s cat - I’m looking at you).

I like cats, but free roaming cats are difficult pets to care for and to responsibly own. The owner doesn’t have a leg to stand on. Much like the cat it would seem

Might be helpful to understand the logic in some of the 'team cat's' posts where they expect the OP here to pay.

If dog was injured in it's own garden by a roaming cat, would cat owner pay? Is it the owner of an aggressor that needs to pay or are dog's just always liable? If so then if the dog broke into cat owner's garden and was injured, would cat owner pay?

If cat 1 was roaming and injured by another cat 2 in cat 2's garden (with video proof), would cat 2's owner pay for cat 1? Is it not the species but the victim?

Your dog did nothing wrong. Dogs chase cats. It was in its garden. Unfortunately the poor cat wasn’t fast enough to get out the way.

I say that as a cat and dog owner.

My cat is an indoor cat, but when she was an out door cat and this happened to her, there is no way I would be cheeky enough to blame the neighbour.

Do they have any proof your dog bit the cat? If they don't then......what can they do if you deny it? And I say that as a cat owner and not a dog owner!

I have a cat. She's free to roam and if she roams into a dog's garden, she's free to suffer the consequences (as am I). My cat winds next door's dog up and I've told them that if she gets eaten on his turf it'll be her own damn fault. I did also tell neighbour that he needs to stop his dog jumping the fence and coming into mine to get her though. That's where it would be on him to pay vets fees.

Hi OP, how are you doing today? Hope that your neighbours have calmed down and that their cat is OK.

Hope you've had a peaceful time since your last post, OP. As most have said, you have zero liability here and your neighbours have certainly lost any right to your goodwill offer to contribute. Hope the poor cat is OK, but if they come looking for any contribution at all, tell them that their aggressive behaviour has made you rescind your offer, and if it continues you will be calling the police.

Hope all the cat owners who thought you had any responsibility are now a) a bit wiser on the law and b) have ensured they have adequate insurance to cover the myriad risks if they continue to allow their cats to roam.

@HJ91 Extending an olive branch implies fault and offering to pay half isn't sufficient for the cat owners-you act as if there are two calm and reasonable parties involved-don't forget how the man was verbally aggressive and pounded on the OP's door for a lengthy period of time. He isn't going to accept 50% of the bill.

Please dont pay a penny of this. You are not liable.
Nothing will happen to your dog, he was in his own garden. The whole incident is unfortunate but dogs chase cats (& they normally leg it back over the fence quicker!)

God the husband sounds horrible.

I don't think you should pay anything at all. Just like if a cat had ran into the road and been hit by your car you wouldn't pay the vets bills. The cat was injured because it was allowed to go somewhere unsafe by its owners. Its their job to keep it safe, they didn't do that. Your dog was secured in your own property, there's nothing at all you could have reasonably done to prevent it.

Your dog did what came perfectly natural to it, just like their cat chases and kills all kinds of wildlife. Don't feel bad, feel sorry sorry the cat that's been hurt, but neither you nor your dog are at fault.

I am a cat owner. My cats go outside and one in particular roams a lot. Next door have dogs - if the cats are stupid enough to into their garden (we are rural, fields behind house - cats have plenty of alternatives) and the dog bites them, it's the cat's fault. If the dog got into my garden then it would be a different situation.

The police will not be interested in this situation. A dangerous dog is one which unprovoked goes for humans. This dog was on his own territory and cats (sadly) have no standing in law - you don't have to collar them etc to prove ownership. This is why you should have insurance (or self insure), or else make your garden cat proof so your cat can't get out of it and get bitten by the dog.

If the cat was attacked by another cat, would they insist on Cat 2's owners paying for the vet bills? My cats frequently tangle with the cat from 4 houses up - we all mutter stupid cat regularly as we cart them off to the vets, but we pay our own bills and pointedly don't mention it to the other cat owner when we pass them in the street!

if the cat came on to your garden, don't pay anything!

I think you should consult your vet re your dog’s behaviour and inform your neighbours you’re taking action to address the dog’s behaviour.

Birds chase and eat bugs. Cats chase and kill birds. Dogs chase and kill cats.

Normal animal behaviour. If OP has to consult a vet and take action about her dog chasing prey then surely the neighbours should be training their cat not to chase mice too? How silly.

@EKGEMS extending an olive branch does not mean ‘fault’. It means ‘let us make peace’. No, the neighbour should not be pounding on the door. But neither should OP withdraw an existing offer of financial assistance. Emotions are high and both parties need to discuss how to ensure this never happens again.

I have a greyhound, and if a cat were stupid enough to come into my garden then I just hope the cat can run, because my dog can too.

Me too, they are literally built for catching and killing small furry animals, everything about their physiology is to improve this. The laziest and most affectionate dogs I’ve ever had but if you’re a squirrel/rabbit/cat you’re fucked.

@Zilla1

Might be helpful to understand the logic in some of the 'team cat's' posts where they expect the OP here to pay.

If dog was injured in it's own garden by a roaming cat, would cat owner pay? Is it the owner of an aggressor that needs to pay or are dog's just always liable? If so then if the dog broke into cat owner's garden and was injured, would cat owner pay?

If cat 1 was roaming and injured by another cat 2 in cat 2's garden (with video proof), would cat 2's owner pay for cat 1? Is it not the species but the victim?

I think you have answered your own question really. To the small number of utterly batshit cat people who have posted here - anything that causes even the slightest discomfort to any cat ought to be illegal immediately and the entire world should revolve around cats.

Meanwhile, thankfully the real world takes a properly balanced view.

Your dog was under control. It was in a secure garden. Why should you pay anything? They have let their cat enter your private garden. That is their responsibility.

There is nothing you can do to stop this happening again other than keeping your garden for the private use of their cat.

If cat 1 was roaming and injured by another cat 2 in cat 2's garden (with video proof), would cat 2's owner pay for cat 1? Is it not the species but the victim?

It's where it happened. 🙄

Cat owner needs insurance. Cat went onto private property and got bitten by the resident dog - cat owner’s responsibility.

You are liable for nothing. If a cat comes into your garden and gets bitten or killed it is not hour responsibility. The dog is just doing what dogs do.

I have been on both sides- my cat has been killed and my dog has injured a cat. I got nothing and I gave nothing and this is the way it legally is.

Do not pay a penny. Your dog was in your garden so cats fault

Had your dog got out your garden and but cat that would be different

Let neighbour report you, authorities will do nothing as your dog did nothing wrong

Or even report you neighbour for harassment if he persists

I have a cat who wanders wherever she likes (as is the nature of cats). If she wanders into someone else’s garden and is bitten by a dog living there then I would obviously be upset but wouldn’t blame the neighbour or demand any money!
Sometimes I get other people’s cats coming into my garden (and even house through the cat flap) and likewise, if my cat were to attack them then I would again be upset but wouldn’t feel responsible or offer any money.

And your neighbour threatening and intimidating you is not ok and I hope you’re husbands tells him that when he gets home.

I would be so upset if my cat got bitten by a dog but that is a risk you take when you have cats that go outdoors (and all of mine have always had free access).
My rabbit managed to get into next-door's garden once and their dog killed it. Neighbour saw bunny appear over(!) the fence and saw it all happen but just couldn't intervene quickly enough. Of course I was really upset (as was the neighbour and really apologetic) but the rabbit shouldn't have been there and would never have held it against the owner or dog and certainly wouldn't have expected money for the vet if the rabbit had survived! Ridiculous.
Your dog was safely enclosed in its own back garden.