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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

My dog bit a cat 😪

982 replies

Bluetoybear · 08/07/2021 18:00

Please be kind as I am so stressed over this.. name changed for this SadI 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 legSad. 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.

OP posts:
MGMidget · 09/07/2021 16:21

The cat will repeadly come into your garden and you are going to be afaid to let your dog into your own garden. I think as the cat strayed into your garden it is a natural thing for a dog to defend it against an intruder. Maybe many dogs wouldnt actually bite but just bark. However I dont know! I have a cat who doesnt stray out of our garden but used to have another that did. It kept out of the way of the neighbouring dogs who growl and chase aggressively at cats who they can see walking on the wall between the gardens but can’t reach as there is a trellis in front of the wall. My cat knew better than to chance its luck in their garden where they could get it. I suspect this cat will learn now not to go into your garden but really your dog was in its own garden and the cat was intruding so I think its the cat and their owner’s problem, not yours and you shouldnt be expected to pay the vet bill. Do try and train your dog not to bite though so there are no future problems. But as it’s just a puppy it is understandable.

HJ91 · 09/07/2021 16:22

@EerieSilence please see my previous posts.

I am turning off notifications; this is turning into an echo chamber.

EerieSilence · 09/07/2021 16:24

@DixonD- are you serious? Why should the OP pay the bill? What legal responsibility does she have for a cat that came into her property?
@MGMidget - the dog is on his own territory. It's their duty to protect it. It's why we have dogs. I would definitely expect my dog to make sure no one comes into our secured and walled garden and walks away unscathed.

Coulddowithanap · 09/07/2021 16:26

@DixonD the police wouldn't do anything. It is the cat owners responsibly to have insurance to cover things like this.

warmfluffytowels · 09/07/2021 16:27

You must pay their bill, in all honesty. You must be responsible for your dog, which is capable of doing more damage than a cat

Please don't give dodgy advice.

She is under obligation to pay any bills. The cats' owners should have insurance.

warmfluffytowels · 09/07/2021 16:27

@warmfluffytowels

You must pay their bill, in all honesty. You must be responsible for your dog, which is capable of doing more damage than a cat

Please don't give dodgy advice.

She is under obligation to pay any bills. The cats' owners should have insurance.

She is under NO obligation to pay any bills. Sorry!
EKGEMS · 09/07/2021 16:28

@Funguy Technically you are 100% wrong

lastcall · 09/07/2021 16:29

Your neighbour is completely out of order here.

Their cat entered your garden, thereby taking its chances with your dog. That's on the cat and the owner's problem to sort.

I say that as someone who treats her own cat as her 4th child ... love my fluffy boy!

If the neighbour comes back and bangs on your door, call the police. Don't answer it, just call the police and tell them you're alone, recovering from surgery, and your neighbours are harassing and intimidating you and keep banging on your door.

lastcall · 09/07/2021 16:30

You must pay their bill, in all honesty. You must be responsible for your dog, which is capable of doing more damage than a cat

I call bullshit.

Dog was in it's own secure garden. Cat scaled the fence and entered the garden. Dog owner is not responsible for the cat's injuries.

jannathehut · 09/07/2021 16:30

Wtf!!! Do not pay a penny. They're jokers!

Due to their ridiculous behaviour they now get nothing instead of the 50% you were initially willing to pay.

TonTonMacoute · 09/07/2021 16:31

Another cat owner here!

I really don't see why you should pay this bill, your doggo was in his own garden! However if you think it would smooth things over with your neighbour it might be worth paying some of it.

However, is there a problem with your dog's behaviour generally and is he prone to attack other animals when you are out and about? If so you do need to address that problem as it is an offence if your dog is dangerously out of control.

The police will take a report about this incident seriously but they would not take your dog away from you.

Look into getting pet insurance!

overtherainbo · 09/07/2021 16:34

I have a cat. I have built a catio for him so he can play out as he pleases but still be safe.

Your dog is not in the wrong. The dogs natural instinct is to chase smaller animals, especially if he/she hasn't been brought up around them. And the cat came onto your property which the dog will naturally protect.

sixthtimelucky · 09/07/2021 16:40

Loving the bizarre 'keep their cat under control/out of other people's gardens' Grin. I've had several cats, they've all roamed and wandered, as cats do, all been fine. I wouldn't keep a cat indoors.

Sorry you're stressed OP. One of those horrible situations. If my (most beloved) cat jumped into a garden with a dog in it I would not blame you or your dog at all if he got bitten.

I hope this gets resolved x

DynamoKev · 09/07/2021 16:42

You must pay their bill, in all honesty. You must be responsible for your dog, which is capable of doing more damage than a cat
No OP must not "in all honesty" pay a penny.

Lachimolala · 09/07/2021 16:42

If this had happened to me and as a result the neighbours were banging on my door at 9pm and intimidating me I’d happily call the police the second he turns up again (if he does). He has no right to be banging on a lone woman’s door at 9pm at night, idiot thug.

youvegottenminuteslynn · 09/07/2021 16:42

@DixonD

You must pay their bill, in all honesty. You must be responsible for your dog, which is capable of doing more damage than a cat

Legally, this is absolutely not true. The police would not insist the dog owner pay the vet fees for a cat injured in these circumstances. It's so dangerous to state something like you did as fact when you can't know that it is... because it isn't!

Whammyyammy · 09/07/2021 16:43

@lastcall

You must pay their bill, in all honesty. You must be responsible for your dog, which is capable of doing more damage than a cat

I call bullshit.

Dog was in it's own secure garden. Cat scaled the fence and entered the garden. Dog owner is not responsible for the cat's injuries.

Me too, lastcall must be the OP's neighbour. Cat came into the op garden, a private residence. Contril your cat, or take responsible for it if you wont.
DynamoKev · 09/07/2021 16:44

[quote HJ91]@EerieSilence please see my previous posts.

I am turning off notifications; this is turning into an echo chamber.[/quote]
Because 99% of poster are correct, legally and morally. OP has no financial or other responsibility to cat that turns up in her garden and falls foul of a dog behaving like a normal dog.

SchadenfreudePersonified · 09/07/2021 16:45

You must pay their bill, in all honesty

No she mustn't!

The cat will repeadly come into your garden and you are going to be afaid to let your dog into your own garden

No it won't - cats aren't stupid. Having been bitten once it will avoid that particular garden.

30degreesandmeltinghere · 09/07/2021 16:46

It seems your ndn would have to prove you actually goaded your ddog to attack their dcat for them to press any sort of charges... Frankly I would just ignore and refuse to engage in any sort of conversation whatsoever..

MrsSkrebensky · 09/07/2021 16:54

In the UK, cats have a right to roam so it is recognised that they will wander around. In this case, if your neighbours wish to go after you through the civil courts, based on the info you have provided, they will lose.
Does your dog have a history of being 'out of control'? Have you taken reasonable measures to prevent your dog interfering with others? Were you negligent? I think you are safe on all counts.
So, legally, not a chance. Even if they report to the Police, they will not pursue it because this is not a dangerous dogs issue. Morally, I think they are on shaky ground too. I think I would offer to pay the excess on their insurance (making it absolutely clear it is a goodwill gesture and in no way an admittance of liability). If they are uninsured then it is an expensive lesson for them. I write as someone whose dog was bitten by another dog and I sucked it up as one of the costs of pet ownership.

There have been lots of crazy analogies on this thread. Don't worry. What more could you have done to prevent it bar keeping your dog inside which would potentially be an animal welfare issue for you.

Procrastination4 · 09/07/2021 17:03

@MyAnacondaMight

Referring to your dog as “little dog” does nothing to change the fact that it was capable of causing significant injuries to a cat. Size is largely irrelevant here.

You’re not liable for anything, as it was your own garden and your dog attacked a cat rather than a child, but your dog isn’t safe to be off leash in public spaces or around small children.

Nowhere in her post did Bluetoybear say that she lets her dog off the lead ever. Therefore I would imagine that she is a responsible dog owner and would also ensure that her dog isn’t a threat to small children. As a dog owner myself, I wouldn’t trust ANY dog around small children. It’s always the safest course of action. Some posters seem determined to make an already distraught dog owner even more distressed.
LST · 09/07/2021 17:03

@DixonD it is the owners responsibility to insure their cat. Not the dog owner

GlendaSugarbeanIsJudgingYou · 09/07/2021 17:03

No, actually, as others have said OP doesn't have to pay.

I love my little void more than life itself but we let her roam because she would be miserable otherwise. That's our risk and God forbid she is injured then it's on us.

Bluetoybear your neighbor sounds like an oaf who is more interested in money than his poor cat's welfare. I wouldn't want to deal with him either.

lastcall · 09/07/2021 17:06

@whammyyammy, wtf? I very clearly said the dog owner is NOT responsible for the cat's injuries.

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