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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:
ShutUpaYourFace · 09/07/2021 22:21

Ha ha they don't have a leg to stand on!
If they did the dog would pee on it. Smile
Peeing on lampposts is as instinctive as dogs chasing cats. Like strawberries and cream and Cats and mice! Natural behaviour.

Seriously OP please don't pay even half. His attitude alone would make me tell them where they can stick their puddy cat!
Any update, has hubby come home and punched the twat sorted things out?

30degreesandmeltinghere · 09/07/2021 22:22

Glad your dh has remained calm. Hopefully punching the daft git was his secret ambition though!!
Ignore and try not to worry.
I bet your ddog would be shocked to think he was beknown as such a terror!

BMW6 · 09/07/2021 22:24

@Sillawithans

I think half of the bill was the least you could but hey ho.
100% utter rubbish. Cat trespassed into dogs territory (his garden). Cats owners at fault if anyone at all.
ShutUpaYourFace · 09/07/2021 22:24

Ah cross post. Good for you and thanks for the update 100% not your fault or your dogs.
Some people are such CF.

Original poster
Bluetoybear · 09/07/2021 22:25

21theweedonkeyfella

Thanks for the update OP. Your neighbour is an idiot and a bully so he'll just look stupid involving the police and council. If your husband is away often you might want to think about one of those ring type doorbells for a bit of added security.

We already have one Grin

OP posts:
pegboardsu · 09/07/2021 22:25

Well done to your DH! I genuinely hope that their cat is ok, but sounds like they are trying to take their frustrations out on you. I would also guess their cat is not insured.

Sorry you are going through this!

Salanda · 09/07/2021 22:28

Thanks for the update OP. Let them crack on with contacting the dog warden/police/whoever else they want to.

Reminds me of the time when an off-lead dog ran up to and bit my on-lead dog. Her dog was completely unharmed. Got the owners details and when I later contacted her to let her know my dog had needed stitches for a large hole in her side, and asked her for her insurance details, she went batshit crazy and said she’d reported me to the police, the dog warden and the RSPCA. I asked her for copies of all of those reports and the outcomes. Nothing arrived Wink

Salanda · 09/07/2021 22:29

@Salanda

Thanks for the update OP. Let them crack on with contacting the dog warden/police/whoever else they want to.

Reminds me of the time when an off-lead dog ran up to and bit my on-lead dog. Her dog was completely unharmed. Got the owners details and when I later contacted her to let her know my dog had needed stitches for a large hole in her side, and asked her for her insurance details, she went batshit crazy and said she’d reported me to the police, the dog warden and the RSPCA. I asked her for copies of all of those reports and the outcomes. Nothing arrived Wink

the other dog was completely unharmed
cariadlet · 09/07/2021 22:29

Great update. Sounds like your dh handled it perfectly - calm and polite but not standing for any nonsense. Good to hear that the nice neighbour is sympathetic.

Cormoran · 09/07/2021 22:31

@Bluetoybear well done on your husband.

Do not worry because he has no grounds. Here in Australia there was an horror story in which a little girl put her hand under a fence to pat a dog, and the dog ripped her hand. After investigation, police found no fault at the dog and it wasn't put down much to the shock of the parents because it was within the boundary if its yard.
www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/girl-8-loses-hand-in-horror-dog-attack-at-lake-macquarie/news-story/d2470ead29d6b741473c475a82a6e017

Of course Australia is not UK, but many laws are very similar. Your dog was within the boundary if your garden secured with a 6ft fence, it is a tragic accident with no fault.

If you want, out of caution, reach out to your vet, and have them make a statement that your dog is gentle and has never shown aggressive behaviour in all the years they have cared for him.

334bu · 09/07/2021 22:32

Few cats who are allowed to roam will manage to avoid injury and often they may
be the one doing the injuring, so. it is important to have them insured

Glad your DH put the neighbours straight.

Sillyduckseverywhere · 09/07/2021 22:34

@Sillawithans

I think half of the bill was the least you could but hey ho.
Nope. Cats roam, we are constantly told that on here. If they get into trouble, it's the owner's issue. You don't get to allow them to inconvenience others with fouling and wildlife destruction then wail and cry if they get injured or don't come home. They are either free spirits or they are not.
MilesOfSand · 09/07/2021 23:23

@Bluetoybear

21theweedonkeyfella

Thanks for the update OP. Your neighbour is an idiot and a bully so he'll just look stupid involving the police and council. If your husband is away often you might want to think about one of those ring type doorbells for a bit of added security.

We already have one Grin

If you’ve got him on the Ring doorbell I’d save the video of him knocking and shouting. Might come in useful!
Couchbettato · 09/07/2021 23:27

OP I would be wary of whether they have a ring doorbell too.

They're completely in the wrong but the last thing you need is the stress of idiots trying to go ahead with legal proceedings because they've got your husband on record saying that he knows your dog bit their cat.

Honestly, if they come round again, call the police. It's harassment and intimidation.

Until then they would need to provide cold hard evidence to get any where and even then any judge or jury with common sense would still see this is their responsibility.

WhatAShilohPitt · 10/07/2021 00:01

YANBU. The police will be annoyed that your neighbours are completely wasting their time with a non-offence simply because they as owners don’t have adequate pet insurance and are clutching at straws in order to find you culpable.

You and your dog were your private fenced property. Your dog does NOT need to be muzzled in your own garden in order to protect their cat when it wanders in! WTF are they on about?!

Cats get into scraps with other cats OUTSIDE private gardens! Would they try to get other cat owners to pay vet bills then?

They can do one, seriously.

youvegottenminuteslynn · 10/07/2021 00:04

@Neondisco

Still waiting to hear how you trained your cats to never hunt prey?

LST · 10/07/2021 00:25

[quote youvegottenminuteslynn]@Neondisco

Still waiting to hear how you trained your cats to never hunt prey?[/quote]
Me too. They aren't coming back are they

NeonDreams · 10/07/2021 07:50

I am a huge cat lover so this is going to be strange coming from me. But you should tell the neighbour that if their cat comes on your property again you'll catch it and take it to the pound. In Australia, cats are not supposed to roam and are supposed to be contained in the yard at all times, never leaving the yard, and generally kept inside at night. Here, if a cat goes onto someone else's property they can catch the cat and take it to the pound. They check for a microchip and if none and the cat isn't claimed within 3 days, it is usually destroyed. Same with dogs. If a dog enters your yard or wanders up to you unleashed and attacks you, depending on the circumstances with the owners, it is usually destroyed right away. If a cat roams and ends up in someone's yard and is attacked by the dog that lives in that yard, the cat owner is liable, not the owner of the dog that was simply defending it's own property.

ClaudiaWankleman · 10/07/2021 08:06

But you should tell the neighbour that if their cat comes on your property again you'll catch it and take it to the pound. In Australia, cats are not supposed to roam and are supposed to be contained in the yard at all times, never leaving the yard, and generally kept inside at night. Here, if a cat goes onto someone else's property they can catch the cat and take it to the pound. They check for a microchip and if none and the cat isn't claimed within 3 days, it is usually destroyed.

Completely irrelevant advice if you're in the UK though.

LakieLady · 10/07/2021 08:07

Thanks for the update, OP.

If the police come and speak to you, I'd make sure they know how frightened and intimidated you were by your neighbour banging on your door and shouting, when he knew you were alone in the house. And it sounds as though the neighbours have got the measure of him.

What a twat.

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 10/07/2021 08:16

NeonDreams
But you should tell the neighbour that if their cat comes on your property again you'll catch it and take it to the pound.
No. OP isn't in Australia. This is completely ridiculous advice for someone in the UK where free roaming cats are the norm.

Fortunately OP has received good advice fron 95% of the posters here; i.e. while it's very sad that the cat was injured, it is not the OP's responsibility since the cat came into the OP's garden where her dog was legally contained.

NeonDreams · 10/07/2021 08:29

Telling a neighbour you'll take their cat or dog to the pound if you catch it on your property is general advice, hence why I said it. It's not location-specific. It's just a threat.

LST · 10/07/2021 08:32

@NeonDreams

Telling a neighbour you'll take their cat or dog to the pound if you catch it on your property is general advice, hence why I said it. It's not location-specific. It's just a threat.
I really daft one
NeonDreams · 10/07/2021 08:59

LST Why is it daft? Even if only a threat, if the threat works, it's worth it. It might make them take more responsibility for their cat.

OhRene · 10/07/2021 09:01

You can't just take a random cat to a pound. (Pounds aren't a thing here now anyway) the dog warden, shelter, vet or the rspca etc would just tell you to take it back to where you found it and tell you to stop picking up random cats.