Dog v Cat

[Wineat5isfine]

Sorry if this is the wrong topic to post this in, but it’s for traffic. My apologies x

We have a very secure boundary - 6ft solid fences - because we have a big dog. He is as soft as anything, but has a high prey drive.

One of our neighbours has a new cat which keeps coming into our garden. Our dog has very nearly caught this cat on a few occasions. I hate to think what might happen if he does catch it 😢

Ive told this neighbour of our concerns, but she is adamant that we are responsible for anything that happens to her cat, even if it’s on our property and that she will claim compensation from us / seek legal advice, if anything happens.

Ive googled so much and found conflicting advice. Does anyone have any idea if we would be responsible? ☹️

My two dog have a dog flap - so they can come and go as they like in the garden.

So her property is coming onto your property and may damaged by another piece of your property. I think she's deranged to think she would have any sort of legal case. Cats are free to roam , as we are told so often, so it's on her to keep her cat away from your dog in his own garden.

Mumsnet gets more Batshit every day - supervising a dog in its own secure garden. Nope!

Spend some time squirting her cat with a water pistol any time it comes over the fence. Owner won't like it but better a wet cat than a mullered cat.

As a cat owner I've sprayed many visiting cats with water and would have no problem with my cat being sprayed - not with a pressure washer, obviously, but a spray bottle or super soaker or similar is fine - and in my experience very effective with no harm to the cat.

Not a dog owner, but if I was I would put effort into making sure my dog wouldn't attack cats, even if I didn't legally need to. My neighbour's kitten was killed by a dog, this was many, many years ago. I still remember their daughter's screams.

@muddyford look up the Animals Act 1971, you’ll be in for a big surprise.

We have quite a large garden, and before we got a dog there were a number of cats that came in/passed through our garden.
It is surrounded by a 5' high wall and fence and has fields behind.
We also get regular foxes and squirrels.

Then we got a dog.
Our first dog was a spaniel, very soft and friendly. Even so the cats vanished. Our own cat uses the garden, and we sometimes saw another cat passing through early morning etc, but they mostly stopped.
That dog died and now we have a bigger dog, who barks and runs at anything moving in the garden. We never see a cat lower than 7' off the ground now.
(although there is one cat who takes great delight in sitting on top of our pergola taunting the dog. But he comes and goes via a tree and that 5' fence, so nowhere within reach of the dog)

Cats aren't stupid. The cat will quickly realise that this gardne isn't friendly.

and our dogs are not supervised in the garden. All summer the back door is just wide open, so they wander in and out as they like. Current dog loves sleeping in a sunny spot.
(disclaimer for those who are nitpickers, obviously when he barks we go out and stop him/bring him in)

I think cat owners are playing a dangerous game with these threats too, if my dog got hold of a cat belonging to someone throwing threats around, I'd feel much less comfortable taking it to the owner when it was injured incase my dog was under threat because of it.

My dogs have the run of my large garden, mostly unsupervised. The terrier has killed rats, mice, rabbits and squirrels, if he killed a cat that's the cat owners problem for allowing it to wander. The cat owner hysteria on MN really is hilarious. Cats aren't subject to the law, cats have a right to roam, cats can shit where they please, cats can kill as many songbirds as they like ad nauseum . But by the same token cat owners refuse to take any responsibility for their own cats getting killed by cars/dogs/people fed up with catshit in their gardens.

I wouldn't let it trouble you OP. If your lurcher kills the cat it's not your fault or problem. Tell barmy ndn to keep her cat out of your garden.

@CalistoNoSolo yes, that’s going to be super easy. Ever heard the expression “herding cats”? I can normally get mine to come to a call and the promise of Dreamies, but once she’s outside yes, she actually does have the right to roam and I couldn’t keep her outside neighbouring gardens if I tried - healthy young cats can jump astonishingly high, climb trees etc. I worry about all sorts of things including deaths that have befallen previous cats - knocked over in traffic on a quiet country lane, head chomped nearly in half by what we think was a badger and so on. I think the OP is being compassionate and considerate because she’s trying to mitigate the dangers her dog might pose to neighbouring cats. PPs comparing dogs to cats in terms of the danger they might pose to each other are being ridiculous though. Most dogs are bred as hunters, particularly of small, wriggly animals like cats. A large breed could easily pose a danger to a human even if it just wants to play. However, it’s also correct that cats have lightning reflexes, can run super fast and learn very quickly what’s safe and what isn’t.

My dog killed my neighbours cat in our garden.
The police didn't do anything (they told my neighbour it's the natural food chain; dog chases cat, cat chases mouse etc...)
My dog was on his own property with a high fence.
Neighbour didn't put any precautions in place for her cat 😬

So the Dangerous Dogs Act was changed to include ‘private’ places, mostly to cover postmen/delivery people who have an implied right of access into a front garden to the front door.
It also means that an offence can be committed if a dog bites a postman’s fingers when posting letters through the letter box for example. The bite happened on private property (inside the house) but the act would still consider it an offence.

There is an exemption for ‘trespassers’ but they have to had entered the property- a burglar being in a garden, driveway or outhouse is not considered a trespasser and so the dog owner may still be liable if their dog bites them.

You're not responsible for her cat. If her cat comes in then sadly it's likely to get hurt. You can't train a lurcher to not got for a cat..they ate breed yo chase ferries. She needs to secure her fence or build a catio. Why should you be responsible for something that came onto your garden.

They are bred to chase ferries?!

Personally I would have a quick check that the cat wasn’t in the garden before letting the dog out, and shooing it away if it is. Then you’ve done all you can really. If the cat is daft enough to still come in when the dog is there it’s the cat’s fault! I’m saying that as someone who has cats and dogs.

I would just leave it. Cats might explore my garden once or twice but in the main they seem to figure out that there are dogs there and avoid it. I think once the cat realises that the garden is frequented by the dog more often that not it will change its route.

it’s also really unlikely even your lurcher will manage to catch it, given their ability to jump and the presumable head start. A few chases should keep it to keep clear.

a cat is easily going to clear a 6ft fence so I am not sure what barrier you could put in place for it.

if an owner allows their animal to free roam then they accept it may get injured by a car, a wild animal, domestic animal or nicked.

youve offered a warning. They are aware of the risks, if they choose to accept them that’s their business

I don't know the legal issues but what exactly are they going to sue for anyway ?

Vet bills for the cat ? Replacement for the cat ?

Is this covered by your dog insurance ? Maybe check and see what the situation is.

I don't know what would happen if it went to court. What I do know is that if you took measures to try and stop it happening and warned them in advance then that would work in your favour. So maybe anti cat on the fence is one way to demonstrate that you took reasonable precautions.

A incident like this happened a couple of years back in our road. A cat was injured after it went into the garden of a neighbour whose dog attacked it. The cat owner was left with a huge vet bill and tried to get the dog owner to pay it, they refused. The cat owner called the police and said it was a dangerous dog attacking other animals. Police said that because the dog was contained it ins own garden and the cat had entered its territory they had no further action to take. Cat owner ended up paying her own bill.

So you're happy to have your cat killed rather than keep it indoors or in a catio? I simply can't understand this attitude. I can't imagine being so careless of any living creature in my care. I'm coming to the conclusion that a lot of people, possibly the majority, who have cats only have them because they don't actually have to put any effort in. If it gets run over, oh well just get another one.

I think it must be pretty common. Someone tried to sue my friend when her greyhound killed their cat in the (friend's) back garden. Got nowhere because the dog was securely contained at home.

Very few people will take it to court (it would be , but it’s legally a viable action.

However, it’s also correct that cats have lightning reflexes, can run super fast

The problem there is that whilst most dogs haven’t a hope of catching a cat there are dogs with incredible performance, think 0-40+ mph in 6 strides, capable of jumping 6ft fences etc.

She needs to cat proof her boundary so the cat can't get out.

I agree. It’s OP’s property, if the cat gets eaten by the dog she isn’t liable. Lots of people own sight hound breeds that have a natural instinct to chase anything furry, doesn’t mean the owner can’t allow the dog into its own garden alone.

My friend's cat was sadly mauled and killed by 2 on-lead XL Bullies whose owner couldn't control them. The police weren't interested in the slightest so from that perspective OP you don't have any worries if the worst does happen.

A cat will out run a dog and they can climb fences

I wouldn't worry