Can they sue us?

[Whereisthecat]

We returned from holiday this week to find that our cat had escaped from the Boarding Kennels two days before we got back.

We have put up posters around the village that the kennels is in, plus some more further afield. The poster says:

LOST CAT (pic of cat) 'Cat's Name' escaped from 'Kennels Name' on Sunday 19th August 2018 etc

The owner of the cattery is saying that we cannot name her business on the posters and she will be talking to her lawyer on Tuesday. We haven't said anything negative about the business, just stated the fact that she escaped from there to give an accurate reference point to where she went missing.

Does anyone know where we stand legally on this? Do we need to change the wording and remove the business name?

Sue for what?
It’s a fact, your cat did escape from there
I’m not a lawyer but I don’t see how you can be sued for stating a simple fact

Sorry, should also have said I hope you find your cat soon x

She cannot sue for libel as the facts are true.

Tell her you'll sue her! She lost your cat!

Are you from the midlands? There was a cat escaped from a chattery not far from here.

Nope, you are fine. It is factual.

Had you said 'cat escaped from inept cattery' (which is probably what you are thinking)! there could be a problem.

But what you have said is plain fact. Tell them to jog in. Then sue them for neglect.

As a boarding kennel owner, I would say no, they can't sue you.
It is a fact, your cat escaped.
I know a kennel that lost a dog, they had posters up and it plastered all over FB themselves before the owner returned.

Oh yes, hope kitty turns up safe and well.

Oh tell her to fuck off. What a horrible arsehole to be giving you hassle at a time like this

Sue you for stating the truth? That'd be an interesting case

I really hope you find your cat. I'd be suing the cattery owner for not providing appropriate care for the pet you entrusted to her.

Have you spoken to your insurance company - ours includes a budget for advertising for a missing pet.

Don't remove a word! You've made a factual statement saying where your cat was last seen for the purposes of finding your pet and there's nothing wrong with that. No court in the country would consider that libel. If she was that concerned about her reputation she should make sure cats can't escape from her property!

Thank you for your responses. I put a lost cat alert on Facebook which has been shared many times and has already generated a sighting of her. The owner is unhappy about this too.

You are stating the truth!! Has the kennels been helping you find her?

HappyReading we feel their response has been inadequate. They didn't inform us she was missing, we only found out when we went to pick her up. By that time she had been missing for 48 hours.

They told us that they tried to contact us but couldn't, but have also said that they didn't try to contact us so that it wouldn't spoil our holiday

They put up 5 posters in the local village and set 2 traps in the grounds of the cattery. The posters weren't very clear so we made some more & put our own up.

OP how appalling, agree with other posters what possible grounds could there be for suing? As long as you stick to neutral statements of fact then it should surely be fine. And you're right stating where the cat was last seen before disappearing is crucial, and any decent cattery would have already advertised for your cat's safe return. I wonder if there are others who have had bad experiences and the owner is concerned this may come out.

I've seen local news reports where owners have talked about catterys losing pets, so clearly okay to publicise perhaps you should also write a neutral letter to local paper.

Anyway I do hope you find your lost cat, would be devastated to lose my dog. So best wishes and good luck.

bobisbored we're not in the Midlands. Sad to hear some other cat owners are dealing with this too.

Dottierichardson sadly we have been told that another cat escaped last year. Wish I had known that a few weeks ago.

Are you in Kent OP? A cat escaped from the cattery we use last year but I was satisfied that they did everything they could and had learnt from it. I think their reaction is appalling.

@Whereisthecat I have just checked my business insurance and loss of an animal not returned within 7 days is liable for a pay out.
I know it isn't down to the money but if you're feeling inclined to 'make them pay', ask for their insurance company.

Thank you. Your posts are reassuring.

We have been factually accurate on our posters and on our Facebook missing pet alert so I don't see how we have done anything wrong.

There is nothing they can do as it is all factual, if anything they are liable to be sued because they lost your cat.

I would write a letter to inform them that if i receive a letter from a solicitor, i will hire my own and sue you for negligence AND i will but factual reviews everywhere and make sure everyone local know about how they not only lost your pet they also threatened me with legal action. If this causes they businesses to fold they have only themselves to blame.

Also i would demand my money back plus the cost of a new cat and emotional damages.

If they don’t want people to be aware that they lose cats, they should stick to not losing cats.

Any sign of you cat yet OP?

*your