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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Original poster

Neighbour's dog attacked my cat today and broke his jaw :-(

48 replies

OhForFrigSake · 30/10/2016 20:41

I am so upset. The dog, which is a huge Weimaraner, jumped over a low garden wall and mauled my poor boy. I found him hiding in the garden covered in blood, clearly in agony with his jaw hanging limp, but so trusting in me to help him. He'll have an operation tomorrow, hopefully he'll be ok.

He's a beautiful boy and has become such a part of our family. He hasn't been going out very long and I'm devastated that this has happened to him :-(

OP posts:

Original poster

OhForFrigSake · 31/10/2016 09:21

I'm just waiting on his X-ray to find out how bad things are. Will let you guys know when I hear more.

OP posts:

Cluesue · 31/10/2016 10:03

No splitting,their dog,their duty to pay,you already had the disruption,stress and upset.Hope there's not too much damage on xray

BastardGoDarkly · 31/10/2016 10:08

Oh lord, are the neighbours comfortably off? It's still their problem, but may make a difference if they actually can't afford the bill.

Original poster

OhForFrigSake · 31/10/2016 11:06

I would say the neighbour's are fairly comfortably off, they both have jobs and no children. But who knows what people's financial situations really are. I do feel that they are liable as the dog escaped their garden which wasn't adequately fenced and then attacked the cat. That said, it could easily be 2-3k in total, which is obviously a huge amount of money. I wonder if their own dog's insurance might cover it as a kind of 3rd party liability?

Still waiting to hear from the vet. Feeling sick to my stomach. Can't wait to see my boy again

OP posts:

stonecircle · 31/10/2016 11:26

I would think their own dog's insurance would cover it, if they have it. Most policies will have third party cover which includes damage to another person, their property or pets.

RubbishMantra · 31/10/2016 12:11

They've offered to pay, their dog came onto your property and attacked your cat. Let them meet the entire cost, they've already offered to do do.

I'm so sorry about your poor little cat, wishing her a speedy recovery.

Original poster

OhForFrigSake · 31/10/2016 14:45

Have spoken to the vet now, the break is in the worst place it could be. It's a specialist fix and likely will be expensive.

The neighbour is now saying that they don't know how much of the cost they can meet. They expected to be paying 'a couple of hundred quid' excess.

OP posts:

Peach9876 · 31/10/2016 14:54

If they have their dog insured it might cover third party. If not then it's something they need to look into.
They should pay the full cost. I think it's the right thing to do and I think it might also be a legal requirement. Their property (dog) damaged part of your property (cat). They are responsible for their dog and containing it. I would speak to the local dog warden and get their opinion on the matter but if you want to push it it might end up in small claims court.

My dog injured another dog once during a training class. He was being handled by my DP at the time and I was across the room. The dog he 'attacked' kept trying to mount him and he had a sore back. The first couple of times he ignored the other dog then suddenly spun around and grabbed him. There were puncture wounds and I insisted the dog got treatment and I would pay full costs. It ended up costing more as they ended up taking him to the emergency vet later on instead of taking him there and then, but I still fronted all the money up. I felt so guilty and I wasn't even the one handling him.

ThatStewie · 31/10/2016 14:56

It doesn't matter what they expected to pay, they are responsible for the cost of the treatment. If my cat got at the neighbour's rabbit, then I would expect to pay for its medical treatment. It's what happens when you have a pet. If you have a dog that has a strong hunting instinct but don't take proper precautions, then you shouldn't be surprised by £3000 vet bills. Part of being a responsible pet owner is ensuring that your pet does not have the opportunity to hurt someone else's pet in their own yard. Inadequate fencing or failure to leash (if poor fencing) are the owners responsibility. Not yours.

Fluffycloudland77 · 31/10/2016 14:57

Would their house insurance cover it?. Our relatives had to claim on their when their kid damaged ndn car accidentally.

It's a broken bone needing surgery, on which fuck wit planet does that only cost a couple of hundred quid?

thatwouldbeanecumenicalmatter · 31/10/2016 15:03

The neighbour is now saying that they don't know how much of the cost they can meet. They expected to be paying 'a couple of hundred quid' excess

And they expect you to pay when their dog caused this? Sorry but tough. You 'expected' your cat to be safe on your/it's property. Looks like they're going to try to wriggle out of paying/paying the full amount, it's their dog, their responsibility, they pay.

Glad that he's had what I'm assuming was a comfortable-ish night x

RubbishMantra · 31/10/2016 17:16

Sorry I referred to your little lad as "she" in a previous post.

How on earth can your neighbours think it's OK to only contribute a very small percentage of the amount of the vets bills, when they caused the injury, knowingly having a prey driven dog, yet not providing appropriate fencing, to keep their animal enclosed. It came onto your property, and attacked your DCat.

I wonder where the law stands on this?

HelenaDove · 31/10/2016 17:48

Im so sorry to hear about your poor little boycat.

The bloody neighbours should pay not try to wriggle out of it.

to you and your lovely cat.

tubasinthemoonlight · 31/10/2016 18:12

Would the neighbour's household insurance pay out as a third party claim? Like if for example a child damaged a neighbours car the claim would be met by the child's parents household insurance.

TondelayaDellaVentamiglia · 31/10/2016 18:17

if they have pet insurance it should have some sort of third party element to it, so get them to check...other than that they ARE responsible for the bloody dog, so tough shit if they were expecting a couple of hundred.

your poor cat boy. ...really hope this all works out for you.

Lilmisskittykat · 31/10/2016 18:22

I hope your poor cat is ok.

You have really nice neighbours in offering to pay for your vets bills and you sound equally as understanding about the dogs behaviour. Hopefully a good fence will do the job and your cat gets better quickly

Lilmisskittykat · 31/10/2016 18:27

Sorry I didn't read to the end of the posts. That's awful about the insurance..

I know I might be able to scrape an excess of 500 quid together if it were my dog but a whole vet bill ... gosh I just couldn't manage it at all. Don't know what can be done legally in that circumstance.

A dog and a cat are classed as property in the eyes of the law so it's not prosecutable I don't think.. def not for criminal damage.

stonecircle · 31/10/2016 19:25

This may be of interest op -

www.gov.uk/control-dog-public/overview

BastardGoDarkly · 31/10/2016 20:09

How did the OP go op?

Original poster

OhForFrigSake · 31/10/2016 20:42

Hi everyone. Great news! The vet was able to fix his jaw and he should be ok provided the fix doesn't break down or he gets an infection. With a bit of luck he should be home within the week on soft food. His jaw is slightly misaligned but shouldn't give him difficulty apart from a slightly 'goofy' smile. Thank god!

The vet estimated the cost at around £1500 which I didn't think was too bad to be honest. I've let the dog owner know and heard nothing apart from 'glad he's on the mend' so I suspect that any financial contribution is not going to be forthcoming. I should be more annoyed but I'm just glad my boy is ok!

OP posts:

BastardGoDarkly · 31/10/2016 20:49

Oh thank goodness, it really is incredible what vets can do.

I'd be more annoyed at the neighbours though, don't let it go OP, or you could end up paying the lot!

Still, great news for your boy

Weedsnseeds1 · 31/10/2016 21:03

Is their dog insured? If so, the third party element should cover it. If no insurance, not sure what to suggest other than you claim on yours and they pay the excess?

ThatStewie · 31/10/2016 21:28

So glad you're boy is going to be ok.

That link from stone is pretty clear that this could lead to a criminal prosecution. I'd be pooping a copy of the bill and that link through their door.

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