by James Morris
(South Cambridge, UK)
My neighbour has 2 Ginger Cats Housed in a outside pen aprox 8’x 6′. They have had them caged there for 2 1/2 to 3 years, granted fed and watered but have never trespassed out of that Zone in that time. There was a problem in the winter when their food was covered in snow and water frozen. They actually are housed in a small Dog kennel with straw.
My point I ask, is that they released their pets, whether by accident or meant out, of their pen.
One cat entered my garden where I pen my dog for excretion and food zone my dog being an outside dog, golden retriever pedigree, who has run of garden and house with us in day, has never met a cat, he has killed rabbits, birds, rats, mice, even a hedgehog wandering in and even Bumble bee’s, as is his nature, but not cats. Were do I stand by law should he attack and kill neighbour’s cat in his territory?
I feel the people came to our neibourhood 3 years ago, lost first 2 cats and got these 2 who have never been out and will wander, with fast traffic A10 Cambridge road.
They will die anyway, but I do not want to be sued by them for my Dogs Nature.. would appreciate your responses.
Thank you in anticipation.
J.Morris
micro_jim@hotmail.com
Hi James… Thanks for visiting and asking.
You ask if your neighbour can ‘sue’ you. That means a civil action for compensation. Cats are treated as chattels in law. A moggie has no real financial value in the eyes of the law so it would not be viable to sue even if the case had merit which it probably would not as the cat(s) are trespassing and you are doing all you reasonably can to keep your dog under control (i.e. in or on your property). One weakness to this argument is that it may be foreseeable by you that the cats would trespass (I use the word ‘tresspass loosely here because technically cats can’t tresspass). However, I see little success in an action for compensation in the civil courts under these circumstances.
There is one other aspect. Would you have committed a crime vicariously through your dog’s behavior?
The relevant act as I understand it would be the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Section 4 is a relevant one:
(1) A person commits an offence if—
(a) an act of his, or a failure of his to act, causes an animal to suffer,
(b) he knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that the act, or failure to act, would have that effect or be likely to do so,
(c) the animal is a protected animal, and
(d) the suffering is unnecessary.
As you are taking reasonable steps to control your dog (I presume that this is the case) it would be hard to say that you failed to act to prevent the cats being attacked. The cat owners are the authors of their cats’ suffering or death.
Accordingly, I would have thought that you are in the clear both from a civil and criminal standpoint.
The position would be very different if your dog trespasses on their property and kills their cats or injures them.
What If My Dog Kills My Neighbour’s Tresspassing Cat? to Cats and the Law
Sad as it is for cat owners dogs are dogs. Cats kill two million wild birds a year plus mice voles etc. Look on dogs as wildlife conservationists.
Maffi, there are no reliable statistics on how many birds are killed by cats. None. It is all guesstimates. Thanks for commenting.
i see some one say you train a dog to kill your not very clued up on animals are you its funny dogs have teeth in particular canine teeth research these they are for ripping and tearing of raw meat eg was live before they killed it dogs came from wolfs wolfs are not fed they kill to eat if you dog is old then this does not apply however if it is in its prime it will hunt you dont have to teach it you dont teach your child to kill it just dog it indistinctly eg flies spiders small fury animals its only until civilisation is thought they will stop cats bring mice birds home ect does this mean i put my dogs down for attacking cats and my cat down for attacking small animals ? my god some people need not have pets and as for these court cases ********** god y go to court this is not the animals fault you the owner is at fault if you dog attack on some1 else land its your fault if its on your land its not your fault just my opinion most people i know would not like
Dogs can be dangerous. They are far more dangerous in terms of people killed than any other domestic or wild animal. This is the fault of people.
Hi there I was wondering if anyone could advise me about an incident that occurred in my home recently. A dog entered my house chasing my cat up my stairs and barging passed my boyfriend and myself before cornering my cat in my bathroom and savagely attacked him resulting in my cat having his shoulder dislocated and taking the fur off his front leg and breaking through his skin. My cat had to be treated for shock, transferred to a vets 10 miles away from the vet I took him to locally to be put under anaesthetic to correct his shoulder and then be monitored over nite as due to shock his breathing was too bad to be allowed home.
The dog in question was not on a lead nor muzzled and this is the second time the dog has entered my property but the first time I intercepted the dog and it scarpered and the owner was no where in sight. I’ve since been told this dog has attacked several other animals. My vet bill climbed to just over £600 and at first the dog owner said he would pay but now won’t answer his phone. I contacted the police who phoned the owner but he hung up the phone and the police have said there’s nothing more they can do, is this correct? Please help.
What the police are saying is that it is not a criminal matter. I am not sure they are correct. Police are just not interested. You should ask a solicitor (ideally, as it carries weight) to write to this person if you know his address and demand compensation or you will sue him (the dog’s owner) in the civil courts (small claims probably). A threat will probably shake him out of his arrogant complacency. If you don’t want to see a solicitor just write a letter requesting compensation or else..litigation. I think you will find that the relevant act is The Animals Act 1971. Here are two webpages on similar subjects:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7481323.stm
Common sense dictates that compensation is due. The next time it happens, I would trap the dog and get the RSPCA to take it to a pound. Well that might not work or it might make things worse. But what I mean is that the law (criminal or civil) is a bit of an ass in these situations. It is pretty hopeless so you need to play the game that is presented to you. Try and outsmart this person. Keep it legal but keep it outside the law. How about putting up some sort of barrier? Why is this dog running into your house? That sounds strange to me. Why is the door open? Try and stop this happening and kick this person’s arse at the same time.
Thankyou for your advice it is much appreciated and it will help me in to taking the situation further if necessary. I just thought I’d explain why my door is open. I live near a lake where it is frequently used by people walking their dogs, and until recently all the dog walkers I’ve encountered have seemed responsible and in control of there dogs. Since I brought my cats home from Portugal as they were rescue cats I’ve formed a close bond and fear anything bad happening to them and since I’ve heard a few horror stories of peoples cats and dogs being killed in there own gardens near by so everyday when I let my cats out I normally sit on the doorstep and wait til they want to come in as they don’t stray far and return within half hour. Sometimes I leave them for 6 minutes but generally the minute I go inside they follow so then I shut the door. It just so happened on this day it wasn’t to be the case .
I see the problem. It is a special problem. Your situation would worry me a bit – all those dogs. The outside is a little dangerous for your cats where you live and your cats are very important to you (great) because you rescued them from Portugal. There is no clear answer. Prevention is better than fixing the problem after the fact. I always suggest a nice enclosure if there is room and enough money etc. A lot of people don’t like them but they are a good compromise. Here is a catio in Holland:
https://pictures-of-cats.org/our-new-cat-enclosure-or-catio.html
and in Finland:
https://pictures-of-cats.org/Finnish-Cat-Enclosure.html
Not as good as going out but safe for the cats and peace of mind for you. Bottom line: you don’t want to be in dispute with people particularly neighbors. You want a bit of peace! Like me.
i am currently being charged with a dog attack and face putting my beloved German shorthair down because she attacked a cat…she was not trained to kill or harm other animals it is her instinct to hunt prey….now i have a fenced yard where she is kept and exercized and she has never tried to dig her wayout however a neighbor kid “unattended” damaged my fence by pulling on it enough till she let my dog out, which is when she got the neighbors cat which is still alive,,anyway i offered to cover the vet bills even though i feel the kid and her parents are at fault for trespassing,destruction of private property,,and unlawfully freeing my pet…however my offer wasn’t good enough and am now preparing for trial…the point i would like to make is dogs,like cats are predatory animals,,cats like dogs hunt and kill prey smaller than them,,,if you dont want something happening to your pet take steps to protect them,,nature is nature whos gonna sue who when it happens to be a stray,,or wild predatory animal getting your cat???shall we start taking cat owners to court for our favorite bunnies getting attacked,,,only god has control over the creatures he created,i would never keep a dog that bit a human but seriously to be sentenced to lethal injection,,,people do way worse things,,,shes a gentle loving dog that like so many look at cats as prey.
Hi Laura. I can’t really offer any advice to you. If you are being charged it is a criminal matter and you should have a lawyer appointed to help your defense. In the UK people get legal funding assistance and a lawyer is appointed to defend the person. I hope the same thing happens in the USA. I would expect it works that way too because trial must be fair. Good luck.