Mel Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 Ok this never happened, but it was a very close call in the weekend. The neighbours at the back of us have a cat that likes coming to our place - now we own 2 dogs that are not cat friendly. In the weekend there cat was on our property and one of my dogs saw it and bailed it up our tree - we managed to get our dog inside so we could get the cat down and off our property. Thankfully puddy is fine. But what i want to know is - if my dog did manage to "get it" are we responible for the vet bill, since the cat was on "our property"? What are your thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 it is a grey area, but basically cats are allowed to roam as that is what they do, and dogs must be confined. i do not think you would be responsible for the bill however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 Our dog years ago got hold of an old cat on our property and broke its back. The owner took it to the vet who put it down. He said the cat was doing what cats do and so was the dog. Now that we have no dog we get all the cats in the neighbourhood using our place as a public convenience. I am contemplating getting a cat eating iguana. When the problem is solved I may be able to return to keeping birds in aviaries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 Things like this are why animals shouldn't be allowed to roam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firenzenz Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 If the dog harmed the cat on the cat's (owner) property then I would say then you would apportion responsibility to you as dog owner. Difficult though. The same logic would dictate that if the cat was on your property and was chased by the dog who then received bad scratches to the face as a result and required Vet attention then the cat owner should pay. would they or would they say the dog deserved it even though it was on its own property? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rozski Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 I do not think by law that you have to pay the bill. However, some people will feel responsible/guilty and offer to pay anyhow. Same situation occurs with dogs that get hit by cars. Dog runs onto road, gets hit, car driver feels bad and offers to pay. However, it was the dog owners fault, and the dog owner is actually liable for any damage done to the car by the dog as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 What amazes me is the different attitudes of dog and cat owners. A dog owner is expected to keep a dog under control on their own property and yet cat owners have no problem with their cats wandering all over the neighbourhood harassing and killing wild birds etc and other peoples pet animals. I think cats should be kept under control or not kept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxdarnixx Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 if the cats on your property then its not your fault,the dogs just protecting its house,if the dog gets it off your property however that can be tricky. the cats should know by then that there is a dog on your property and steer clear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rozski Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 What amazes me is the different attitudes of dog and cat owners. A dog owner is expected to keep a dog under control on their own property and yet cat owners have no problem with their cats wandering all over the neighbourhood harassing and killing wild birds etc and other peoples pet animals. I think cats should be kept under control or not kept. Not really peoples attitudes, its because its also the laws. Dogs by law have to be under control at all times. Cats do not, thus they are allowed to travel wherever they want. The owners are doing nothing wrong in the eyes of the law, no matter what other people think. However cat owners have to accept the consequences when their pets get hit by cars, attacked by dogs, into cat fights etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 I think cat's should enjoy there freedom while they still can. A lot of countries (parts of Aussie for example) have either curfews or full control of cats (cages and leads). On the other side of the coin, I believe a study was done that found a sensible number of cats actually helps wild life populations by culling mice, rats, rabbits, stoats, etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imsweet Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 When i 1st moved to Wanganui, my dog had the neighbours cat bailed up on our car roof, i didnt think he'd get it, but the cat made a run and he managed to grab it and tore it to pieces. When i found the owner (3 doors down) he was very understanding and said the cat should have never been there in the 1st place. But on the other hand... if it was my cat i'd be really gutted by it. I wouldnt expect my neighbours with dogs to pay for vet bills, as someone has already said, it's what cats and dogs do. A year before i moved down here, my dog was moving some sheep along a single lane - dead end road where i lived. A car went thru the mob, hit my dog and carried on. My dog shot home and stayed under the house for the rest of the day. He was fine, just in shock. A week later i recieved a panelbeaters quote from the ppl in the car from the damage caused by them hitting my dog. Stating that my dog should not have been on a public road. I wrote a very well-worded letter explaining i had informed the police of the said "hit-and-run" and if they wanted me to pay the panelbeater, i would happily, and they could pay the vet bill that came to double theirs. I also had copied it and wrote on the letter "copy". I think this scared them off as i never heard from them again. Unfortunatley these things happen, and everyones got their own opinion on what should happen. Hopefully your dog wont eat the cat in future :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rozski Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 That was cheeky of them imsweet!! Whilst I said above dog owners are liable if their dog gets hit by a car... but seriously, a working dog on a country road moving sheep? They shouldn't have been going fast enough through a mob of sheep to hit the dog!! :evil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef13 Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 people spend alot of money and go to alot of effort to build or provide adequate fencing to keep a dog in thier yard. cats roam freely and it amazes me that cat owners think its different because cats don't bother people. I have never had anyone elses dog pissing in my shed, claw marks from ripping everything in the shed and walking all over the car?????? If you are a respnosible dog owner which i'm sure you are and you take precautions to keep your dog in his own yard i would not feel guilty or responsible at all if the dog decided to eat the neighbours cat next time it jumped the fence. sure its sad when someone loses a loved pet but if it was so loved shouldn't they have taken precautions like you had to, so bad things happen to your animal or people or peoples property Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 what about when cats leave dirty paw prints on a freshly washed and waxed car? :evil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef13 Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 yep i bet no ones dog ever did that to your car phoenix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 yep i bet no ones dog ever did that to your car phoenix They better not :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 I think the law reflects peoples attitude and I also think cat owners attitude and the law should change. I have a number of pets and feel responsible to confine them to my property. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldogod Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 No way would I pay for it, dogs on his property. If cat got into my outdoor lizard cage then There owner should pay. :evil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 get a dog that eats the evidence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef13 Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 i'm with livingart, that way you can just wipe the dogs face and say good boy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 From 20 years of treating cats in the clinic I can say that a large number of injuries/illness & disease in cats are caused from roaming: cat bite abcesses, dog bite wounds, hit by cars, poisonings, pellet guns, infectious diseases, fractures.... Sure, housebound cats have a greater tendancy to cystitis (urinary problems) if they don't get good environmental enrichment but free roaming cats are so much more likely to injure themselves, other cats and kill large numbers of birds and wildlife. It is also a very stressful situation for them to live in a neighborhood within the territory of a dozen or more other cats. It is my personal oppinion that we are not doing these cats any favours by allowing them to roam. I know many people who have built beautiful ourdoor yards, much like aviaries so the cat can leave the house through a cat flap and enjoy the outdoors in relative safety and I think this is the best possible option if you don't live in the country. These are just my beliefs - although I have been influenced by the hundreds of cats I have seen in pain or euthanised over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxdarnixx Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 what about when cats leave dirty paw prints on a freshly washed and waxed car? :evil: at least its just mud lol, all the cats round here seem to like to sharpen their claws on the roof of my car!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 Or spray down the air vents! :evil: We have a cat from next door that is a major nuisance. We found it inside trying to get Bud the other day. Luckily his cage hangs from a bungee from the ceiling so the cat couldn't get him (the same one that hangs around the window each evening when we let Bud out). We can't leave the garage door open as it gets in and leaves cat paw marks and fluff over everything - including the black cloth top on the car :evil: Neighbouring cats use our yard to poo all over the place. If I ever see one eyeing up the goldfish I will catch it and do something bad to it!!! :evil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 I am afraid I developed a total dislike of cats after watching all the neighbour's cats trying to kill the contents of nine aviaries and 3 goldfish ponds. If a dog was doing that all hell would let loose but for some reason we accept it from cats (well some people do). I would like to get birds where I am now but could not put up with them being harassed by the neighbour's cats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 i chuck all the extra cats into the neighbours yard. literally. lift and chuck over the fence. then the dogs start barking and running (don't worry they are restrained). no more extra cats. :lol: Front yard is another story though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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