cat and neighbors car

jonathon

My neighbor has complained to my landlord about my cat sitting on there car and scratching it.
Is there anything we can do about it, im worried in case he tries to claim off us as cat pet insurance doesnt seem to cover third party damage.

sallyrsm

I am pretty certain you can't be held legally liable for a cat's actions as they aren't controllable. Dogs yes, cats no. Dogs are "property" whereas cats are "free spirits". It's an old law I believe. As long as your landlord allows cat ownership there is nothing he can do.

kindofagilr

AXA cover 3rd party:

Legal liability up to £2,000,000 if someone is injured or killed or their property is damaged as a result of an incident involving your pet.

So he possibly can?

I dont see how like, I mean how are you suppsed to stop your cat sitting on his car, and who is to say its not another cat thats actually scratching the car?

dieselhead

Has your cat actually caused any damage though, I am very precious about my car but my cat sleeps on it and walks on it and I have never noticed any scratches.

However he is your neighbour, and I suppose you need to try to keep him on side. the only suggestion I can think of is as a peace offering to buy him a car cover they seem to be around £20.00 on ebay and then treat it with a citrus spray in an attempt to put the cat off.

mrcol1000

dieselhead wrote: »

Has your cat actually caused any damage though, I am very precious about my car but my cat sleeps on it and walks on it and I have never noticed any scratches.

However he is your neighbour, and I suppose you need to try to keep him on side. the only suggestion I can think of is as a peace offering to buy him a car cover they seem to be around £20.00 on ebay and then treat it with a citrus spray in an attempt to put the cat off.

Why should he have to buy a car cover because you decide to have a cat as a pet which decides to sit on his car? Cat owners seem to expect everyone else to accept their cat can do what they want with no responsiblity.
I can appericate that cats can't be trained in the same way as dogs but if you have a cat as a pet you need to accept responsiblity for its actions just like dog owners do. Dogs can't be trained to use an indoor toilet but their owners are still expected to clean up after them. I don't see many dog owners using the excuse that the dog can't be trained to clean up after itself so tough luck

Jakg

sallyrsm wrote: »

I am pretty certain you can't be held legally liable for a cat's actions as they aren't controllable. Dogs yes, cats no. Dogs are "property" whereas cats are "free spirits". It's an old law I believe. As long as your landlord allows cat ownership there is nothing he can do.

So basically your saying screw him?

If someones cat scratches my car they will bloody well fix it - i'm fed up of having to try to t-cut out "random" scratches that appear on my car from lazy parkers and people who don't look before they open their door - if I find out who damages my car they will get an invoice for fixing it.

kindofagilr

mrcol1000 wrote: »

Why should he have to buy a car cover because you decide to have a cat as a pet which decides to sit on his car? Cat owners seem to expect everyone else to accept their cat can do what they want with no responsiblity.
I can appericate that cats can't be trained in the same way as dogs but if you have a cat as a pet you need to accept responsiblity for its actions just like dog owners do. Dogs can't be trained to use an indoor toilet but their owners are still expected to clean up after them. I don't see many dog owners using the excuse that the dog can't be trained to clean up after itself so tough luck

Thats not what the poster said, the poster said the OP should buy the neighbour a car cover and spray it so the OP's cat wont sit on his car.

walwin

mrcol1000 wrote: »

Why should he have to buy a car cover because you decide to have a cat as a pet which decides to sit on his car? Cat owners seem to expect everyone else to accept their cat can do what they want with no responsiblity.
I can appericate that cats can't be trained in the same way as dogs but if you have a cat as a pet you need to accept responsiblity for its actions just like dog owners do. Dogs can't be trained to use an indoor toilet but their owners are still expected to clean up after them. I don't see many dog owners using the excuse that the dog can't be trained to clean up after itself so tough luck

I think you should read the post again. You seem to have got hold of the wrong end of the stick.
Also, I resent your generalisation about cat owners. I am one and I don't expect everyone else to accept my cat can do what she wants with no responsibility

Taye

It's very hard to know what to do with cats, the sad fact is the only way you can stop them from potentially damaging something is by locking them inside for the rest of thier lives.

That said my cat is an utter nusiance she drives me mental in the garden caught her rolling on my broccolli seedlings yesterday, but other than protecting the plants themselves there is nothing i can do to stop her, i hate to think what she get's upto in neighbours gardens.

This said she also sleep's on my car and other than the occasional muddy footprint ive never noticed any damage.

Buying your neighbour a car cover would be a nice gesture, but really unless you plan to buy one for every car in the street i'd be tempted just to ask him for proof the scratches where caused by your cat because really i think he's going to find it very hard to proove.

Tally-Ho_2

If you or your neighbour have a hose pipe or water pistol, then whenever the cat is on the car, give it a quick squirt of water.

The cat will soon learn not to sit on that car and water will not hurt the cat at all.

It might mean your neighbour has a clean car as well!

Tally

sallyrsm

Jakg wrote: »

So basically your saying screw him?

If someones cat scratches my car they will bloody well fix it - i'm fed up of having to try to t-cut out "random" scratches that appear on my car from lazy parkers and people who don't look before they open their door - if I find out who damages my car they will get an invoice for fixing it.

there's a big difference between someone banging their door into yours and a miniscule mark from a cat's foot (we're not talking the cat sharpening his claws on it - presumably just jumping up with with claws retracted - which shouldn't scratch). If someone wants their car to stay pristine without a mark on it (like stones etc) then the only option is to keep it in the garage. Next we'll be trying to invoice pigeons for defecating on it as birdlime can damage paint.