Dog attacked my cat

Hana

Hi All

After a bit of advice really. Sort of money-saving..!

A dog attacked my cat on Saturday. Really went for it, picked him up and shook him. Horrid to watch. Long story short, cat went to vet, spent 2 nights there and has since been given the all clear, and is now home. Obviously a bit sore and sorry for himself, and more than a little traumatised, but home and will be ok.

The attack happened on communal land - the dog had escaped from it's garden.

Have located the dogs owner, and suggested a contributon to the bill would be nice. She's spoken to hubby, and they suggested £50 or half the cost, whichever is higher. The bill (assuming no turn for the worse or anything, and the bill is the final cost) is £223.

Did say I was happy with that, but on reflection, don't think I am. If not for their dog I wouldn't be paying anything. It also appears that the dog is kno9wn to go for cats.

The cat isn't insured with an insurance company - he's mainly a house cat, so I've gone down the self-insure route and put a certain amount away each month rather than pay an insurance company.

Firstly, what are your thoughts on how much it's reasonable to ask for?
Secondly, any legal people out there that have knowledge on their obligations as dog owners?
Thirdly, if their dog is insured (don't know whether it is or not), is it likely their insurance would cover the vets bills as their dog attacked someone elses cat?

Thanks in advance for any help/guidance/thoughts.

Hana

suki1964

I would go to them (owners) and say that you aren't happy with the amount offered, but they are within their rights to stick to their offer or even refuse point blank to pay any more.

If you want to claim anything from them then its a civil case Im afraid which is going to no doubt cost you a lot more in time money and heartache then half the vet bill you have now

snowman2_2

Half is a fair amount, animals are animals after all and if they were in a communal garden it is difficult to be 100% with blame (unless they shouldn't have been there). Secondly, cats don't count legally as they aren't economically important - only farm animals and dogs have any kind of status in law so I doubt any legal action would help but always consult a solicitor as I am a vet, not a lawyer. I also doubt whether any insurance would cover it. There will be 3rd party in their pet insurance and probably household but this is likely to only cover injury to people and probably road traffic accidents. Pet Plan have a £250 excess for 3rd party claims and only cover damage to property and death, injury or illness to people. A cat outside probably doesn't fall into these categories and the amount is below the excess anyway. Best chance is to show them a copy of the bill and ask nicely but firmly for half.
Hope your cat is OK after all this, not a nice thing to have happen.

gordikin

50/50 sounds more than fair to me. How many birds/mice has your cat killed? They are both animals with hunting instincts....these things therefore happen!

barnabee

The owners of the dog could just turn round and say hard luck and pay nothing. I would keep the negotiations friendly and half seems fair in this case. As an owner they do have responsibilites:

All owners have a duty to keep their dogs under control and to train them in a way that discourages aggression towards people and other animals

Under the Dangerous Dogs Act it is an offence to allow a dog to become 'dangerously out of control'.

This is regardless of whether the dog is classed as a dangerous breed.

You mention that the dog is known to go for cats:

If a dog attacks another animal and the owner is aware of it having aggressive tendencies and a propensity to do so they could be deemed guilty of an offence under the Animal Welfare Act.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/welfare/act/

Hana

Thanks all, for your advice. I will check out the defra site

YorkiePud_3

Personally I think you did well to have the dog's owner say they would actually pay something towards the vet bill!!

While I hate to think of any animal being hurt (and have an indoor cat myself, so am certainly not anti them in any way!) it never fails to surprise me how, when cats roam freely, killing birds, teasing dogs in gardens and using any garden as a toilet, there is no law to control them or their behaviour, yet if something happens to one, people look straight to the law for advice.

Now don't get me wrong, this isn't a personal attack at all, and as I say, I am very sorry for the experience your poor cat had. But when the boot is on the other foot and something is happening to a cat instead of the other way round you can't suddenly adopt the victim role!!

If a cat is to be an outdoor cat, then it opens up a world of many dangers to them. Some cats thankfully go through life enjoying the great outdoors with nothing happening to them ... but traffic, other dogs ... even kids with nothing to do and a tank of cider inside them and looking for trouble are ever-present risks.

If people can't have any legal comeback on cat owners for any damage the cat does or using their gardens as toilets, then we can't suddenly expect the law to protect us when something happens to kitty. It just doesn't work that way.

The wisest thing to do is take the 50/50 split quicksharp and be grateful the dog owners didn't say it was just "nature" for dogs to chase cats and refuse to pay anything .... the way a lot of cat owners say it's just "nature" when cats decimate the bird population.

nanokitten

I thnk I'd be inclined to accept half as it is diffucult to judge (or prove) whether they were negligent or not (it has to be reasonably forseeable I thnk). If you wanted to pursue it you would probably have to take it to the small claims which is probably not worth the hassle for that amount of money. If you wanted to escalate things then you would probably need to call the RSPCA or local police station and make a complaint. If the dog has a reputaion you might want to go down this route but bare in mind that this could really inflame things with the neighbours. One way to find out if the insurance wold cover it is to call the company as a 'propective new customer' and ask if the policy would cover this sort of thing.

mrcol1000

Really there is nothing you can do. Just be grateful that you found out who owns the dog, the cat wasn't killed and they are willing to pay towards the vets fee.
If the dog escaped from his garden you can make a complaint to the dog warden. You can mention it attacking the cat but just make them aware you want to complain about the dog straying. They will write to the owners telling them they need to secure the garden or whatever else to stop the dog escaping.
Its not a nice thing to have happen but sadly with animals they are unpredictable and they do a lot worse things to each other in the wild.

Hughesy84

Think yourself lucky they have offered to pay anything. Dogs usually go for cats, its natural - not their fault if the dog escaped is it.

Take the money offered and get on with it.

geri1965_2

Hughesy84 wrote: »

Think yourself lucky they have offered to pay anything. Dogs usually go for cats, its natural - not their fault if the dog escaped is it.

Yes it is, actually.