Vicious cat

jingle · 13 September 2009 at 10:01AM

I am looking for advice on a neighbours vicious cat. My daughter's cat was attacked a week ago by her neighbour's cat which ended up with a vets bill of over £200.

The attack happened in my daughter's garden. Then just last evening the same cat attacked my daughter's cat again and opened up the wounds, inflected by it, again. :mad:This time my daughter witnessed the cat doing it. This is making my daughter very upset, both physically and financially. Does anyone know if the neighbour is liable for any vets costs, or does the cat have to be dealt with by the RSPCA,

because I and my daughter are worried that the said cat might attack my 1 year old granddaughter while she plays in the garden.

foreign_correspondent · 13 September 2009 at 10:37AM

I dont think there is any legal responsibility on the cat owner for this, as cats are seen as being very different to dogs in the eyes of the eyes of the law.

I doubt the cat will attack the little girl, I would keep the cat in till it is properly healed though. Are the cats male or female? Speyed/neutered? I just wonder as unneutered toms tend to fight.

Has she mentioned the cat fight to the neighbour? They may offer to pay some of the vets bills, but I dont think they are under any obligation to do so...

I am sure someone will be along soon who knows more about the law relating to cats though.

KVet · 13 September 2009 at 11:30AM

Yeah cats arent covered by the same laws as dogs. If your dog does something to someone or some animal then they owners are liable for it but not with cats. Same if someone runvs over a dog - they HAVE to stop and help it etc but not with a cat. Weird laws.

Kimberley · 13 September 2009 at 12:07PM

Cats are not naturally vicious. They defend their own keep and this is probably why the cat has attacked another cat. It's not the cats fault it is nature. There is nothing you can do. You cannot claim the vets expenses from the cats owner. An owner of a dog has a duty to ensure that they have control over their dog and it is very different for a cat.

cheepskate_2 · 13 September 2009 at 2:04PM

Easy solution, dont let your cat out. The cats are fighting over territory. Your cat is weaker and the top cat is taking over it's garden as its'.
This is not wrong to the cat just nature and until the tom is sure your cat backs down to it these fights will continue and then restart once a new tom takes over.
We have a small neutured tom who thinks he's a lion. We back onto really good mousing territory and hear the fights , from the local cats as well as sometimes our boy gets accosted in his own garden.
They usually dont last long if there is no intervention , although not had any serious injuries that the cat cant heal himself.

Another thing is not to put the cat outside if he doesnt want to go as i think looking at our tom they tend to have times to go our themselves so they dont all cross over each other. This is probably just once it settles down as when our boy was fighting for his territory he was constantly out

Jojo_the_Tightfisted · 13 September 2009 at 2:29PM

Keeping a hose pipe connected and ready for every instance that the tougher cat so much as puts one paw into the garden will not hurt him, will amuse you for days and will, very quickly, teach bully cat that it just isn't worth fighting over that bit of territory.

Belisarius · 13 September 2009 at 6:21PM

I think it's just the way of cats, and that there is no legal recourse / solution.

When I'm at home, I will chase other cats away if they come in the garden / harass my cat, but it's obviously not a long-term solution. My suggestion would be to have a chat with the neighbour, and see if you can reach a timeshare agreement about specific hours when each respective cat is let out. It's not ideal, but worth a shot. I think it's also worth bearing in mind that this isn't the neighbour's fault ... cats can't really be trained / controlled like dogs, and she hasn't bred or conditioned her cat to be vicious on purpose as some people do with dogs!

jingle · 14 September 2009 at 7:19AM

Thanks for your replies. At this moment my daughter is keeping her cat inside. The neighbour says that my daughter's cat started it, which is untrue. The neighbour also said that they were only looking after the cat temporarily but did not say for how long. I just hope it goes soon.

Fire_Fox · 14 September 2009 at 4:16PM

Is the other cat an entire tom? If so he will be more likely to fight. My two used to gang up on our neighbours cats, even harrassing one while she was pregnant. We would take them in if we saw it but there is little else you can do.

eatenbyweasels · 28 September 2010 at 8:49AM

I have a similar problem to the original poster, except that the vicious cat is actually coming into my house and attacking my cats. Does that make any difference to the legal situation, please?

Jojo_the_Tightfisted · 28 September 2010 at 4:54PM

eatenbyweasels wrote: »

I have a similar problem to the original poster, except that the vicious cat is actually coming into my house and attacking my cats. Does that make any difference to the legal situation, please?

Afraid not. I suggest a big supersoaker.

Vicious cat

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