Need Advice Please

[redangel]

Reading this thread I am heartened by your caring response in a situation that was in no way your fault.

[Alibi]

Reading this thread I am heartened by your caring response in a situation that was in no way your fault.

I second this

I always hate it when people blame the cat for wandering and causing trouble, its the uncaring owners that are at fault.

[Little Gifts]

glad cat has been found and is getting treatment. now things are calmer i would just avoid her - she can handle her own vet bills as i'm sure if she ran over one of your dogs in her driveway she'd be claiming it was your fault cause your dog was out of it's yard.

T that is just awful and i can understand why you'd just clean up quietly. as i said earlier some people just don't understand that in today's society you have to care for your cats differently. all kinds of dangers are out there now, even just from simple things like cars. my parents have evil people next to them who trap cats - strays and pets, then drown them in their wheelie bin inside the cat cage or bury them in the cage under their compost heap till the animals die. they hate all animals except crows. no point microchipping your lost cat with people like that out there. actually they hate a lot of things - they have poured boiling water over an old man's new vege patch, poisoned fruiting olive trees and a gold fish pond, let people's dogs out of their properties and even threatened my parents when chicken feathers have blown into their yard. i've had lots of unpleasant thoughts about them over the years.

[rubiton]

as Puppy Sniffer said let the cat owner handle the vet bills - their animal trespassed into your yard and sounds like Vic has the same rules as SA in that if your contained animal attacks another that has strayed into its yard the contained animal will not be to blame since it is defending its territory. Its beyond council but state laws.

[Simply Grand]

Omg puppy_sniffer, those people sound like full on psychopaths! How horrible

I too am glad the cat was found and is at the vet and also agree that you've been very caring Cougar. I hope she doesn't make things difficult by asking you to pay anything as you are absolutely not accountable, but I will give her the benefit of the doubt for now :)

[Christina]

As a cat breeder whose cats are always either indoors or in a safe outdoor enclosure & my pet cats always were before I ever bred or showed cats people like this really piss me right off.

Its her stupid fault & you should not be responsible or help financially in any way.

Stupid will probably let her cat out again, if it survives.

One near me has lost 3 on the highway & 2 to snake bite. She cries & gets more darlings & lets them out again

Hope the poor cat is ok. try not to feel bad.

[persephone]

those people sound like full on psychopaths!

that sounds like a very big assumption ...

edit... but no so big if you are talking about the ones puppysniffer posted on

Edited December 19, 2012 by persephone

[Dame Aussie]

glad cat has been found and is getting treatment. now things are calmer i would just avoid her - she can handle her own vet bills as i'm sure if she ran over one of your dogs in her driveway she'd be claiming it was your fault cause your dog was out of it's yard.

T that is just awful and i can understand why you'd just clean up quietly. as i said earlier some people just don't understand that in today's society you have to care for your cats differently. all kinds of dangers are out there now, even just from simple things like cars. my parents have evil people next to them who trap cats - strays and pets, then drown them in their wheelie bin inside the cat cage or bury them in the cage under their compost heap till the animals die. they hate all animals except crows. no point microchipping your lost cat with people like that out there. actually they hate a lot of things - they have poured boiling water over an old man's new vege patch, poisoned fruiting olive trees and a gold fish pond, let people's dogs out of their properties and even threatened my parents when chicken feathers have blown into their yard. i've had lots of unpleasant thoughts about them over the years.

freaks!

[melzawelza]

When i was little a man around the corner had a cat that would routinely come and tease our neighbour's GSD from the gate post. Our neighbour would chase it off daily and went and spoke to the owner quite a few times to no avail. One day his GSD grabbed the cat off the post and killed it. He had called the council previously asking what would happen if his dog killed the cat, the council said they could take it to court if they wanted to. So he buried the cat and never told the guy. The man who owned the cat didn't even put up 'lost' posters or anything

As callas as it sounds, don't say anything. It was her fault and she sounds like the type of person that may make trouble for you.

Today if a cat comes into your yard and your dog kills it, it's bad luck and the owner can do nothing as cats are not allowed to wander just like dogs. I also would say nothing, how do you know what the neighbour might do to your dog as payback.

This is incorrect in NSW. Cats are legally allowed to wander and there is no offense for them entering your yard. However the OP's situation would not be considered an attack in NSW as the legislation specifically states that there is no offense committed if the incident occurs as the result of a person or animal entering the property without permission.

[german_shep_fan]

When i was little a man around the corner had a cat that would routinely come and tease our neighbour's GSD from the gate post. Our neighbour would chase it off daily and went and spoke to the owner quite a few times to no avail. One day his GSD grabbed the cat off the post and killed it. He had called the council previously asking what would happen if his dog killed the cat, the council said they could take it to court if they wanted to. So he buried the cat and never told the guy. The man who owned the cat didn't even put up 'lost' posters or anything

As callas as it sounds, don't say anything. It was her fault and she sounds like the type of person that may make trouble for you.

+1 She seems like the type that doesn't give two hoots until something actually happens, then when it does you will be the worst person under the sun.

[Cougar]

So I've seen the neighbour twice now - the cat looks like he's going to be fine. No broken bones, no massive internal injuries, some slight damage to a lung and that's about it. He'll be at the vet for a few days.

She's somewhat surprised (impressed, thankful - not sure exactly what ) that my dog didn't rip the cat to pieces! And has also thanked me for telling her, as at least she knows what happened. I don't think it will stop her letting him out again, but i believe they're due to move out next year so fingers crossed for that too....

Thanks to those who gave me words of support, that was much appreciated.

And OH MY GOODNESS - Puppy Sniffer, they sound horrific! I just will never understand people that can be so savage.

[tarope]

When i was little a man around the corner had a cat that would routinely come and tease our neighbour's GSD from the gate post. Our neighbour would chase it off daily and went and spoke to the owner quite a few times to no avail. One day his GSD grabbed the cat off the post and killed it. He had called the council previously asking what would happen if his dog killed the cat, the council said they could take it to court if they wanted to. So he buried the cat and never told the guy. The man who owned the cat didn't even put up 'lost' posters or anything

As callas as it sounds, don't say anything. It was her fault and she sounds like the type of person that may make trouble for you.

Today if a cat comes into your yard and your dog kills it, it's bad luck and the owner can do nothing as cats are not allowed to wander just like dogs. I also would say nothing, how do you know what the neighbour might do to your dog as payback.

This is incorrect in NSW. Cats are legally allowed to wander and there is no offense for them entering your yard. However the OP's situation would not be considered an attack in NSW as the legislation specifically states that there is no offense committed if the incident occurs as the result of a person or animal entering the property without permission.

Where in the Companion Animals Act 1998 does it say cats are legally allowed to wander - it doesn't. You might want to read section 31 Nuisance cats as this is exactly the problem the OP has. As I said if a cat enters your property and your dog kills it, it's just bad luck.

Also cats are required by law to wear a collar with an Identification tag at all times, but how many cat owners do this.

[tdierikx]

The problem with some cat owners is that they actually believe that their cat should be allowed to wander wherever it wants without consequence. God help the owner of a dog that kills a cat that has been allowed to wander - the cat owner can get quite nasty about it.

T.

[Little Gifts]

great outcome cougar!

as for the people who live next to my parents - they are both elderly and disabled and you think they would have more to worry about but they prowl their yard late at night constantly up to no good so it is hard to find a suitable payback time. they truly are strange because they can come up to my mother in the supermarket and be all sugary with their hellos. they had mum's cat (an ex-stray now desexed) in the boot of their car earlier this year when it got out of their fenced in verandah and after these two old people swearing at me it got to where i said i'd have to call the police if they didn't set it free they were all like 'oh gee how did your cat get in there?'. mum and dad have since tightened up cat security again.

i wouldn't mind if they caught and sent animals to the pound but they prefer DIY torturous deaths. i hope they come back in their next lives as cats. if anyone is ever really angry and needs to take out some vengeance i'd be happy to pass on their address. :D

[stormie]

When i was little a man around the corner had a cat that would routinely come and tease our neighbour's GSD from the gate post. Our neighbour would chase it off daily and went and spoke to the owner quite a few times to no avail. One day his GSD grabbed the cat off the post and killed it. He had called the council previously asking what would happen if his dog killed the cat, the council said they could take it to court if they wanted to. So he buried the cat and never told the guy. The man who owned the cat didn't even put up 'lost' posters or anything

As callas as it sounds, don't say anything. It was her fault and she sounds like the type of person that may make trouble for you.

Today if a cat comes into your yard and your dog kills it, it's bad luck and the owner can do nothing as cats are not allowed to wander just like dogs. I also would say nothing, how do you know what the neighbour might do to your dog as payback.

This is incorrect in NSW. Cats are legally allowed to wander and there is no offense for them entering your yard. However the OP's situation would not be considered an attack in NSW as the legislation specifically states that there is no offense committed if the incident occurs as the result of a person or animal entering the property without permission.

Where in the Companion Animals Act 1998 does it say cats are legally allowed to wander - it doesn't. You might want to read section 31 Nuisance cats as this is exactly the problem the OP has. As I said if a cat enters your property and your dog kills it, it's just bad luck.

Also cats are required by law to wear a collar with an Identification tag at all times, but how many cat owners do this.

We have had visits from our local council explaining to our clinic staff the regulations regarding cats. They told us that there are no laws regarding roaming cats like there are dogs and subsequently people technically aren't allowed to pick up cats they perceive to be roaming strays. The only circumstances where someone can collect and hand in a cat as a stray is if it's a threat to the person and/or their pets.

This isn't to say a dog owner is responsible if a neighbours cat enters their property, but according to our council rangers, cats CAN legally wander.

[Dame Aussie]

How ridiculous that they are actually allowed to wander .

Edited December 19, 2012 by Aussie3

[disintegratus]

My sister's got 4 cats, I hate it. They are allowed to wander constantly, and are constantly killing stuff. I've lost count of the amount of times I've taken prey from them and killed it myself to put it out of it's misery. Most recently, they caught a budgie from next door. I found it's head in our yard, that was someone's pet for christ's sake!! And she still lets them out.

I've decided that when I move (to acreage as far away from suburbia as the boyfriend is willing to go), I will be trapping any cats that come onto my property. They'll be returned to their owners or dropped off at the pound ONCE. If they come back, they will be humanely euthanased. I intend to have many reptiles, a lot in outdoor pits, and I need to look out for my animals welfare first and foremost.

[Rebanne]

I've decided that when I move (to acreage as far away from suburbia as the boyfriend is willing to go), I will be trapping any cats that come onto my property. They'll be returned to their owners or dropped off at the pound ONCE. If they come back, they will be humanely euthanased. I intend to have many reptiles, a lot in outdoor pits, and I need to look out for my animals welfare first and foremost.

Best you check out your councils laws and bylaws and the state ones as well.

[tdierikx]

You'd think that seeing dead cats on the side of the roads regularly would convince some people that their cat would be safer if it were contained... but no...

T.

[bamboo]

I am glad your neighbours cat wasn't badly injured, has gone to the vet, and that the neighbour has been reasonable. I would be terribly traumatised if my dogs injured/ killed a cat (on our property or elsewhere). I have always chosen dog breeds less likely (not guaranteed) to chase to kill. If my own cat were to be injured by someone's dog in its own backyard, that would not in any way be the dog owners fault. I don't understand the attitude of some dog owners who appear to have no compassion for cats, roaming or otherwise. I find it interesting the change in attitude to cats over the past 20+ years. When I first got my own cats, as an adult, it was utterly normal and assumed that cats were allowed to roam, as mine did, and my one remaining one still does. I lost my 2 old girl cats, at the ages of 18 and 19, over the last couple of years. My one remaining cat is 17. All were outside/inside cats, but that does not in any way mean that I don't love and care for them. We live in a very quite street, so minimal risk of car accidents. My neighbours are cat friendly, in fact the very elderly lady next to me has gone out of her way to encourage my old boy to spend time at her house, and seems to appreciate the company without expense or responsibility. Roaming dogs are very rare in our street. To change my old boy's lifestyle at this point would be stressful for him, he doesn't like to be inside during the day at all. His idea of blissful retirement appears to be sleeping in various sunny patches in the garden . I do, however, recognise that changes in attitude to how cats should be kept do have considerable merit as well. I find that I am conflicted over any future cat ownership as I do not really feel that an indoor only cat has an ideal lifestyle and outside runs go some way to addressing this problem but they just aren't the same as a whole garden to choose from. Perhaps if I could have cat proof fences for my whole backyard that would be a system I could be comfortable with...........At this point I have decided not to have any further cats and stick to dogs. I will miss having a cat in the family though, I have never been without one.