We found her just off of our driveway, caught in a foothold trap. Her toes are pulverized and bloody. I can care for her until tomorrow (its 2am or we would be at a vet) We called the cops and they said its a legal trap, during a legal time. I don't care, they used bait and a trap that leaves the animals alive and suffering.
And now I'm going to have a huge vet bill. Does anyone know of a similar case, and what the possible solutions are? Can I sue? 'cause I'd like to burn their house (oops, trailer) to the ground, with them in foot-traps inside.
2006-12-14 18:36:18 · 25 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Cats
Just burn their trailer. Say where it is i will burn it myself.
2006-12-15 00:57:41 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
That's terrible, but it's the risk you run when you let your animals roam free outdoors. If the trap was set on your property you might have some legal claim, but otherwise that's usually not the case, cause technically your cat entered onto your neighbor's property, where he had "legally" set a trap.
I remember my city's newspaper did a big story on this not too long ago cause a man's dog was caught in a trap set by one of his neighbors. It outraged a lot of people, but there was nothing they could do about it.
I assume you live in the country or a small town, cause most big cities have 24 hour emergency vet clinics. Even my small town vet has an emergency paging system. You can call anytime and an answering service will pick up and then call the vet if it's an emergency. You might check to see if any of your area clinics have this. Good luck and sorry about the kitty!
2006-12-14 18:53:35 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Take pictures of everything, the trap, the injuries, the bait. Make sure to take pictures of the driveway (blood stains). Keep all the documents. I don't think there's such thing as a legal trap that hurts animals; usually legal traps for animals such as cats are those that traps the animals inside a kennel looking cage so they aren't injured but just inside the kennel. Sue the mother f***ers down to thier mother f***ing graves. Damn rodent eating rednecks - they probably were hungry and tried to eat your cat. Stoopid hicks!
Did you try to find a Emergency vet clinic?
Each state and city has different set of laws on animal traps. You can probably do some research on that or find an attorney that does free consults and get some information from there.
2006-12-14 19:09:55 · answer #3 · answered by see_detachment 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
there are some great answers on here and I'm sorry I can't help with a real life story or speak from experience but I would definitely call the humane society and the lawyer. Also, try calling the cops again tomorrow during different hours and talking with someone else who may have a different view on trapping and harming animals. If a cop came out and there is a report though then you can't do that last part.
2006-12-14 18:45:54 · answer #4 · answered by Phat Kidd 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
How about keeping your cats INDOORS. And you don't want a collar that won't snap off.... the cat will end up strangled on it, that's why they make them to snap off in the first place. Is your cat microchipped? If so, you'd have likely gotten a call from the humane society that your cat was there. Sorry, your neighbor isn't the asshole here.... you are for letting your cat run around outside unsupervised. And how is your cat hurt? If he used a humane trap no injury should have occurred, unless your cat was already injured when it went into the trap..... and that again would be on you for letting them wander outside unsupervised in the first place. I've caught many cats in humane traps, not ONE has ever been injured by the trap in any manner whatsoever.... so I suspect your cat was already injured when caught.
2016-05-24 18:54:58 · answer #5 · answered by Sylvia 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes, you can sue. Even if the traps are legal in your town/city/state/whatever, it is most likely not legal to capture a domesticated animal, only wild animals. Even if the cat was off your property, it is animal cruelty. I heard on the news about a case on the US east coast where a dog ran onto a guy's property, the guy shot it, and then the guy got charged with animal cruelty.
BTW, have you given your cat any med for the pain? I imagine she is suffering horribly.
Good luck
2006-12-14 18:54:09 · answer #6 · answered by iloveeeyore 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
That is a very inhumane thing for anyone to do, thank goodness you found her. Your legal standing in this case is going to be weak unfortunately. Do you have witnesses that are agreeable to testifying that the neighbor set the trap? If so what laws have they broken? As cruel as it is, in the eyes of the law they could be responsible for nothing.
As far as concerning the type of revenge you have suggested her, don't even think about it. Guess who wins in the end on that one? I suggest that you keep your kitty in the house from now on and that was you will know she/he is always safe from bad people like the ones that live next door to you.
2006-12-14 18:53:18 · answer #7 · answered by patti duke 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sorry about your cat. That's just awful. I know that I'd be really upset if anything happened to my cat.
Tomorrow how about trying to talk to the police station again, you will probably get somebody different and they might be more sympathizing. Also, you could talk to the local humane society to see if they can do anything. If you want to go to the extreme, you could file a complaint with PETA, it would surely piss off your redneck neighbors (I hear rednecks love PETA). Or write to your local county representatives, it's their job to represent you in the state government and your interests and they can't legislate for your interests if they don't know what they are.
And if the trap is near your house, you could keep "accidently" setting it off with sticks until your neighbors get it through their thick skulls that they should either not trap or move it.
2006-12-14 18:47:39 · answer #8 · answered by brookelle327 1 · 3⤊ 0⤋
wow, i'm so sorry. i would definitely document everything right now and contact a lawyer tomorrow. also, contact the humane society. i'm pretty sure those cops you talked to are wrong. if there is no law against this where you live, there should be, and you should get lawyers and people like the humane society on your side as quickly as you can. also, you could try talking to someone higher up in the police department, or simply someone different, because there are some people who don't give a **** and some people who really do, and will help you out, and it can be as simple as the luck of the draw who you talk to.
2006-12-14 18:43:16 · answer #9 · answered by some kind of wonderful 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
it will cost more to sue, since your the one who will be taking someone else into court. if you care a lot, even to spend years working on this thing, go for it. it takes years just to take someone to civil court. it takes years to solve the problem in court, most are settled outside of court. somethings you need to know is, that there isn't a leash law for cats, and what was the purpose of the trap. i say they shouldn't set traps unless they have some kind of a permit, and it above all shouldn't be kept in a community, unless it was for getting rid of a pest or rodent. the trap also sound like it was made for your cat, what kind of bait was it? what other animal would eat the bait? oh yeah and be careful what you say, you could be sued for terristic threatening.
2006-12-14 18:44:33 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
That is so rude.There has to be someone that can do something.Possibly an animal actvist group & possibly for wildlife animals (having to suffer & all.) That was so very wrong.Id be heated too.I hope your cat will be ok.Maybe you should get some legal advise also.Whats going to stop the cat from this happening again?omg.I wouldnt let them get away with that.Didnt they even offer to pay the vet bills? Have no mercy.
2006-12-14 18:42:02 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋