If a cat is on my property and if my dog bites that cat can I get sued?

Question

My family and I are trying to figure this out. Our neighbors cats keep going on our property and we are getting really tired of it and so is our dog.

Answer 1

You probably can get sued, but they won't have a very strong case. They need to keep their cat out of your yard. I hope your dog eats their cat.

Answer 2

(1) Get a lawyer and have him draft a notice of complaint. Have this sent to your neighbor and to the county court house.
(2) Make sure the dog is free only in a completely enclosed area of your yard, such as the fenced in yard in the back of the house. Have the dog on a leash and under your control if out front. If the back yard is not fenced, build a fence and put your dog on a leash attached to a tree.

After the complaint is served, if the cats get on your property again, immediately call animal control and have the cats picked up.

Keep doing that. Eventually your neighbor should do something because $300 a pop to pick up their cats will be a big burden.

In the meantime, because the complaint is filed, if a cat gets on your enclosed property and the dog tears it to ribbons, you are protected by the law. Sue the cat owner immediately for endangerment of your dog with their cat, as well as criminal tresspass of their cat on your property. Dont give them any time to think. Thats why you need a lawyer on board with you ahead of time.

Answer 3

Yes, you can be sued. You are required by laws to have your animal under control at all times.
If you are aware that your dog is constantly being teased by the neighbors cat then you can have the cat seized by the animal wardens (animal control can set a trap on your yard for the cat if they have your permission).
This is a better solution than being confrontational with your neighbors.
It will save the cat, your dog and most of all your peace of mind if that route is taken. Let the neighbor explain to a judge why they are allowing their cat to run at large.
Oft times the person who just opens a door and allows their cat to roam free will not go to the shelter to retrieve their pet. Sometimes, however, they will and that's when the local ordinances are explained in detail about allowing animals to run at large. Good luck friend.

Answer 4

Americans really do like to sue, don't they, for anything. It's a sad state of affairs and I'm afraid to say it's starting to catch on here in the UK.
Cats roam. If a cat keeps on going into a garden with an unappretiative dog and then eventually gets hurt, then the cat really can't complain. No one in the UK would think of trying to sue over something as stupid as that. If they did, the lawyers and the courts would laugh at them and send them home.
It really is unbelievable.

Answer 5

The owners of the cat can try and sue you but you need to take pictures everytime you see the cat on your land. This way if the owners of the cat try to sue you, you can have proof to back up your side of things. Also write a letter to the owners asking them to try and keep the cat on their land and off of yours. By doing this, any judge would be able to see that you were trying to stop it before it got to the point of your dog attacking the cat. You might also want to talk to a lawer and get the advise, just to be on the safe side. Good luck and hope it all works out okay for you, your dog, the cat and ts owners.

Answer 6

This happened to us this year. We had a greyhound that we let run in our backyard. We placed "beware of dog" signs on the gates and kept them locked. Our vet told us to do this to help with liability. However, the people who live behind us have an outdoor cat that loved to torment our dog...one day the dog caught him and tossed him a couple of times, breaking the cat's leg. The neighbors knew they were negligent and did not try to get us to reimburse them, but just a few months later their cat was back. He clamped onto our dog's neck and tore his skin so badly it took almost an hour to stop the bleeding. Then, last month the cat came back and while my dog was chasing him he missed a turn and hit our deck..breaking his neck and dying immediately.

Had I known the cat was such a danger to my dog I would have talked to my neighbors and asked them to keep better track of their cat. I would have also tried to scare it off myself...please know that your dog's health is also at risk and that you and your dog deserve the peace of mind that he/she can be left in your yard and be unharmed. Good luck...and don't be afraid to turn the water hose on the cat a couple of times to deter him.

Answer 7

I would think the cat would be trespassing and it would be natural for the dog to defend it's territory. I would call your local police department though as laws vary from state to state, county to county, and city to city.

My aunt has a 29 acre farm and the neighbors dog (a big black lab) used to trespass in the fields ALL THE TIME, even bursting out of the woods and nearly scaring my horse to death as I was riding him. We talked to our neighbors amicably about it several times and they did nothing about it.

Well.....my dog (a dobie/lab mix) used to go NUTS but I never let her out because I was afraid of what she would do. Eventually I had enough and whenever the neighbors dog was in our field I would let my dog out. Man......to see the neighbor's dog with it's tail between it's legs running home was worth it. Although my dog is EXTREMELY well trained and would slam on the brakes and come back to me as soon as I called her so i wouldn't recommend this unless your dog listens extremely well. You just want your dog to get the cat off of your property, not hurt or kill it.

Answer 8

I'm sure you can, but I'd fight it to the death!

Talk to your neighbor about it. Tell him that you are worried that your dog is going to hurt the cat, and that it is bothering you for it to be roaming. If your dog goes into other people's yards, see if you can work something out so that he will stop. If he does not, point it out to your neighbor. I hope this works for you. It seems to for most people, although we've never had the problem.

Good Luck!

Answer 9

You shouldnt, but you never know. What I did is I took our neighbors cat to their house and said that we were bringing it back because we didnt want our dog to attack it. As far as I'm concerned I have warned them that my dog could attack their cat if it comes into my yard again I dont feel that I would be responsible because they have been warned. I would try talking to your neighbors about it or call animal control about a stray cat. Thats what I would do.

Answer 10

Our state laws reguarding that is NO you won't be sued. It is the responsability of pet owners to keep their animal on there property and off the streets and off of other peoples property.

Your dog was were he was susposed to be and the cat was an intruder. Owners of the cat may be pretty upset and pissed at you but you have nothing to fear.

Answer 11

The laws in most states, counties, and cities stipulate that a dog and owner cannot be held liable if an animal - or person, for that matter - enters the dog's enclosed area (fenced yard, pen, run, etc.) and is injured or killed. Check the statutes and codes for your state, county, and city - usually the web sites for them will have these posted. You can do a search for "dangerous animal" or "animal" in general. You may have to weed through a bunch of legalese, but better that than to not know where you stand.