Domestic Cats And The Law.

[1Wally 204]

Before I ask my question I'd like to say I'm in no way looking to kill cats that may be someone's family pet. My younger sister has a cat that lives in the house and I don't hate felines as much as some people do.

I suppose my main question is, what status does the domestic cat have in law?

If my dog jumps the fence and has one on a public road, should I worry about getting a knock from the old bill?

 

Everyone's heard the story that if you hit a dog in your motor you have to stop and report it by law, but if hitting a cat you don't have to do the same?

 

Can anyone shed any light on any of this?

I've looked online and seen laws that don't seem to have changed for decades.

 

Would my dog be in trouble or are cats vermin?

 

Cheers.

Wally

[BGD 6,430]

You would be in trouble because your dog was dangerously out of control in a public place. This goes the same for killing any animal apart from exempt species (rats & rabbits) on land you have permission to hunt

 

That's if you're caught

Edited October 2, 2015 by BGD

[neil82 1,066]

think because cats are pretty much untrainable they are allowed by law to get away with a lot but in some ways they don`t have the protection that others have, if your dog nails it in your garden and you did not deliberately set it on the cat then its tough shit on the cat, cats that are feral are fair game when out in the sticks and no matter how loud people will howl about it it IS legal to shoot them, the sticky point is proving its feral, as for keeping them out of your own garden you are allowed to use many non lethal methods, recent story in the press about one householder who put spikes and wire on their boundary and even the arspca admitted that there was nothing they could do about it (as an aside ti this where my brother is in Germany if the neighbours cat shits in his garden he can get a pro gardener out to decontaminate the area and sue the owner for the costs, pretty much every pet out there is insured for liability) as for notifying the owners when a dog is killed in a car accident, I think that was abolished when they did away with the dog license

[bird 9,855]

think because cats are pretty much untrainable they are allowed by law to get away with a lot but in some ways they don`t have the protection that others have, if your dog nails it in your garden and you did not deliberately set it on the cat then its tough shit on the cat, cats that are feral are fair game when out in the sticks and no matter how loud people will howl about it it IS legal to shoot them, the sticky point is proving its feral, as for keeping them out of your own garden you are allowed to use many non lethal methods, recent story in the press about one householder who put spikes and wire on their boundary and even the arspca admitted that there was nothing they could do about it (as an aside ti this where my brother is in Germany if the neighbours cat shits in his garden he can get a pro gardener out to decontaminate the area and sue the owner for the costs, pretty much every pet out there is insured for liability) as for notifying the owners when a dog is killed in a car accident, I think that was abolished when they did away with the dog license

true regards the d/licence if your dog killed a cat on somebody property + public/p you be in trouble as said having a dog out of control . but the amount of cats I see when out lamping there are loads , I wouldn't put my dog on a cat , not because A it might be somebody's pet etc ,B because a dog get hurt enough in the countryside with out running in to them poxy things . the cat owners just fookin loose them out side to cause havoc , there not bothered what they get up to cats have nasty bite that soon goes bad ways ,I had old bitch that got bit once nearly lost her leg with it going ganger green . My young dog Buck bumped in to tom cat by a wood where I used to live I had permission on there, didn't see the blood cat but heard the bloody noise , the thing had got him 4 feet on his head, as was running up to get it off him, he jumped up in the air with it, and bit it and broke the cats neck with one bite, I knew he got strong bite , but bloody hell it did surprise me . apart from cuts/rips on his head he was ok, but he was lucky he could have lost a eye easy I try to keep well away from them, a fox as only got 1 thing to hurt , a cat got 5 things there bad news deff

[paulk73 151]

I can shed some light on this because it happened to us last year. My family and I used to live in a house in a pretty rough place. We bought our property and tried to make the best of it. Then we got a new neighbour that can only be described as an ugly looking young Slag. Anyhow she moved in and straight away the parties started. Long story short 1 of our cats went missing, a day we hadn't seen him. For a few days, so we went back over the xctv footage, next doors pit bull and her boyfriends pit bull could be seen jumping over our gate and cornering our cat before using it for a tug of war. They tore it in half then the cat was tossed in the bin

Well it all went off. The police came and said because it was a cat no crime had been committed. I said the next time I see the dogs I am going to kill them and they said I would get in trouble.

[lurcherman 887 13,067]

Cant stand the c**ts shitting all over everyones flowers

[trenchfoot 4,243]

The RSPCA tried to take an old fella from the village through courts when his two lurchers grabbed his neighbours cat in his own yard. The little girl who's cat it was saw it all. He saved the cat and chucked it, alive, back over the fence before anymore damage was caused. The police wrote to him a threatened to revoke his shotgun license. Case got dismissed, but not before it aged the poor old fella. The same fella, who, when he worked for the council, buried a horse that had its throat slit by travellers. The RSPCA asked him to do this, as they didn't want the grief of dealing with the travellers that left it behind when they moved site.

[ftm 3,357]

if the owners love there moggies enough they wouldn't throw them out at ten in night -these moggies kill a hell of a lot of our wildlife - I know a few old biddies who have cats and they don't bat an eyelid at there moggies carrying birds into there house

[terryd 8,360]

I definitely don't want my dog touching a cat so working hard on getting him ok with them.

Trouble is If want to show him sheep I can jump in the car and go visit some. Not so easy with cats just got to make do with the ones legging it across the road in the village of sat in some ones drive. At the moment its safe to say his not to be trusted with them but we will get there

[snappeer 464]

They shit in pepoles garden and were they want , if it was my dog shitting in pepoles garden or anywere else ide be getting the fine , I cant stand cats never liked them

[paulus 26]

The legal status of cats under the UK Animal Welfare Acts is that of protected animals. UK law generally regards companion animals such as cats as personal property so that any damage or harm to a cat is legally the same as damage to any other piece of property. The law applies not just to cats which are clearly linked to a single property and an identifiable owner, but also to stray and feral cats that may occasionally be fed by humans (see definition of responsible person, page 5). The protection provided under the law extends to all cats so that both companion and stray or feral cats are protected. The UK Animal Welfare Acts impose a duty to ensure cat welfare, which requires that owners or those responsible for an animal provide for a suitable environment, suitable diet, the need to be able to exhibit normal behaviour patterns, any need to be housed with or apart from other animals and the need for protection from pain. The law covers not only physical discomfort or pain associated with cruelty offences but also mental distress. The obligation to consider welfare and protect cats from a wider definition of suffering is important as cat owners are required to do more than simply provide a home for their cat. They are required to consider both the interior and exterior environment of their home and to ensure that, so far as is possible, it is suitable for their individual cat. Where they fail to do so, Cats and the Law: sale of cats 7 Any private sale of cats is likely to form a contract and any business sale will be covered by contractual terms and also regulated by the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended). A cat buyer will have rights as a purchaser but the seller will also have obligations especially when acting as a business (for example, a breeder or pet shop). The Sale of Goods Act 1979 generally requires that goods are of satisfactory quality which means that they must meet the standard that a reasonable person expects. What is considered to be satisfactory in any specific case is determined by any description of the goods, the price (if relevant) and all other relevant circumstances. The law requires that goods should be suitable for the general purpose for which similar products are supplied and their appearance or finish should be free from minor defects, and should be of a certain level of safety and durability. While considering cats and kittens as ‘goods’ may be difficult for some people to imagine, applying these principles means that any cat sold should be healthy (ie, free from disease), and be suitable as a family companion as this is what one would normally expect when buying a domestic cat or kitten. If a cat sold by a business (eg, breeder or pet shop) is not of satisfactory quality the buyer has some additional rights because of the additional law which applies to commercial transactions but not to private sales. Unsatisfactory quality is a broad concept but could include a failure to socialise a cat to humans, especially if the cat is sold as being ‘suitable as a family pet’ when Basic protection afforded to cats they may commit an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 which contains provisions aimed at preventing harm before it occurs as well as provisions aimed at promoting welfare including the imposition of a duty to ensure welfare. This issue is of importance to cat owners as they are responsible for ensuring that their cat’s needs are properly considered in a way that effectively gives cats legal protection from being kept in unsuitable conditions. While cats technically remain ‘property’, the law now requires their needs to be considered and that a suitable environment for a cat is maintained by anybody wishing to be a cat owner and share their home with a feline companion. Cat owners who fail to comply with the requirements can be prosecuted so maintaining a certain standard of care is in the owner’s interes

[BGD 6,430]

I can shed some light on this because it happened to us last year. My family and I used to live in a house in a pretty rough place. We bought our property and tried to make the best of it. Then we got a new neighbour that can only be described as an ugly looking young Slag. Anyhow she moved in and straight away the parties started. Long story short 1 of our cats went missing, a day we hadn't seen him. For a few days, so we went back over the xctv footage, next doors pit bull and her boyfriends pit bull could be seen jumping over our gate and cornering our cat before using it for a tug of war. They tore it in half then the cat was tossed in the bin

Well it all went off. The police came and said because it was a cat no crime had been committed. I said the next time I see the dogs I am going to kill them and they said I would get in trouble.

 

The police fobbed you off because they couldn't be fecked doing the paperwork if it wasn't so long ago I'd say you should put in a complaint.

[Francie 6,368]

If cats are out of there owners houses, an yards, an are being a pest, they should be treated like dogs, rounded out or despatched.

 

All they do is roam the streets, pish an shit, an cause problems, an ; thing happens to them, if that was a dog, well?

[dytkos 17,782]

My next door neighbours have two, they come over into my garden and sit on my shed roof and really wind my dogs up. Told the neighbours its only a matter of time before one of them makes a mistake, wouldn't want them to catch one but what can you do?

 

Cheers, D.

[j j m 6,532]

my eagle owl took a cats tail off right at the bum as it tried to walk over the larged meshed area ,only new it was my owl when i found the tail in the owls mews ,and heard a neighbour saying how her cat had come in badly injured,nothing happened to me