Dog Law - cat Protection

And what about the ones that poo in my flowerbeds for me to find it when I am gardening? :mad: At least there is a law to make dog owners pick up after their animals!
 
This is a big concern of mine, actually - we don't have a garden at present but if we do in the future what would happen in this scenario?

Securely fenced garden. I check garden, appears to be free of cats. Open door, release dogs into garden. Dogs roaming free in their own garden. A cat jumps into the garden, or there's one hiding under a plant that I didn't spot. Dogs kill cat.

Can I be held responsible for the death of the cat?
 
next doors cat decided to wander in our open backdoor last summer, lucky for him the dogs both tried to get through the door at the same time and he got away.

surely if a cat strays intoa dogs territory its kinda not your problem? although I guess an off lead dog could potentially run into someones house and kill a cat minding its own business
 
Its not clear from the link what the proposals are. Are they talking about loose dogs in public or are they talking about cats straying into gardens where dogs are ?

Most cats are sensible enough to give gardens with non friendly dogs a wide birth.

I once lost a nursing queen to 2 German Shepherds that had escaped from a neighbours garden. My cat was full of milk and the dogs ripped her to pieces.
Pity the dog's owner wasn't responsible enough to secure her garden.
 
Allegedly (and I have only seen this on a sighthound page on FB) the RSPCA have already prosecuted a greyhound owner whose dog killed a cat whilst the dog was on the lead, under the AWA.

I cannot believe that any dog owner whose dogs are in a securely fenced garden would be prosecuted if a cat climbed over the fence and was attacked by dogs :confused:

My own garden has a secure 6' fence all the way around, and I always check before I let the dogs out, but if a cat did climb over the fence and into the garden I know it would be very lucky indeed if it escaped alive :o
 
Picklenash said:
I cannot believe that any dog owner whose dogs are in a securely fenced garden would be prosecuted if a cat climbed over the fence and was attacked by dogs :confused:
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But no one is saying they will be, so its irrelevant.

Although, wasn't there something a while back proposing that if a child wanders into someone's garden and is attacked, the dog owner could be liable.
 
My cat was killed by dogs. Not because she went into their garden. The owners let their two Staffordshire bull terriers out loose in the street. They ripped her apart. They were banned from keeping animals, can't remember how long for, I was a young teen so my parents took charge here giving statements etc.

If a cat goes in someone's garden then that's just a tragic accident and nobody's fault. Think it must be more aimed at out of control dogs like in my situation.
 
I don't dispute that it would be awful if someone deliberately set their dogs onto a cat, although I do wonder how you can prove it? Unless it was so clear (I.e, witnesses and the owner egging the dogs on). I have had a couple of near misses with a cocky cat and my dogs though said cat is now careful about crossing my garden. One of my Staffords is cat friendly having lived with one but my dog would not be.
 
vieshot said:
My cat was killed by dogs. Not because she went into their garden. The owners let their two Staffordshire bull terriers out loose in the street. They ripped her apart. They were banned from keeping animals, can't remember how long for, I was a young teen so my parents took charge here giving statements etc.

If a cat goes in someone's garden then that's just a tragic accident and nobody's fault. Think it must be more aimed at out of control dogs like in my situation.
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How awful!
Itsthis sort of thing the law is ment for
 
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My dogs hate cats and would kill one in an instant, we have chickens in our garden, cats are always coming in to try their luck and only just get out occasionally.
I also meet cats out in the woods over on the Downs when walking the dogs, the cats are out hunting and again they only just get away sometimes usually up a tree.My Lurcher is VERY fast and hates them so in this situation when out walking the dogs and I don't know where the cats are hiding I don't know how I stand.
I won't keep my dogs on a lead with muzzles just on the rare off chance we meet somebody's cat that's out in the wilds hunting.
 
Thing is though, that if your dog is off the lead, unmuzzled and not under control when it kills someone's pet cat, you can be prosecuted, fined and possibly the court could order the destruction of the dog. Particularly if you know it's a possibility due to breed and temperament.

Its not a risk I'd like to take with my dogs, quite apart from not wanting to cause suffering to a cat and its owner.

When my cat was ripped apart by loose dogs in the street, she left a litter of kittens orphaned. The dog's owner was mortified and I didn't take legal action. In different circumstances where the owner showed no remorse, I might have done to make them take responsibility for controlling the dog,
 
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