howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
I have never thought there was such a thing as a cat owner, they just see us humans as head waiters and doorpersons.
"Theft Act 1968 Cats are regarded in law as the ‘property’ of their owner. The theft of a cat is treated as an offence under the Act, in the same way as theft of any other property is. A cat that is lost or has strayed is generally regarded as the property of the original owner. It is therefore necessary to make all reasonable endeavours to locate the original owner whenever possible. Criminal Damage Act 1971 Because the law regards cats as property, an offence may be committed under this Act if a person, without lawful excuse, kills or injures a cat belonging to another person.
The Common Law Duty of Care It is a commonly held view that cats have a ‘right to roam’ wherever they wish. This view is largely based upon the fact that certain duties imposed upon the owners of dogs and livestock to keep their animals under control – the Road Traffic and Dangerous Dogs Acts – do not apply to cat owners. The law in these respects recognises that, by their nature, cats are less likely to cause injury to people or damage to property than some other animals.
However, cat owners do have a general duty at law to take reasonable care to ensure that their cats do not cause injury to people or damage to property. In practice, cases involving damage to property or injury to people by cats are few and far between."
Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
cor blimy have to paws for thought.
howard mcsweeney1 and Andy B like this
Weird Granny Slater
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 7 Jun 2017
- Posts: 3,087
I appreciate the namecheck HM1, but that's nothing to do with me. (However, Weird law is the law in my house.)
I would certainly tighten up that Common Law Duty of Care until its eyes bulged though, so it at least allowed me to 'invite' the owners of the various local grimalkins into my garden to collect the rear-end deposits of their charges, or forced them to provide me with a stock of envelopes (leak free, of course) by means of which I could re-deposit the said deposits through their letter-boxes.
'Pass the cow dung, my dropsy's killing me' - Heraclitus
Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,895
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
I wish I had known about the rights and responsibilities of cat owners the time, my cats owners certainly did as they sold the litter born in a cardboard box under my stairs to the highest bidders. As they were still the owners I could have charged for criminal damage and personal injury. Net curtains reduced to shreds, house plants chewed up and tooth and claw damage to my ears when climbing on my shoulder.
