Legal question
if my dog kills or seriously injures my neighbour’s cat while in my garden what is the legal position please? The cat has not been encouraged or any way enticed to trespass.
Common sense (as a dog owner of course) suggests that it is not my problem but as we all know, thanks to Dickens, “the law is a ass or something similar”
I am looking for advice as to the law, not support or brickbats.
Cat’s can’t trespass, they have the right to roam. It’s unlikely your dog would catch them, but if they did I wouldn’t think they’d be any repercussions unless it was also considered a danger to humans.
By contrast, If the cat caused an injury to your dog (whilst in your garden), then the pet owner would be liable for any injuries.
I have cats to the left of me, cats to the right of me and cats sans dom fixe. And they crap in my garden. 
Get a waterpistol or a soaker and douse them preferably in the act… ir when ever they come into your space. If you get them wet often enough they will avoid your garden…
Thanks for this.
In the unlikely event of my dog actually catching and despatching one of the despised beasties my action will depend on the presence of witnesses. Dumping the evidence might be the answer.
Some of us like dogs as well as cats. Cats are also sentient beings, please be a little kinder.
I’ve never seen a dog catch a cat, what sort of dog is it?
As an aside we just found what looked like a BIG mouse dead in the cave. A vole I think. Just settling for winter and it all went horribly wrong. No cats of dogs involved.
Am I detecting a tad of frustration here ?
Despised by you maybe but loved by millions of others.
It is generally the owner’s fault for letting the animal roam.
Good luck with stopping it. I remember this series way back when, they go on patrol. We have a bunch of them that appear on our cameras. They always seem to avoid one another, specific time-slots, routes. Though since we went electric at least we don’t have paw prints from them snuggling up on our bonnets.
I don’t know how it is in FR law but in ENG law cats are deemed to be ‘uncontrollable’. This is why it is not obligatory to report running into a cat with a car, for example. With a dog, you are required to report it [if you have’t already spoken to the owner].
You can keep them indoors - it’s quite common in the US - but it means they’re less fulfilled than those who are let outside.
And once they are outside, there’s nothing you can do to stop them roaming. I wish there were.
My cat tackled a full grown fox and won.
To summarise - there is nothing I can do to compel the owners to keep them out.
Water sounds a likely solution to discourage their returning. I already have the ice cubes, just need a catapult.
Thought about an air rifle but I would not want the cats to suffer excessively, an AK 47 is a bit extreme and probably expensive.
My friend has a teckel that captured his neighbour’s Siamese kitten next to the shared fence. The bitch was about to flip the kitten to go for its throat but lost her grip and the kitten scrambled over the fence back to safety. With luck it will remember the experience and stay away. My friend is more worried about neighbourly relationship than a lawsuit.
Thank you all for your contributions.
If a person’s pet cat is killed by your dog you will be held liable if the owner takes the case to the gendarmes. In that situation I would certainly take the case to the gendarmes, and I’d have you taken to court, you’d probably end up with a fine and an obligation to train your dog..
You don’t need ice and catapaults. Just a very powerful water gun - kids have them - all in plastic quite big but these are the ones with a large reservoir of water that will go the distance. Ice would hit them like stones (even if you didn’t miss and could actually hit the target accurately) so cruel.
A decent sized water pistol won’t need such an accurate aim and the cat will get seriously wet which they hate. Or even a garden hose with a heavy spray attachment if you can get to the tap quick enough when you see it.
Or maybe those fixed garden sprayers permanently fed from the tap, arranged to spray only when there’s movement near them? Or a portable 5L or 10L spray tank (without pesticide residues) kept handy to use if you could do the few pumps to pressurise the tank quick enough then use the lance to spray. That would work a treat - but the giant kids’ water pistols will have a longer reach.
Orange peel scattered about worked well for us (google it). Or in our case mandarin peel coming up to Christmas.
Also, if you know where they are using your garden as a toilet put down holly leaves - or similar, with very sharp thorns (sloe bush twigs).
Obviously needs repeating.
Get a cat scarer.
I’m really not sure that’s true if the dog is in it’s own garden, and it is the cat that is roaming.