Letting cat outside illegal? Need some legal advice.

[Teren_Kanan]

I have 3 cats, they are all outdoor cats, and have been for a while.

Yesterday my neighbor came up to my home and claimed my cats crapped in his open garage. I apologized incase it was one of my cats (number of other cats outside in the neighborhood). Long story short, he said if he continued having problems with cats in his yard, he was going to trap them and turn them over to animal control. My cats have all their shots, and wear their tags.

Is it legal for him to do this? Is it illegal for me to let my cats outside unattended? I did a google search and it doesn't seem like it is.

Any advice on what I should do? I don't want to have complications with my neighbor, but I'm not going to be a happy person if someone has my cats picked up by animal control...

[justbob]

Sent you a PM

[Cajuncowboy]

Well, I was on the opposite side of the fence than you are...

http://cowboyszone.com/forums/dallas...s.php?t=250086

My problem has been solved as the cats have either been kept in the house or have been sent away to the one neighbors son's house.

But my position is that if you own a pet you are responsible for what you pet does. If he craps in or on your neighbors property you need to take precautions to prevent your pet from doing so. Further, allowing cats to run wild in the streets are a nuisance to others. They should be kept on your own property. The laws vary from state to state and municipality to municipality, but I was ready to remedy the situation in any way necessary if the owners didn't take care of it on their own.

[BrAinPaiNt]

Dogs Vs Cats.

No not you should get dogs instead of cats.

However in most towns, cities...you have to have a leash on your dog if it is out of your yard. Cats however seem to get free run.

With that said..I think if a cat does something to someones property I think imagine they have the right to take some kind of action. Call the cops, Call animal control, sue the owners of the animals and so on.

Personally I don't think it is right that cats should not be held to some kind of leash law. I would not want cats on my property pooping in my yard...getting dirty paw prints on my car. But I also live out of city limits so there is no leash law at all.

I should note that cats don't stay in my yard very long. My dog hates them and has killed a few. No I did not encourage him to do so but I did not see the cat in my yard at the time I let him out and since our lawn is fenced in did not expect for anything to be in the yard. However he seen them and go them before I could stop them.

I feel bad for the cat because it does not know any better...I don't feel bad for the owners of the cats as they should have had a little more control and care over their animals if they want animals.

There are cat owners that keep their animals in the house. There are others that let them run all over the place outside and I don't think they ever think about how it might bother other people in the neighborhood who get cat prints on their vehicles, cat crap in their yards, cats tearing up garbage bags or even if cats are just running loose and aggravating dogs in fenced in yards.

So maybe I sound harsh on this but I would imagine if you controlled your animals better you would not have the problem with your neighbor and frankly I don't blame him if tries to capture them and have animal control take them...if you can't control them, maybe animal control can.

[JBond]

Tell him to close his damn door and stop being a freaking baby.

Does he have a picture of your cat pooping? If not he needs to stop whining.

[Cajuncowboy]

Originally Posted by BrAinPaiNt

Dogs Vs Cats.

No not you should get dogs instead of cats.

However in most towns, cities...you have to have a leash on your dog if it is out of your yard. Cats however seem to get free run.

With that said..I think if a cat does something to someones property I think imagine they have the right to take some kind of action. Call the cops, Call animal control, sue the owners of the animals and so on.

Personally I don't think it is right that cats should not be held to some kind of leash law. I would not want cats on my property pooping in my yard...getting dirty paw prints on my car. But I also live out of city limits so there is no leash law at all.

[View Full Quote]I should note that cats don't stay in my yard very long. My dog hates them and has killed a few. No I did not encourage him to do so but I did not see the cat in my yard at the time I let him out and since our lawn is fenced in did not expect for anything to be in the yard. However he seen them and go them before I could stop them.

I feel bad for the cat because it does not know any better...I don't feel bad for the owners of the cats as they should have had a little more control and care over their animals if they want animals.

There are cat owners that keep their animals in the house. There are others that let them run all over the place outside and I don't think they ever think about how it might bother other people in the neighborhood who get cat prints on their vehicles, cat crap in their yards, cats tearing up garbage bags or even if cats are just running loose and aggravating dogs in fenced in yards.

So maybe I sound harsh on this but I would imagine if you controlled your animals better you would not have the problem with your neighbor and frankly I don't blame him if tries to capture them and have animal control take them...if you can't control them, maybe animal control can.

[Reality]

Animal laws are locally defined meaning you will need to consult a lawyer in your area to really find out what your legal rights or risks are. There can be state laws, county/parish laws and city laws when it comes to pets. Even home owners associations have rules in most cases.

That said, where I live, there are no cat leash laws, but if a cat is found on any property other than your own, animal control has the legal authority to capture and hold it. They will then charge a fee for releasing it. If you wait too long, the cat can be put to sleep or transferred to an animal rescue league or similar place.

/reality

[ShiningStar]

I keep my cats indoors problem solved

[Phoenix]

Originally Posted by JBond

Tell him to close his damn door and stop being a freaking baby.

Does he have a picture of your cat pooping? If not he needs to stop whining.

[justbob]

Originally Posted by Phoenix

No, telling you is a courtesy......I tell you once and I trap them the next time. No more cats on my property..

[StanleySpadowski]

Either keep your cats indoors or let him drop a deuce on your garage floor every time he finds a present on his floor.

[TheCount]

I will never understand the idea of an outdoor cat. You buy an animal and then say it has reign to do whatever it wants in the entire world! Once you are outside my door, do as you damn well please!

That's not a pet. Even people that have livestock place some boundary.

[Reality]

Originally Posted by TheCount

I will never understand the idea of an outdoor cat. You buy an animal and then say it has reign to do whatever it wants in the entire world! Once you are outside my door, do as you damn well please!

That's not a pet. Even people that have livestock place some boundary.

Have you never owned a cat? They do whatever they want to do inside too

/reality

[Cajuncowboy]

Originally Posted by Reality

Have you never owned a cat? They do whatever they want to do inside too

/reality

I believe the only thing keeping cats from overtaking the world is the lack of an opposable thumb.

[JoeyBoy718]

I've had a siamese cat(s) for 12 years now (the first one died, the second one is about 7 years old) and I've never once let them leave the house. I'd be too worried if I just let him out to wander with no way of getting back inside. I don't really understand the logic. My neighbors have "outdoor" cats that they haven't seen for weeks at a time.