Cat scratch

[atlaswv]

Hi, my name is Atlas and I live in California.
This is probably a stupid question, but since we're in CA, anything is possible.
I have a mentally very unstable neighbor. She is harmless, but she suffers a lot mentally and physically.
I saw her on the street, and she approached me, and she wanted to pet my cat. The cat is a rescue, lives outside but has all necessary shots and vaccinations.
The cat got scared and scratched my neighbor's finger (and me), but her finger started bleeding. She didn't get upset, but she is unpredictable and I'm wondering if I can get in any trouble over this. Sorry, I'm not trying to waste anybody's time with silly questions, but I've been walking on eggshells with her for years now.
Thank you so much for your response.
Atlas

 

[Just Blue]

Hi, my name is Atlas and I live in California.
This is probably a stupid question, but since we're in CA, anything is possible.
I have a mentally very unstable neighbor. She is harmless, but she suffers a lot mentally and physically.
I saw her on the street, and she approached me, and she wanted to pet my cat. The cat is a rescue, lives outside but has all necessary shots and vaccinations.
The cat got scared and scratched my neighbor's finger (and me), but her finger started bleeding. She didn't get upset, but she is unpredictable and I'm wondering if I can get in any trouble over this. Sorry, I'm not trying to waste anybody's time with silly questions, but I've been walking on eggshells with her for years now.
Thank you so much for your response.
Atlas

Actually, yes. If your cat injures someone then you are responsible.
Why you go to the trouble to "recue" a cat only to place it in harm way by keeping it outdoors is beyond me.

 

[not2cleverRed]

She didn't get upset, but she is unpredictable and I'm wondering if I can get in any trouble over this.

Maybe. Maybe not.

As blue pointed out, owners are responsible for injuries caused by their pets. This could mean medical bills.

There may be local municipal codes that you may be violating. For example, more places are waking up to the negative effect of outdoor cats on the environment and updating their codes accordingly.

If there is video coverage of the incident, you might consider saving a copy. Assuming, of course, that it reinforces your version of events. Were you holding the cat when it scratched her?

 

[atlaswv]

Actually, yes. If your cat injures someone then you are responsible.
Why you go to the trouble to "recue" a cat only to place it in harm way by keeping it outdoors is beyond me.

That's fair enough... btw.. this adult cat just kept showing up at my door, so after a while I started feeding her. That's what I meant by rescue.
(I already had an inside cat) I had the hardest time taking her to the vet to make sure she has no chip, is healthy and gets all her vaccinations. I can't keep her inside even if I tried, she feels trapped. Maybe when she gets older and less feisty. Thanks so much for your response.

 

[atlaswv]

Maybe. Maybe not.

As blue pointed out, owners are responsible for injuries caused by their pets. This could mean medical bills.

There may be local municipal codes that you may be violating. For example, more places are waking up to the negative effect of outdoor cats on the environment and updating their codes accordingly.

If there is video coverage of the incident, you might consider saving a copy. Assuming, of course, that it reinforces your version of events. Were you holding the cat when it scratched her?

Yes, I was holding the cat. I didn't think she would get scared... I was wrong. In our city, cats are free roaming animals, the city doesn't take them away, even if you want them to.

 

[Just Blue]

That's fair enough... btw.. this adult cat just kept showing up at my door, so after a while I started feeding her. That's what I meant by rescue.
(I already had an inside cat) I had the hardest time taking her to the vet to make sure she has no chip, is healthy and gets all her vaccinations. I can't keep her inside even if I tried, she feels trapped. Maybe when she gets older and less feisty. Thanks so much for your response.

Ahh..I misunderstood. I thought you had adopted the kitty from a rescue organization.

Red gave you some great information and I will just offer a bit of "been there and done it" stuff.

If Ms. Kitty is not spayed, do so. That goes a very long way to make a cat more adaptable to indoor living.

We have several cats that adopted us after moving here to Vegas area.

#1 was the stripped kitty you can see in my avatar. She was a ferial kitten about 8-12 weeks old when she first showed up at our apartment. Skin and bones she was, and we could not get within 20 feet of her or she would take off.

We left cat food and water for her and her litter-mates and after a couple of weeks she would come into our apt. After a couple of weeks of playing with our cat she stayed. Once she was spayed, she never wanted to go back outside.

She is now my forever kitten...tiny kitty (almost 7 years old now and still the size of a 4/5 month old kitten. It took about a year or so before she was friendly with us...but now she is my baby...curled up next to me right now as a matter of fact!!

For your adopted fur-baby...perhaps bringing her in and keeping her in a quiet room of her own for several hours a day and then gradually giving her free roam of the house may help her acclimate to indoor living.

lol...sorry if I offered not asked for advice. I can be pushy that way.

Good luck to you and Ms Kitty!!!

 

[atlaswv]

Ahh..I misunderstood. I thought you had adopted the kitty from a rescue organization.

Red gave you some great information and I will just offer a bit of "been there and done it" stuff.

If Ms. Kitty is not spayed, do so. That goes a very long way to make a cat more adaptable to indoor living.

We have several cats that adopted us after moving here to Vegas area.

#1 was the stripped kitty you can see in my avatar. She was a ferial kitten about 8-12 weeks old when she first showed up at our apartment. Skin and bones she was, and we could not get within 20 feet of her or she would take off.

We left cat food and water for her and her litter-mates and after a couple of weeks she would come into our apt. After a couple of weeks of playing with our cat she stayed. Once she was spayed, she never wanted to go back outside.

She is now my forever kitten...tiny kitty (almost 7 years old now and still the size of a 4/5 month old kitten. It took about a year or so before she was friendly with us...but now she is my baby...curled up next to me right now as a matter of fact!!

For your adopted fur-baby...perhaps bringing her in and keeping her in a quiet room of her own for several hours a day and then gradually giving her free roam of the house may help her acclimate to indoor living.

lol...sorry if I offered not asked for advice. I can be pushy that way.

Good luck to you and Ms Kitty!!!

I love success stories like that! And I love when people go out of their way to help a tiny animal. Thank you so much for sharing that! I'll try your suggested method for sure.

 

[Just Blue]

I love success stories like that! And I love when people go out of their way to help a tiny animal. Thank you so much for sharing that! I'll try your suggested method for sure.

You're very welcome! I have 2 cats that also adopted us... adult males. They also stay indoors after a bit of trickery on our part.


As an aside: We have 5 cats. All except my little forever kitten are between 15 and 30 lbs. HUGE cats (stature not weight). And all of them are totally intimidated by my baby girl.

She is small but a tough little nugget! lol...

 

[atlaswv]

You're very welcome! I have 2 cats that also adopted us... adult males. They also stay indoors after a bit of trickery on our part.


As an aside: We have 5 cats. All except my little forever kitten are between 15 and 30 lbs. HUGE cats (stature not weight). And all of them are totally intimidated by my baby girl.

She is small but a tough little nugget! lol...

Haha! That's too cute..... wow, 5 cats? Are you sure they're not bobcats? LOL...just kidding... well, you made the world a better place, and made their world pretty awesome...

 

[not2cleverRed]

Yes, I was holding the cat. I didn't think she would get scared... I was wrong. In our city, cats are free roaming animals, the city doesn't take them away, even if you want them to.

Did she ask if she could pet your cat before getting in your personal space?

I'm neither a dog or cat owner, but I always think it's prudent to talk to an owner before approaching a pet.

 

[quincy]

Here is a link to California’s consolidated cat laws, which include the state laws on feral cats, followed by another link to a wider discussion on legal issues across the country that can be raised by feral cats:

https://www.animallaw.info/statute/ca-cats-consolidated-cat-laws

https://www.animallaw.info/article/detailed-discussion-feral-cat-legal-issues

You mentioned that you took the cat to a veterinarian to check for a microchip and to get the cat vaccinated. After vaccinating the cat, did the vet recommend that you get her microchipped?

Are there any feral cat ordinances in your city/county?

Some areas are more tolerant of feral cats than others. In New Jersey, for example, some cities have established cat “sanctuaries” where feral cats can find food, water and shelter after they have been caught, vaccinated, spayed/neutered and then released into the wild again. Other cities prohibit the feeding of any wild animal, including feral cats.

The key to liability after an injury caused by the cat could be in deciding who owns the cat. You played an ownership role by paying to vaccinate the cat and you feed the cat but whether that is enough to make you responsible for the cat’s behavior is a question best answered by an animal law professional in your local area.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Hi, my name is Atlas and I live in California.
This is probably a stupid question, but since we're in CA, anything is possible.
I have a mentally very unstable neighbor. She is harmless, but she suffers a lot mentally and physically.
I saw her on the street, and she approached me, and she wanted to pet my cat. The cat is a rescue, lives outside but has all necessary shots and vaccinations.
The cat got scared and scratched my neighbor's finger (and me), but her finger started bleeding. She didn't get upset, but she is unpredictable and I'm wondering if I can get in any trouble over this. Sorry, I'm not trying to waste anybody's time with silly questions, but I've been walking on eggshells with her for years now.
Thank you so much for your response.
Atlas

It isn't automatic that you would responsible for the scratch. There is more I'd want to know what occurred to make a judgment about that. Cats scratch a lot things for a lot different reasons, as pretty much every cat owner has experienced. Assuming that the cut healed just fine there aren't enough damages here for her to sue for. Even in her mental state she may still understand that suing you would probably be a losing proposition. The best advice I have for you at this point is to try to put the incident out your mind and just carry on with life. If she sues, which I suspect is unlikely, that's when you need to focus on it.

 

[stealth2]

I've had similar experience to @Just Blue ... Had a Momma cat who was happy enough to be fed, but not interested in coming indoors beyond checking things out from the threshold - she was quite content to see one of her kittens walk in and stay. My Stumpie is also a former stray who checked things out from the threshold and one day just walked in. The other two cats (one female, the other male) accepted her w/o question... The dogs are willing to share space at a distance (i.e. they stay in their part of the house as long as she stays in hers).

All of my cats have come from outdoors.

 

[Just Blue]

I've had similar experience to @Just Blue ... Had a Momma cat who was happy enough to be fed, but not interested in coming indoors beyond checking things out from the threshold - she was quite content to see one of her kittens walk in and stay. My Stumpie is also a former stray who checked things out from the threshold and one day just walked in. The other two cats (one female, the other male) accepted her w/o question... The dogs are willing to share space at a distance (i.e. they stay in their part of the house as long as she stays in hers).

All of my cats have come from outdoors.

lol...cats are smart and can ferret out a sucker to take them in.

Because we had every stray in the city (so it seemed) showing up for dinner and drinks for about two years, we speculated that our address was posted on a kitty site: "Located at **** ******* Drive in **** NV, this lovely alfresco dining experience is sure to make you feel right at home."

 

[atlaswv]

Did she ask if she could pet your cat before getting in your personal space?

I'm neither a dog or cat owner, but I always think it's prudent to talk to an owner before approaching a pet.

Yes. The cat was on my driveway being all cute and lovie-dovi, so she asked me to pick it up so she can pet her....