Cat owner fined £1,100 after pet enters neighbour’s garden

A cat has been found guilty of trespassing into a neighbour’s garden in France, forcing its owner to pay €1,250 (£1,100) in fines.

Rémi, who belongs to Dominique Valdès, left paw prints on the wall among other “criminal” offences, the court ruled.

The ginger tomcat was found guilty of causing damage to the neighbour’s property in Agde by urinating on a duvet, defecating in the garden and leaving paw prints on fresh plaster.

France’s league for the protection of animals fears the ruling could set a legal precedent for other pets.

The initial ruling, handed down in January, saw Ms Valdès ordered to pay €450 in damages and €800 in legal costs. The sentence was accompanied by a penalty of €30 each time the pet crosses the fence again.

The case came to light after the neighbour accused Rémi of reoffending, resulting in Ms Valdès being summoned to court again in December, with a new bill to pay that has risen to €2,000.

She runs the risk of a further €150 penalty every time Rémi crosses the fence.

‘It’s very complicated’

“When I was told about the conviction, it was as if I’d been hit over the head with a brick,” said Ms Valdès, who argued it was unfair to blame her cat for all the crimes.

She said the lawsuit had taken a heavy mental and physical toll on both cat and owner, telling BFMTV: “Since the ruling, I’ve been keeping Rémi at home. It’s very complicated. He’s become aggressive and attacks my dog.

“To keep him quiet, I tend to give him more food because I don’t know what else to do when he howls, so he eats more and has gained weight.

“I can’t even put him in my garden for fear that he’ll jump the fence. It’s as if he’s been sentenced to house arrest, a kind of imprisonment and a double punishment.”

Ms Valdès said the case had given her insomnia and she had started psychotherapy to cope with the stress.

She argued that her cat was being made to carry the can for other pets, telling Le Parisien: “In this 90-page court file, there is no real evidence that it was Rémi who caused the damage.

“There is another ginger cat in the neighbourhood, and the numerous photos provided by the neighbour himself show that many other cats have passed through his garden.”

‘He doesn’t bother me at all’

Ms Valdès has the support of some of her neighbours, who claim that Rémi is not a nuisance.

“He wanders around, kills my rats and doesn’t bother me at all. It’s scandalous, it’s really taking legal action for nothing,” Azaïs Josian told BFMTV.

Neighbours Dominique and Henri, who also support Rémi’s owner, said: “In the future, this very perverse system could affect us all very directly. It’s like a cash cow for this man. And it opens the door to other ill-intentioned residents who don’t like animals.”

The plaintiff’s lawyer produced around 50 black and white photos of cats in court – many of which did not match Rémi’s description.

The plaintiff declined to comment through his solicitor, but neighbours pointed out that he has received a warning from the National Commission on Informatics and Liberty for prying on other houses via numerous surveillance cameras.

Société Protectrice des Animaux (SPA), France’s league for the protection of animals, said the case was a cause for concern as it could set a legal precedent.

“We are not aware of any similar rulings in the past,” said Guillaume Sanchez, the SPA director, told Le Parisien.

“Domestic cats, especially when they live in a house, have a natural need to venture around their territory. If this case sets a precedent, we can undoubtedly expect a slowdown in adoptions. Who would want to adopt a pet if they risked being ordered to pay penalties for their animal’s movements? No one.”

He said he hoped the new judge would view things from the cat’s perspective in the forthcoming court hearing.