Question
My cats got out and we’ve put posts and flyers up everywhere to find them. Supposedly someone found one of my cats, declawed and neutered them. Now you can’t just take someone’s cat and do that having a feeling that the owners are currently searching for them. So, my question is if can I take the person who neutered and declawed them to court and sue?
Answer
Rights of a person who lost an animal and the person who found the animal are not always clear. If a lawsuit is commenced for wrongfully neutering and declawing the cat, the court, in determining rights, may consider efforts the finder made to locate the cat’s “parent” before having the cat neutered and declawed and efforts the cat’s “parent” made to locate the missing cat. If the court decides that the finder wrongfully had the cat neutered and declawed, the court will consider what monetary damages, if any, the cat’s “parent” sustained. In other words, what is the loss to the cat’s “parent” as a result of the cat being neutered and declawed. A defendant in a lawsuit may also enter a counterclaim for expenses incurred in caring for the cat or may commence his/her own lawsuit for such expenses.
Neutering can help to reduce the overpopulation of cats, a very serious problem. Consider that your missing cats could have contributed to this problem.
Declawing is a surgical procedure that involves not only the removal of the cat’s claws but also the last bone of the toe. After the declawing operation, cats often experience pain and infections sometimes develop. To avoid placing pressure on their declawed front paws when attempting jumps, some cats land awkwardly and injure themselves. In addition to the pain associated with this procedure, cats who are declawed are defenseless against other animals. They also cannot climb as well as cats who have not been declawed so they are unable to readily escape dangerous situations. Trimming nails and sturdy scratching posts are among the alternatives to declawing. Declawing has been banned in a couple of states and legislation to ban declawing is pending in other states.
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