Cat battle: Neighbours find yourself in courtroom over kittens

A battle between neighbours over the feeding of two kittens has wound up within the Disputes Tribunal, leading to a proper report of who really owns the pets.

According to the choice launched this month, the resident of 1 flat accused her neighbour of feeding the kittens and deliberately leaving her door open. She sought an order from the tribunal stopping her neighbour from luring the animals.

The choice says that the 2 neighbours found a litter of 5 kittens close to their property late final 12 months. Both agreed that one neighbour would hold two of the kittens and this person paid to desex them.

But by March, the proprietor of the felines stated the cats stopped returning home. They did ultimately return, however she believed her neighbour was deliberately luring them to her property.

She claimed the neighbour was feeding the cats and giving them flea therapy.

The neighbour stated she was taking care of different stray cats and did go away meals outdoors, however denied trying to steal the animals.

Tribunal adjudicator Elizabeth Paton-Simpson stated though “the torts of trespass to goods or conversion” might doubtlessly apply, the tribunal was restricted in what it might order.

“The tribunal cannot order [the neighbour] to keep her door shut or to stop putting food where kittens can access it,” she stated.

“If [the neighbour] were to cause harm to the kittens, such as if a flea treatment caused a problem requiring veterinary treatment, then there might be an action for damages, but that has not happened.”

The tribunal might order the return of property however the neighbour wasn’t really detaining the cats, Paton-Simpson stated.

Ultimately, the stray-feeding neighbour acknowledged that the cats didn’t belong to her. The tribunal recorded this admission in its choice and took no additional motion.

The case wasn’t the primary cat dispute to land on the identical adjudicator’s desk. Last 12 months a household took a case to the tribunal after their cat went lacking.

After pasting 100 posters round city, the household found a neighbour had taken their cat to a vet shortly after it disappeared. It was handed to a feline rescue service and subsequently adopted by one other household.

The adoptive household refused to return the cat, however the tribunal dominated the rescue organisation was accountable for the loss.

However, as a result of the cat was within the possession of a 3rd celebration, the tribunal couldn’t order it to be returned.

Ethan Griffiths covers crime and justice tales nationwide for Open Justice. He joined NZME in 2020, beforehand working as a regional reporter in Whanganui and South Taranaki.