Liability insurance is required by law here. Makes me realise just how handy it could actually be!

OP, hope you get something sorted soon. I would give Citizens Advice a call if you need advice. Or the other ones people have mentioned in the thread.

Sensible head on here -

1. Are there any witnesses who SAW the dogs chase the cat?
   
2. If the cat's owner is on benefits themselves, why was it not registered with the PDSA?
   
3. As above, if the cat had been hit by a car and no dogs were involved, the owner would be in exactly the same position s/he is in now - no money to pay the bill and the cat would probably be PTS. So did the owner go ahead thinking/hoping someone else would cough up?
   
4. The Vet appears to have said exactly what I did initially, that the injuries are NOT consitent with a dog attack.
   
5. Citizen's Advice Bureau is open tomorrow morning (Tues) at the Crispin Centre, back of Crispin Hall, I suggest you go!
   
6. The dog warden may well have been informed, but all you may expect from that is a visit and an informal talk - as I said before, I'm happy to vouch for you.
   
7. If you can't pay up front then you can't pay - if it then goes to court and there are no witnesses who saw your dogs chasing the cat then it seems unlikely you would be held responsible in view of the cat having no injuries consistent with a dog attack.

PS: I personally wouldn't go along tomorrow - I would go to CAB instead - they will be able to make phone calls to the vet and gather the CORRECT information on your behalf.

If you DO go take along someone else (not just your OH) as an independent witness.

How do we know the vet hasn't asked. If the vet has asked the owner if they can pay the bill and £800-£900 was quoted earlier in the thread and the owner has said they will pay what is the vet meant to do. You can only take people at their word. Yes they should have asked for an interim payment sooner, we ask that owners pay after the first 24 hours of care but they obviously haven't and obviously they are not prepared to treat the animal for free any longer. They would not euthanise without the owners permission but they are perfectly within their rights to refuse to remove the wire from its jaw. It is not what our vets would do and it is not what i believe is right but clearly they have made that decision so the owners are going to have to find the funds to at least have the wire removed.

By the way - going along tomorrow might be seen by some as an admission of guilt or responsibility. You don't have enough evidence as yet that your dogs did anything.

If you haven't yet called DDA Watch or Trevor Cooper, then now is the time - BEFORE you decide whether to go along tomorrow or not.

Well if the owner agreed to pay the amount quoted she has no one to blame but herself if she doesn't have the means to pay it.

What an awful situation to find yourself in I hope this gets sorted ok

Stormpants you must be feeling very queasy at the moment, but don't let your empathy overwhelm common sense. If you do not have the funds and the owner does not have the funds you are at an impasse. At the end of the day remember everyone has choices..........

Personally, wouldn't pay or agree to pay anything, until it has been established that an injury was caused by a dog attack.

If it wasn't your dogs, it's not your problem, if they can't afford it, it's not your problem, it's theirs to deal with.

If it can be determined your dogs caused injury to the cat and you can't afford such an amount, there's really nothing you can do, wether you want to or not, they will just have to deal with it. It was an accident, they happen, you appear sorry, that might just have to be enough, would be for me in that situation.

Ditto to this. xx

Stay calm and think with your head and not your heart.

Thinking of you xx

What a horrible situation to be in, but as others have said did anyone actually see your dogs attack the cat? they may have just found it, the injury doesn't sound like a dog attack to me. Of course I feel really sorry and sad for the cat owner she must be in a terrible state, but do make sure it was your dogs that caused the injury before you part with any money.
Good luck