Thanks again for all the replies.

OH and I have decided we will go to meet the cats owner at the vets tomorrow, but we WILL be asking for absolute proof that it was our dogs which caused the cats injuries!!

After thinking it all through, it does seem a bit strange that:

1) Our two dogs, one of which is an English Bull Terrier, is supposed to have fractured the cats jaw. Which would have most probably meant that they/one of them would have grabbed the cat and then let go. Now anybody who knows what an EBT or any large terrier for that matter, is like, would know that a dog like this would NOT just grab a cat and then let go of it and even if it did, the pure strength of these strong dogs' jaws would have most likely crushed the cats head rather than just fractured it's jaw! But, knowing our Dottie and how obsessed she is with prey animals, she would have just shook it to death and would not have just let it go with minor injuries! There was no blood on her either and she just had a few scratches on her face! We also checked Storm and he had nothing on him, so he couldn't have done much to the cat either, except for scaring it death with all the noise!

2) The owner telling me that the vets themselves hadn't believed that the cat had been attacked by dogs, but had thought that it's injuries were consistent with being hit by a car! Surely a vet would know the difference??? When the cat's owner told me this, there was a long pause afterwards like she was waiting to see how I would react. Something just didn't feel right and as MerlinsMum has pointed out, it just doesn't seem like an injury that would occur from a dog attack....I mean, only a fractured jaw from an EBT 'attack'!!!

At the end of the day though, if our dogs did not cause the injuries, the cats owner is going to either have problems with the vets removing the wire and/or supplying extra needed treatment, if they will not accept her not being able to afford to pay the full amount at once. So, I will feel very bad whatever the outcome really.

And yes, it is a lesson learned to get some kind of insurance, as you just never know when this sort of thing will happen, especially when you've got two small prey obsessed dogs and quite a lot of pet cats around!

I'm really, really not looking forward to the morning!!

Cain's recent escapade and close escape, plus this thread has been the kick up the backside I needed to finally join the Dogs Trust after Pet Plan refused Cain 3rd party liability. I've been putting it off far too long. Scary for all involved

Storm pants, I truly sympathise with your position. I easily could have been in the same place myself a few weeks ago when my dog escaped from the garden and chased cats I really hope you find a solution. I would definitely want to establish the facts for myself, rather than second hand emotional feedback, before paying up. If you are liable, I hope you can work out a payment plan which satisfies all involved. Good luck for tomorrow.

As I've said before, that could be construed by some people to be an admission of guilt! It also runs the risk of being rather confrontational - or just as bad, opening you up to emotional blackmail via the owner.

Personally I would not go, but try to find out the truth by another means - if the vet will not speak to you personally by phone due to client confidentiality, then they would probably speak to someone from CAB and/or the legal team at DDA watch.

There is also the risk that the vet will NOT commit themselves to say yay or nay tomorrow, to the dogs being responsible - but if pressed by a legal representative, would be more forthcoming.

Re the attack - you may want to ask the vet about the state of the cat's front claws. If they were frayed then that certainly does point to a RTA not a dog attack.... and not consistent with a dog chasing the panicked cat into an object either - although the cat may have tried to climb a wall and then fallen.

If the claws are not frayed and there were no puncture wounds, then it's anybody's guess what really happened, and with no witnesses I would not be willing to admit it was the dogs' fault.

At the end of the day the owner should not have committed to the course of treatment if they couldn't afford it - I'm of the opinion that she said yes to the surgery because she fully believed your dogs caused the damage and thought you would pay up.

If you had called your dogs and they'd come back once you knew they were missing, you wouldn't have known anything about the cat... and the cat owner would have had no option but to consider her pet had met with an accident, probably a RTA.

I agree with MerlinsMum - I would not go. TBH I think the cats owner is morally and emotionally blackmailing you.

What a horrid situation, it does seem very strange though!

I do agree with those who are saying not to go tomorrow. If I were you, I would go to CAB and seek some advice. I think once you meet the owner, go to the vets etc emotion may take over and you might not think straight. If I were you, I would want to know exactly where I stood first... especially since the cats injuries seem so strange for a dog attack!

So, Stormpants, how did it go?

Well, we met the cats owner this morning at the vets and after we had all gone in to see the vet to get her checked, my OH asked the question (which was met with dirty looks by the cats owner!) as to whether the vet thought that the cats injuries were caused by a dog attack were there any puncture wounds or bite marks. The vet said that she couldn't be 100% sure, but thought it was very possible that she could have ran into a wall or something trying to escape the dogs.

Anyway, OH and I decided that as the injuries could NOT be ruled out by our dogs attacking, that we would help out with the payments. Now I know that some of you are going to think we are stupid, but we believe it is very likely that if it wasn't for our dogs (whatever they did or did not to the cat), then we would not all be facing a large vet bill. So feel it is our responsibility to help out with the payments.

We spent a lot of time with the owner at the vets trying to work out why the bill was so much money and if they would accept a payment plan of some kind. The receptionist lady we spoke to said they had added on a couple of treatments twice by accident, so then took them off which made the bill a couple of hundred pounds or so less. The cats owner also had applied to get some help from the RSPCA, but they only gave her £40 off! The vet said that they would not accept a payment plan and she had to pay the money off in full!! The owner and I explained that we did not have anywhere near that kind of money and had nobody to borrow it from either. Then the lady went off for a couple of minutes and then called us into one of the side rooms, where she showed us a PDSA form (as it is a PDSA aid vet there) and said that she could apply for up to £200 worth of help from them, but then we had to find chunks of the money to pay off from there!!

The cats owner agreed and took the form to get it filled out and sent off. This afternoon I got a text from the owner saying she thinks we should go to Citizens Advice and see if they can help us, as the vets will not accept what we can afford! So, we are going next Tuesday morning to see if they can help.

This vet is the most expensive vet I have ever known!!

Oh heck - all I can do is sympathise wholeheartedly.

What a horrible and unaccomadating vet; knowing your circumstances how on earth can they say that they will not accept a set payment per month? What are you supposed to do? Rob a bank

It all seems so horribly vague, and whilst your dogs were undoubtedly doing what a huge amount of dogs do on a regular basis, i.e. chasing a cat, the injuries do not appear to be as a result of contact and attack.

You are trying to do the right thing with what resources you have available, but it seems that nobody is prepared to meet you halfway with this. I am sorry for the cat owner, but I am afraid that I have lost all sympathy for her.

I guess the vets just need to be paid for doing their job, although they seem rather unprofessional if the errors on the bill only came to light on close scrutiny.

I really don't know why the cat's owner is sending you to the CAB. It's their cat and their vet bill!

This is what I was thinking!