Skip to main content

For Nat'l Cat Day, Our Top 10 Cat-Related Legal Tales

By Betty Wang, JD on October 29, 2013 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Guess what day it is? It's National Cat Day! Every October 29, cat owners and admirers alike have a purr-fect excuse to honor some of the most popular domestic pets in the country -- and of course, the Internet as well.

In the ultimate showdown of dogs v. cats, feline afficionados will adamantly boast that cats are low-maintenance, they won't eat your homework, and they're just as great for companionship.

In celebration of National Cat Day, here 10 cat-related legal tales that we've had the honor of blogging about:

  1. Dusty the cat burglar. Meet Dusty -- not your ordinary night-prowling cat, but an actual cat-burglar. That's right, this cat from California has stolen more than 600 items (including bikinis, bras, and shoes), with a record of 11 items in one night. Talk about slick (and, if he were human, very illegal).
  2. 'Cat woman' robber. Speaking of cats and theft -- a woman from Astoria, New York, also drew inspiration from beloved felines by incorporating a silly "cat woman" theme into her disguise while she commited a series of robberies.
  3. Those who wear cats. Make sure you put your meal down for this one. A homeless man actually skinned and gutted a cat and then wore it around his neck -- for warmth -- as a sign of... his devotion to cats? Either way, an insanity defense might apply to him.
  4. A cat tied to a rock. No, this isn't a riddle. After Stella the cat refused to go jogging with her owner, he decided to tie her to a rock under some shade while he finished his run. Some witnesses were outraged, while the owner claimed it was out of consideration for the tired tabby. At this point, only Stella knows.
  5. Cat attack. Cats aren't always the purring, loving creatures they seem to be. Take this $100,000 lawsuit filed by a man who claimed he was viciously clawed and attacked by a cat. Oh, and here's the clincher: The cat was likely owned by the man's wife.
  6. Cat protection. Don't mess with someone's cat, as one Texas woman who shot her husband in the stomach in defense of her cat will tell you.
  7. Falling cats. If you have a cat and live in a high-rise apartment, remember that they can only leap so far. You don't want to end up in the same predicament as the man who lost both a family dog and a cat, allegedly by leaving a balcony door open.
  8. Rescued cat. Here's a feel-good story for you: Batman and Captain America rescued a cat from a burning building. Oh, and by Batman and Captain America, we mean two civilians in costume.
  9. Wheelchair-bound cats. Bet you didn't know this was a law: In Florida, even disabled cats, including one that was confined to a wheelchair, technically must be on a leash in public. No exceptions, that's just how they roll in the Sunshine State.
  10. Cat videos instead of work. Who doesn't love cat videos? One man actually outsourced his own job to China and then proceeded to watch cat videos on company time.

Of course, these tales only begin to scratch the surface of all the felines we've featured in our legal blogs. From all of us at FindLaw, Happy National Cat Day!

Follow FindLaw for Consumers on Facebook and Twitter (@FindLawConsumer).

Related Resources:

Copied to clipboard