The ginger tomcat Rémi may look cute, but he has not made many friends in the Rue de la Treille in Agde, France. Earlier this year, the cat was declared a criminal by the Hérault court. And his owner now has to pay 1,250 euros in damages for his trips to the neighbors.
The cat is accused of causing various damage – including paw prints on drying plaster, urinating on a duvet and defecating in the garden. And he hasn’t stopped since the conviction. The court has therefore decided to impose an additional fine of 30 euros every time Rémi crosses the property boundary.
Rémi’s neighbors have already filed a new complaint against the cat, which will be dealt with later this year. Now a compensation of 2,000 euros is being requested. And there is a risk that the fine for crossing the border will increase to 150 euros per time.
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“When I received the conviction, it felt like a hard slap in the face,” complains Dominique Valdès, the owner of Rémi. “Because in this extensive 90-page file, there is no real evidence that Rémi was the one who caused the damage. There is another red-haired cat in the neighborhood, and from the many photos that the neighbor himself has provided, it appears that many other cats have walked through his garden.”
“Since the ruling, I have kept Rémi at home. It is very complicated. He has gained weight and become aggressive. I cannot even let him in my garden for fear that he will jump over the fence. It is as if he has been sentenced to house arrest, a kind of imprisonment and a double punishment.”