Pet cat bath "wash" dead owner claims 40,000, shopkeeper: only worth 6300 yuan

Modern Express News (Correspondent Dou Chun Ran, Wang Dani, trainee reporter) (Chai Junhu) Ms. Gao sent her pet cat to a pet store to take a bath, and it died of shock in the process. After the incident, Ms. Gao sued the owner of the pet store in court, claiming damages of 4 million dollars. million yuan. The Modern Express reporter learned that the Kunshan court recently heard the case.

In the afternoon of March 11, Ms. Gao handed her 2-year-old American Shorthair cat to a pet store for a bath, charging 120 RMB per bath. According to the store’s video, at 4:30 p.m., Ms. Gao gave her 2-year-old American short-haired cat a bath. The cat continued to resist, struggle, and fight violently until it went into shock. Afterwards, Mr. Yang sent the cat to a veterinary hospital in Yushan Town, Kunshan City, where it died in the afternoon after unsuccessful rescue attempts.

In court, the two sides disagreed on the death of the cat. In the case of Ms. Gao, the cat was strangled to death by a rope tied around its neck while struggling in the shower. On the other hand, Yang, the owner of the pet store, argued that the cat’s death was related to the sterilization surgery.

Ms. Gao introduced the kitten she bought at the market price of about 2,500 RMB, which actually cost her 1,800 RMB after the discount, and showed the details of expenses for cat food, bathing and other items since the cat was raised. 35944 yuan. In the end, she claimed 40,000 RMB from the owner of the pet store Yang.

Mr. Yang said that the purchase cost of a pet cat of the same breed was 800 RMB, the market value of the cat was 1500 RMB at the time of the incident, and the general cost of raising the cat was 350 RMB per month, which amounted to 6300 RMB for 18 months.

Since there was a big disagreement between the two parties on the value of the cat, the Kunshan Court commissioned a veterinary association to evaluate the value of the cat, and the association issued the Conclusion of Evaluation, which concluded that the cat was valued at 41,825 RMB.

The court held that Mr. Yang was guilty of improper service and should be held liable for damages. With regard to the amount of property damage Ms. Gao claimed for her pet cat, a veterinary association estimated the value of the cat at RMB 41,825. The association was asked by telephone to find out that the pet cat “has been professionally trained in six skills” and “the training fee is $30,000. “According to Ms. Gao’s statement, she did not take her pet cat to a specialized institution for training.

Therefore, the court determined the property value of the cat at its discretion to be 6,000 RMB, taking into account the valuation of other factors in the Conclusion of Valuation, the value of similar breeds of cats in the Kunshan market, and the actual breeding situation of the cat. The court found that Ms. Gao should be compensated by the owner of the pet store, Yang.

In summary, the court held that Ms. Gao was to be compensated by Yang, the owner of the pet store, with RMB 6,000 and an appraisal fee of over RMB 3,000.

Editor: Xiang Qinru (EN006)