Recently, in Kimes v. Grosser, the California Court of Appeal held that a pet owner can recover the costs of care of the pet attributable to the injury cause by another if the costs are found to be reasonable and necessary.  In Kimes, the plaintiff alleged that his neighbor, the defendant, shot his cat.  After his cat was shot, the plaintiff spent a significant amount of money on emergency surgery and to nurse the cat back to health. Plaintiff sued attempting to recover $6,000 for the emergency surgery, as well as an additional $30,000 in expenses caring for the cat because of the injury. The defendant argued that the cat was an adopted stray with very little economic value and he could only be liable for the reduction in value of the cat before and after the shooting, i.e. basically nothing because the cat had no economic value.  The trial court agreed with the defendant and dismissed the suit.  The Appellate Court disagreed.The Court of Appeal held that that the owner can recover the costs of care of the pet attributable to the injury if the costs are found to be reasonable and necessary. The Court also held that punitive damages were recoverable if the injury is found to be intentional.

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