Dominique Valdès, who lives in Béziers in southern France, said hearing the controversial ruling about her cat Rémi felt like “a violent blow to the head”, Le Parisien reports.

The court ordered her to pay €1,250 (around £1,100) in damages and court costs to her neighbour. She must also pay €30 (£26) every time Rémi appears in her neighbour’s garden in future.

The neighbour has already accused Rémi of breaching the court decision and has sought to bring the case back to court to impose harsher penalties.

Ms Valdès said she now keeps Rémi indoors and he has “been sentenced to be placed under house arrest, a kind of imprisonment and a double sentence”.

Animal rights advocates and cat owners are pushing back against the controversial ruling, which they say places unprecedented restrictions on cats.

“Another judge will probably have a different opinion on this astonishing case,” said Guillaume Sanchez of the Société Protectrice des Animaux (SPA).