Cat Attacked - Pitbull Blamed

[persephone]

I get everything quite clearly.

I also understand this is a dog based web site and as such, attracts anti cat people. I think it is a pity cat and dog owners cannot get on together in this world.

:D I think you'll find that many of us have dogs and cats ...and other animals with whom we share our homes.!! Some of are crazy cat people , even!

The thing is - they are animals ..and many will attack / kill the others - instinct & all that . Human owners are entrusted with the responsibility to avert this happening - by one way or another. Often it doesn't work out , and injury/death is a result.

[Zhou Xuanyao]

Stans Mum, I understand that if your dogs killed one of the cats the neighbours may have the audacity to complain, and the council may in turn have the audacity to dub your dogs dangerous and so forth, however that can just equally well be attributed to council policy as it can to roaming cats. If the result if the complaint was 'bad luck' then the roaming cats cease to cause an inconvenience. I prefer to er toward less legislation not more.

Having said that, in a neighbourhood full of cats we have never had one in this yard as they know it would be suicide, it's odd that any would venture into your yard with your dogs loose.

[OSoSwift]

Part of the issue is not that they dare venture, as many cats do with dogs they shouldn't. However Greyhounds are faster than your average dog, I would be very upset if my dogs killed a cat regardless of it it was in their yard or not. Also the potential for injury is high up there. Especially when you are talking sighthound speed and prey drive. One of Mads dogs has been severely injured before after running into something while loose in a yard. The potential for that to happen if there was a cat streaking across the yard would be very very high. If a Grey was right on a cats tail as they went over a fence chances are they would be commited to the chase without thought for barriers or boundries and a broken neck not outside the realm of possibility. I fully understand why Mads dogs are confined and it would annoy the crap out of me as well.

[Zhou Xuanyao]

Fair point

[HazyWal]

Thank you Oso you explained it perfectly. I'm guessing Lo Pan that you don't have much experience with sighthounds?

One cat has a form of dementia and it's not uncommon to see him sitting smack bang in the middle of the yard when I scan it every morning so the dogs can go to the toilet. Also not uncommon for the two cats to be sitting on the top of the fence just calmly looking down. The neighbour is a lovely lady but I have told her many times and she just doesn't get it, she had an old staffy with the cats that has since passed so she just says "oh they love dogs".

I would be so upset if they killed one of them and if they did get hold of one there is also the fear of them turning on each other, one of the reasons greyhounds race with muzzles on. So I have no choice but to keep them inside, for their own safety as Ososwift has explained and the safety of the neighbours cats.

[tdierikx]

One rule of containment for all pets should be the go... but somehow not all pets are looked at equally under the law... *sigh*

It's not fair or right that Stan's Mum has to contain her dogs not only to her property, but to the HOUSE, purely because her neighbour thinks it's OK for her cats to wander wherever they please, and do whatever they please, whenever they please.

I'm under no illusions as to what would happen to a cat coming into my yard... and I think the neighbourhood cats know it too, as they don't seem interested in dropping in... well - except that one cat that is no longer with us. And let me tell you now, just because I'm not a cat owner, it doesn't mean that I wasn't highly traumatised by what my dogs did to that one cat all those years ago - it was horrible to be holding a cat taking it's final breaths and knowing that I couldn't fix it.

T.