Japanese Akita eats cats

Hay_2

We have this problem with our much loved Staff boy.We have 5 cats which our Rott loves but the staff has almost killed one cat in our kitchen resulting in a very poorly cat/£400 vet bills ,a dislocated pair of thumbs/cats teeth in my arms/scratches for me and him covered in bites.
He then got hold of another cat stupid enough to jump the gates we've put on all doorways to prevent this and hubby(not a small guy)had to literally punch him in the head a few times to get him to release the cat,who was thankfully ok,infact he got the dog far worse!
He is AMAZING with our three young kids,he's probably THE most loving dog I've ever met but he sees a cat and baaam he literally wants to kill it:eek:

We're at a total loss tbh.He's walked enough,his obedience otherwise is fantastic,we've gated doorways etc.I can deal with it out on walks as we long line walk him so i can recall,our garden is fully fenced etc but we're constantly on edge in the house.
I just wanted to say I know how you feel...seeing a valued companion that your kids play happily with turn into a cat munching monster

babs2008

Gosh. Being a cat owner I was shocked at first.

If this happened to one of my cats I would be terribly upset. But as others have hinted toward, I don't think I could blame the dog or you for what happened. It's not a deliberate act.

I'm quite surprised a cat would go anywhere near an Akita. Mine would totally steer clear. Though I guess lots of cats are now used to dogs.

I'm sorry I can't add any other helpful information. As others have said, behavioural therapy and cat proofing the garden (which must be difficult) is a good start.

I hope it gets sorted, for you, your dog and the local cats.

1sue23

I own dogs and cats and I am afraid no matter how soft my dog if it killed a cat the dog would go ,I would feel that I could never trust it again,the way I see it ,why is your dogs life more important than a cats ?
No matter what you do now this dog is gaining in confidence and will now target cats whenever it is able and unless you can 100% make sure that your dog cannot get out of your garden then you should let the dog go,the cats that your dog has killed are much loved pets,how would you feel if your dog was killed in this way ?

1sue23

Hay wrote: »

We have this problem with our much loved Staff boy.We have 5 cats which our Rott loves but the staff has almost killed one cat in our kitchen resulting in a very poorly cat/£400 vet bills ,a dislocated pair of thumbs/cats teeth in my arms/scratches for me and him covered in bites.
He then got hold of another cat stupid enough to jump the gates we've put on all doorways to prevent this and hubby(not a small guy)had to literally punch him in the head a few times to get him to release the cat,who was thankfully ok,infact he got the dog far worse!
He is AMAZING with our three young kids,he's probably THE most loving dog I've ever met but he sees a cat and baaam he literally wants to kill it:eek:

We're at a total loss tbh.He's walked enough,his obedience otherwise is fantastic,we've gated doorways etc.I can deal with it out on walks as we long line walk him so i can recall,our garden is fully fenced etc but we're constantly on edge in the house.
I just wanted to say I know how you feel...seeing a valued companion that your kids play happily with turn into a cat munching monster

Easy part with the cats or the dog.

Swans1912

1sue23 wrote: »

I own dogs and cats and I am afraid no matter how soft my dog if it killed a cat the dog would go ,I would feel that I could never trust it again,the way I see it ,why is your dogs life more important than a cats ?
No matter what you do now this dog is gaining in confidence and will now target cats whenever it is able and unless you can 100% make sure that your dog cannot get out of your garden then you should let the dog go,the cats that your dog has killed are much loved pets,how would you feel if your dog was killed in this way ?

I really cant believe that you are suggesting that she gets rid of the dog without seeking any professional help/advice. The OP is trying to sort out the problem!!

Hay_2

babs2008 wrote: »

I'm quite surprised a cat would go anywhere near an Akita. Mine would totally steer clear. Though I guess lots of cats are now used to dogs.

We also have a big Rottie weighing around 40kgs...she sleeps on our bed with our cats curled up next to her tummy/head and she licks our guinea pigs through their cage bars...I trust her with our cats/gpigs tbh.But the Staff?nooooo way!So some dogs no matter what size/breed etc can be brill with smaller animals but then you get others who are hell bent on killing them:o

Hay_2

1sue23 wrote: »

Easy part with the cats or the dog.

EASY????Are you BEING serious??

Rehome 5 cats?That we've had for 10 years or so?
Or shove yet another poor staff into a rescue home/shelter to face being put to sleep?
Excuse me but when I took my pets on I made a commitment to each and every one and I'll sort this out without dumping a family pet or 5 :mad:

UKTigerlily

1sue23 wrote: »

I own dogs and cats and I am afraid no matter how soft my dog if it killed a cat the dog would go ,I would feel that I could never trust it again,the way I see it ,why is your dogs life more important than a cats ?
No matter what you do now this dog is gaining in confidence and will now target cats whenever it is able and unless you can 100% make sure that your dog cannot get out of your garden then you should let the dog go,the cats that your dog has killed are much loved pets,how would you feel if your dog was killed in this way ?

Well, to the post above this about the poster with the cats & Staffy, if it was me & my dog ever hurt my cat, the dog would have to go, she was here first & is everything to me, if they couldn't live together with no risk, I couldn't keep both. I won't have my cat scared to be in her own house. Before I got the dog I grilled the rescue many times about how she was with cats, took her down to the cattery every visit & spent alot of time myself assessing her reactions & made it clear if she didn't like the cat & seriously tried to harm her, she'd have to go.

However, to the post quoted (Finally), we don't yet know if these attacks are taking place in the garden or not, maybe the dog can't get out of it's garden. If the cats are coming in, then the OP is rightly trying all she can first to stop it. Nobody gives up on a pet so easily I hope, as it's not a resident cat, it doesn't by any means make it acceptable but the attacks should be able to be easily stopped, if the cat lived in the home, then not so easy.

It's fairly easy to cat proof a garden & stop them entering at all & assuming the dog won't try to jump out (In which case fences as high as needed), it CAN be resolved. Of course if there was no way anything was working & it happened again, parting with the dog might have to be a consideration, with me if there way NO way to stop it, i'd have to part with the dog as of course I couldn't allow it to kill or injure cats.

But, you try everything first within reason. The OP hasn't yet tried measures to stop these attacks, now she will do & that should be that. I know IF my dog had gone for my cat i'd have tried all I could first before taking her back so long as the cat wasn't injured badly. I dunno if any of that makes sense sorry!

1sue23

iKennett wrote: »

I really cant believe that you are suggesting that she gets rid of the dog without seeking any professional help/advice. The OP is trying to sort out the problem!!

I do have experience of this and have owned cats and dogs for years and the chase instinct is one of the most difficult things to address in a dog, and a dog that will chase and kill is not a good combination ,and as this has now happened 3 times proves the problem should have been dealt with before now ,how would you feel if this was your cat or if a child witnessed this, the way this dog is behaving is not acceptable and as the dog is elderly I feel that little can now be done .

Hay_2

UKTigerlily wrote: »

Well, to the post above this about the poster with the cats & Staffy, if it was me & my dog ever hurt my cat, the dog would have to go, she was here first & is everything to me, if they couldn't live together with no risk, I couldn't keep both. I won't have my cat scared to be in her own house.

So please enlighten me...what would you do with the Staff who's blissfully snoring on my lap following a bath and half hour long grooming session from his best mate..my 5 year old son? I'm trying to do the best here.I've bought dog gates for every door,citronella collars etc