Feel terrible!

dandelionclock30

mammyof7 wrote: »

My neighbours have actually said that the cat will maybe learn to keep out now (I seriously hope so!!) However they also have another cat which does not tend to come in my garden, but that will now be a worry too

.

You need to make sure it doesnt happen again either by making sure that the dog wears a muzzel at all times and you being with it.Or totally cat prooof your fence, get a really high one with spikes all over the top.
If it happens again you will either have the police round or the neighbours may take action themselves like throwing a piece of poisioned meat over into your garden.(It has been known).
So its best to save yourself any future hassell, by doing all you can.

mammyof7

krlyr wrote: »

Yes, sorry, noticed the fence bit - does blur the lines a bit but OP does state it was their fence rather than their neighbours.
One quite simple fix you could try - fix a bit of wire an inch or two along the top of the fence, not sagging but not completely taut - you want a little bit of wobble when stood on. Should hopefully stop the cat walking along/sitting on the fence, if it dares do so again in the future.
Another alternative would be some kind of incline on your side. Trellis may be one of the better looking options but if you're not overly fussed on looks, you could make your own version of this kind of cat-proofing system, I had to do it to stop one of my dogs climbing the 6' fencing
http://www.purrfectfence.co.uk/outdoor_cat_enclosures.asp

The dog still remained enclosed in its own garden though - I would still say much of the responsibility of a cat belongs to the cat's owner. You let a cat roam free, you basically lose the majority of control over its wellbeing.

Yes the cat was on our fence, not the boundry fence. Thanks for the link.- will have a look now.

Fire_Fox

mammyof7 wrote: »

Thanks ant, I am feeling a lot better now. My fence is already 6ft high. The dog is normally very controllable. We have had her for over 7 years and this is the very first incident of this type. I freely admit that she isnt at all good with othjer dogs (or cats!) but she is safely contained within our own garden.

If she isn't very good with other dogs either IMO see an animal behaviourist - this might be available on your pet insurance.

mammyof7

krlyr wrote: »

Will the new laws cover attacks to other animals? I know the new laws relate to human attacks, e.g. to cover postmen and other staff that have legitimate reason to be on your property but I would be surprised to see it extended to cats, who don't seem to have lots of rights in terms of the law (e.g. you have to report hitting a dog with your car, but not a cat). I have heard of one case of a dog owner having action taken but I believe that it happened outside of the dog owner's garden (perhaps in the cat owner's garden or out in public) and the dog had a history of out-of-control behaviour too.

I don't think that a dog being able to jump up against a fence necessarily implies that the fencing is not secure, either. My previous neighbours owned two GSDs and their garden was enclosed by 3' fencing at the back, 4' at the front. The older male was a huge example of the breed - way bigger than my 40kg boy, and tall as well as a big (not fat) build. 4' would have been like hopping over a step to him, let alone 3', but never once did he (or the other dog) hop over that fence once in the whole time I lived there. Someone even reported it to the local PCSOs as they were nervous of the dogs barking as they passed (public footpath ran down the private lane we were on) and the PCSO asked me if the dogs could jump the fence - I said yes, they could, but if they would was another question. Even me walking past with my dogs (the boys just seemed to take an instant dislike to each other) would set them off barking but I never once feared that the dogs would jump over the fence to get to us.

Dog is contained within a garden, cat is free-roaming, personally I think the cat owners should be the ones stepping up to their responsibility here.

Thank you Kyrlr. Yes our fencing is very secure. I have a 6 foot fence all around our garden with locks and bolts on both gates. As far as i'm concerned the dog is well contained.

mammyof7

orlao wrote: »

OP,

Hope you're feeling a bit better now but keep an eye on your scratches and don't hesitate to go to the doctor if they start to look infected!

Hopefully the cat will have the sense to avoid your garden now - they aren't usually stupid...

AFAIK, you cannot be held liable for damage to a cat - as krlyr said they are not protected because they roam. On the other hand, cat owners cannot be held liable for their actions either ie if they cause a RTA unlike a dog.For the sake of good neighbourly relations I think I would offer to pay any vet bills in your situation.

Before anyone says that I'm a cat hater :eek: I'm not. My cats were always outdoor type cats and while I would have been devastated if anything happened to them but I accepted that their lifestyle was a risk and wouldn't have blamed anybody if they had been run over or attacked by a dog. I also had a terrier who would have a strange cat but happily lived with 3 cats for 15 years - and she wasn't a pup when they moved in so it can work. TBH I'd probably separate the kitten and the dog when you're out for a while - just in case.

Thanks Orloa. Yes we have decided to separate them when we are in bed/out. They have been fine together but I suppose its better to be safe than sorry.

As sheer luck would have it, next door's cat is fine and has,nt needed any vet treatment :). In fact the dog has probably came off worse.

mammyof7

NewKittenHelp wrote: »

My point was that the dog was temporarily off its owners property - the cat was on the boundary fence and it was (twice) dragged into the garden. In that situation, a fence wouldn't keep me from doing whatever I had to to save my cat.

Sorry I have maybe gave the wrong impression. The dog was in our garden. At the time of the incident the cat was on my fence - which separates the front and back gardens (although this does just lead of the boundry fence)

mammyof7

cheepskate wrote: »

OP I would seriously consider rehoming your cat.

Your dog even with you screaming and pulling it went back in again to maul the cat, either you have no control over it or its prey drive is too much.

surely you must have known about this dogs preydrive with cats before you got the kitty.

There is a difference between dogs chasing cats, We had a weimmy who loved to do this, but the cats got used to her and would just sit there and ignore her lol.

Dogs that carry out the "kill" , I would never trust with a cat, it just takes one "chase" situation and the dogs natural instinct kicks in

As for next doors cat, it will have learnt that your dog is aggressive towards it, so will be more careful when it goes on the fence

Yes we have always known that the dog was not too fond of cats. However before we got the kitten we did a lot of reseach on how to integrate them and had the inlaws lined up as new owners if it did not work out.

The first couple of weeks were extremely "iffy" but now the dog has totally accepted the cat.

However I will certainly be keeping a very close eye on them and will rehome instantly if any aggression is shown to the kitten.:(

mammyof7

LisaW123 wrote: »

I would report this incident to the police. The wont do anything but if there is any problems with this dog attacking again they will have a record. Personally, I would not trust a dog who had attacked around children or others animals. Owners fool themselves with they wouldn't harm little so and so, but once they've attacked they can do so again.

I,ve had the dog for over 7 years and she has never shown a hint of aggression to either ourselves or the kids. Infact I would go as far to say that I trust her impeccably. Obviously I know that any dog can never be trusted 100% but Its almost there.

There is no chance of her attacking anything when she is out due to the fact that she wears a muzzle at all times.

mammyof7

LisaW123 wrote: »

Yes, you are feeling bad because your dog attacked a neighbour's pet. So you should be.

Yes I am. But It was'nt done delibratly and I have gone out of my way to make sure that the cat is ok. My dog was in her own garden, If I let my dog out to roam and she attacked something than I could maybe understand your comment

mammyof7

LisaW123 wrote: »

A cat is unlikely to do much harm to other creatures, with the exception of perhaps birds or mice. A great dane could easily cause serious injury to or kill a cat, other small animals and even small children.

Yes I have read your post. You need to control your dog.

I do control my dog. I am a very responsible experienced owner of giant breed dogs. My dog is well looked after and contained within a secure garden. Yes she DID attack the cat but potentially that could happen with any dog. Even a small breed dog may have the instinct to chase or attack cats.

Yes she is a very muscular large dog but that also does'nt mean that she is going to attack children. I have had her since my oldest children were 11, 9, 7, 4 and 1 and we have never had one incident of aggression.

Yes if she wanted to i'm sure she could do a lot of harm, but as far as i'm concerned she's proved her worth to me as far as children are concerned.