cat attacked by greyhound

Hintza

Just a word of advice to OP in your opening exchange with your neighbour keep your cool and ask nicely if they can possibly help out.

If it was me and someone came in all guns blazing I would probably say bu$$er off. So keep it friendly if you can and hopefully they will help out.

The other point is I am not sure what the law is like as far as cats are concerned but as far as I am aware if you knowck one down you don't need to report it. Might want to look into that.

eira

Agree with Jenny. If I was a responsible dog owner I would want to know
a)for the sake of other animals
b)for the protection of my dog-other people might not be as thoughtful as you and if it has escaped once it will do it again and it could end up causing further harm to other things and itself
c) As a greyhound owner I would be mortified about the slightest sniff of a 'bad press' with small furry things-greyhounds need friends and any negative experiences of attacks on cats etc could result in yet another greyhound not getting the home it deserves.
d)As far as I know cats are wild animals under the law so they can't be held liable for damage or 'being damaged' other than in the latter under animal cruelty laws.

If the neighbour won't answer the door try maybe a carefully worded letter.Although he should offer to pay the vet's bills and raise the fence, you might at least get the fence raised.

A word of warning though. One of my neighbours (now mercifully moved on to another part of the country) had a Husky that regularly escaped. She spent thousands on the garden but nothing on fencing-the dog kept on escaping. It killed one of our animals, came back two weeks later and killed another- in a savage unprovoked attack.Despite seeing it in our garden snarling and growling and covered in blood she denied it had done anything. That thing went on to bite three humans -nothing got done.. I wish now I'd pursued the initial attack with the police. But that dog was an exception-it had nothing to do with a chase instinct at all. And the owner was a total nightmare in all respects.

I'm sure the content of the first rather than the second paragraph applies to most reasonable, caring humans
Hope your cat gets betterquickly

seven-day-weekend

We had a retired greyhound many years ago and the person we got her from trained her not to chase our three cats - but he was a registered greyhound trainer and presumably knew what he was doing. She still chased other cats but ours would bully her!

I have seen her chase, catch and snap a rat in two with one bite. She would also chase squirrels as someone else has mentioned.

Greyhounds are very very prone to chasing small furry things (that is what they are trained to do after all). But they make nice quiet family pets and do not need much exercise.

Hope your cat is Ok and that the neighbours will be reasonable.

jillie1974

due to work havent had chance to round and speak to her... however when we came home from work yesterday evening the small fence panels have all bar 1 been replaced with large prob 6-7ft high ones! so thats great at least the dog wont be able to jump over, just need her to replace the last one.

spiros_2

This is my first posting!
I know by law all dogs have to be 'under control' at all times, regardless of the breed, there are specific breeds which have to be microchipped / muzzled, greyhounds not being one of them. quote
"Control of Dogs Order 1992
This requires that every dog, while in a public place, wears a collar with the name and address of his owner inscribed on it or on a disc attached to it. If a collar is not worn when out in a public place, the dog may be seized by the police and treated as a stray. Also the owner, and any person in charge of the dog permitting him to be in a public place without a collar, will each be guilty of an offence and may be prosecuted and fined.
If your dog does stray, you should immediately contact your local dog warden (through the Environmental Health Department at your local council) and the local police station. The Environmental Protection Act 1990 allows for your dog to be seized and sold or destroyed if unclaimed after a seven day period. "
as I said - it's the law.

eira

Really pleased to hear about the fencing-I think this would give you a good starter for discussion re what happened. The owner is responsible for a dog being under control at at all times, the Greyhound Trust may also be able to recommend trainers.
At least the fence indicates a level of concern for others and the dog. As I said my dreadful neighbour never admitted the dog had done anything wrong.She even claimed that the dog 'hadn't escaped' even though it was in our garden and not hers !

Soubrette

jilly, I have a greyhound myself and I would be mortified if he attacked someone's cat and would offer to pay for any treatment immediately.

I am paranoid about his chase instinct as we have a friend with a whippet who attacked a cat, he is always muzzled when out just in case.

To be fair he has less chase instinct than my old german shepherd cross but a much higher chance of catching what he's after, so I take no chances.

They are lovely pets but like all dogs, owners have to be aware of what they were bred for.

I'm so pleased your cat is fine and I hope the dogs owners will be reasonable (and I know I'd be totally apologetic).

Sou

jillie1974

just using this thread i started ages ago... unlucky charlie....

charlie has either been attacked again or got his tail trapped somewhere.

he is missing most of the fur round the base of his tail and has several cuts/puncture wounds as well. have tried cleaning it with water (when he lets me) to stop it getting infected. anything else i can do?

vl2588

Hintza wrote: »

The other point is I am not sure what the law is like as far as cats are concerned but as far as I am aware if you knowck one down you don't need to report it. Might want to look into that.

The Animal Welfare Bill was amended recently and I believe cats are now nearer to dogs in terms of responsibility. I have forgotten the details, will get back to you!

EDIT: It doesn't seem to mention harm to anothers' cat so prob not very useful in this case http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/pets/cruelty/documents/cop-cats.pdf

vl2588

jillie1974 wrote: »

just using this thread i started ages ago... unlucky charlie....

charlie has either been attacked again or got his tail trapped somewhere.

he is missing most of the fur round the base of his tail and has several cuts/puncture wounds as well. have tried cleaning it with water (when he lets me) to stop it getting infected. anything else i can do?

Bathe it in warm salty water and if it becomes inflamed or painful to the touch take him to the vets as it might be infected. It should heal by itself provided it's not too deep and is kept clean.

Poor Charlie! I grew up with a cat named Charlie and he was run over, leg smashed up, but all was repaired so lucky too