I just got attacked by two cats

[Attackcats]

I am so shaken and am wondering what people would do in my situation.

I’ve just been out walking my dog, on her leash. A couple of streets away from our house, we saw a cat sitting on the pavement. It walked towards us and then turned around and disappeared into a drive. As we passed the drive the cat jumped out from under the car and attached itself to my dog’s face. I tried to go in between them and get the cat off when a second cat shot out from under the car and also went for my dog and my legs. We managed to move about a meter but the cats wouldn’t let go of my dog and I got knocked to the ground. They then kept attacking both me and my dog. I didn’t know what to do at all. I got 5 cats myself and have never seen such aggression. There was nobody on the street to help us. Eventually I managed to get up and we ran away.

As we turned the corner I saw two girls walking their dog. I told them not to turn into that road and explained what happened. They described what the cats looked like and said similar had happened to them on a previous walk. They said in their case the cats had been lurking hidden in a hedge and jumped out and attacked as they walked past.

I’m home now and still shaken. My dog has a small bite on her chest. I have a scrapped elbow and buttock and my shoulder is sore.

I’m home alone at the moment. I feel like an idiot being so upset about being attacked by cats. My dog, a very docile lab, is a bit shocked too.

@Attackcats your poor sweet girl! I hope she feels better soon. What happened mightn't have been the cats' fault, but it certainly wasn't hers or yours.

@Nannyfannybanny you've reminded me. A neighbour's tuxedo cat put me in hospital with cat scratch fever when I was about four. I don't remember much other than stroking him/her. The next thing I knew I was in hospital with a nurse waving a huge syringe at me. The experience didn't put me off cats and most of those I've encountered in the many years since have been absolute teddy-bears. That said, all of mine and DH's have been moggies, with at the most, a mild case of attitude. But my experience and the stories I've heard of feline malfeasance have made me think about our relationship with cats. We often think of dogs in terms of their wolf ancestry, but the inheritance cats carry is of much more formidable tigers and lions. Perhaps because cats are relatively small, we tend not to think about it so much.

Cats can act like this when they have kittens and strangers approach them. But two cats? And from under a car?
Who knows what got into them…

Yeah, ok 👌

Put out tuna and antifreeze? Joking obviously... im so sorry sounds awful OP, to be honest I carry something heavy in my handbag (it's a large hardback book rn) & a can of deep heat spray just incase of an attack of any kind as I have a very soft long haired mini daushaund who would probably let another dog eat her if it meant they were her freind 🙈 so I suggest start doing that but definitely a vet trip & go to the gp cat scratches can be extremely serious as they carry lots of diseases x

Yeah I’m doing the same but more steak and antifreeze! Stop dogs coming near my garden and upsetting my cat.

If you walk there again keep your dog behind you and boot the cat when you see it doing a funny walk at you. I've encountered 3 cats like this and most cats will run when their bluff doesn't work but 3 cats have arched their backs and ran right at my dogs. 2 were unneutered toms, perhaps that could be true for these cats? They can get very aggressive. I have two ex coursing dogs so it went predictably but if a cat did this to my small dog I have now it would be terrifying - they're very fast and violent and full of disease. Your dog might need antibiotics.

The police! 🤣

We had a very aggressive cat once. Would attack people and pets unprovoked and cause a lot of damage. We had no idea what caused him to be like this - we tried everything; keeping him inside, medicating him, cat therapy, rehoming (he was sent back). In the end the vet said he would be willing to euthanise him as he was dangerous. Very fortunately it didn't come to that and he lived out his days terrorising the rats on a farm near Wales. Although he was very healthy, his bites always became infected and required antibiotics.

It was a horrid situation that we had no idea how to deal with - we just wanted a kitten, and instead got a dangerous wild animal that put my daughter in the hospital and almost killed a neighbour's cat.

I still feel upset about how it all happened.

And your point is?

I'd rather they spend their time catching robbers and rapists personally

We had a cat a few years ago. A clever little thing . I was watching tv one evening when the cat got up and started pacing around me and then crouched down. The bloody thing jumped on me and bit me. I had to get a tetanus injection and antibiotics. I hadn't realised how aggressive it was. Got rid of it and have been very nervous of cats since then.

Charming, you got rid of it. You do realise a cat is an animal, have you ever watched how a Lion or Tiger behaves, they're very similar!

I've worked at the RSPCA with cats who would attack. One black cat who'd obviously had a traumatic past would just turn and jump-attack. Once he leapt from the floor to my head while i was standing, sank his claws into the side of my face. I think I'd moved my feet in a way that he didn't like.

Another cat seemed to not like people, would launch himself at the door of his pen when you got near, aiming to attack. He as rehomed as an outdoor cat to a farm (plan was for him to live in the barn and catch mice) but last I heard he'd turned into a loving kitchen cat!

wrong answer. If a dog was doing the same where I am from, they'd be euthanised. There are no separate rules.

Am slightly bemused by your comment re NFCs being aggressive. How have you come to this assumption? Generally, they are known for their friendly demeanour.

As for Bengals, I know they’re a difficult breed and need an experienced owner who can cater for their needs. But I assumed this was re their high energy levels, not that they’re attack cats.

This is clearly an ongoing problem amongst bad cat owners who refuse to accept any responsibility for their pet - or to acknowledge how aggressive and vicious they can be.

It always seems to be the same cat owners who merrily let their cat do whatever it likes - however antisocial or violent - and then get all tearful when the cat comes a cropper and is suddenly a dear little thing who would never hurt a fly.

Negligent cat owners can deny it and refuse to take any responsibility all they like, but they shouldn't then be surprised if other people DO take responsibility for stopping their nasty cats, however extreme that may be. If the thing is regularly violent enough, it might not just be somebody accidentally running it over in their car, but actually aiming for it.

I would never advocate deliberately hurting an animal UNLESS it was in self-defence from a dangerous animal who was really set on causing pain and harm. Sorry, but if any animal viciously attacks me with its claws and teeth out, I'm not going to waste my time phoning around to see if anybody has a water pistol that they can bring me.

Currently, it seems to be the bizarre insistence that cats don't ever cause any serious harm... until they very frequently do.

If you genuinely believe that the police can/should only concentrate on one thing that causes serious harm and trauma to people, surely they should ignore the rapists and the robbers and only go after the murderers?

If you are comparing a cat to a rapist you have serious issues. Personally I wouldn't want to waste police time on some cats ffs.

You misunderstand me completely. You were the one suggesting that the police should ignore 'lesser' crimes, so my question was why you focused on two crimes that are indeed extremely serious and devastating, but which are not the very most devastating crime that can be committed.

I know that the police don't have unlimited resources - although some forces certainly do seem to have priorities that wouldn't align with those of most ordinary people - but I want them to deal with, and help to prevent further recurrences of, ALL harms that affect ordinary innocent people.

Why are you so dismissive about "some cats" when you've clearly read in this thread what pain people and other pets have suffered from vicious unprovoked cat attacks? Nobody is suggesting going to the police because a cat has pooed in their garden or whizzed by and caught them by surprise; only when they perpetrate serious unacceptable harm.

Call animal co trolley, not the police

Would you say the same if a vicious dog attacked you: take the time to research animal controllers, find their contact numbers and hope that they were on duty and could come out?

Presumably, the police would work alongside the animal controllers anyway? Just like, if you reported a vicious attack by a minor, they would respond as they believed appropriate - be that involving Social Services or whoever.

People should ofc not underestimate the potential aggression & damage cats can cause.

But there is a valid reason dogs are more feared generally. Cats were never bred to fight or hunt or guard. There's no feline equivalent of the rottweiler, pit bull and certainly not of the XL Bully. How often do we hear of cats mauling people fatally?

Plus, the size difference you mention yourself means that serious injury is unlikely.

Obvs I don't mean Op's case! Op, you and your dog had a terrifying experience. She looks like a lovely dog, I hope she feels better soon, and you. 🫂

Seriously get a grip.

Seriously don't be so naive about what cats can do.

Yeah but unfortunately they don't do much of that nowadays, do they?

Sorry, I digress....