AIBU to think neighbours should have warned me about their dog?

[CaraMP01]

My cat has been killed by a neighbour's dog in their garden. We are a row of 11 houses and the cat roames, helping to keep the rodent population down and generally being sweet and lovely. They've had the dog for 2 months..it's a lurcher and has a high prey drive. They are infirm and fairly elderly. The dog needs massive amounts of exercise and although it has a sizeable garden ( 50ft ) I think they struggle to exercise it sufficiently. AIBU for thinking that they ought to have warned me, and I could have made an informed decision about letting her out, and getting such a dog, knowing that there are lovely neighbourhood cats around that may be seen as prey?.. i am very upset..

Do you go into all your neighbours gardens and pick up the shit your cat leaves behind?

Im really sorry for your loss OP.
I understand that it’s a difficult time for you but as you’ve asked …. - no of course they shouldn’t. And the poster who pointed out that you didn’t notify neighbours that you cat would be in their garden was right. It’s just the look from the other side.
There are a lot of cats and dogs in my area, I absolutely have no idea who owns whom. If I don’t want someone coming to / be able to leave my back garden I do what I can with fencing etc.
Sorry.

It’s a side issue, but it seems to me that a lurcher is a wildly unsuitable breed for an “infirm and fairly elderly” couple to acquire.

They’re really not (unsuitable, that is).

Why?

When I moved into my current house with our dog the neighbours expressed their concern that their cat would no longer be safe in my back garden that the cat (and every other neighbourhood cat) had claimed as their territory. However because it’s a very large garden with insecure boundaries (hedges) that would not contain a determined Dobermann I only let my dog out in his own garden on a 30m long lead for my own peace of mind so I was able to reassure them their cat would always be safe and able to escape. Cats are wicked smart though. They know his lead doesn’t reach the back of the garden. I constantly find them in sheds or greenhouses that have not been secured. I have no idea who owns them. I chase them away but they return.

The front garden appears to be a public lavatory for the neighbourhood cats and I have to poop scoop before gardening.

My dog also can’t catch the deer that frequent our garden. For the first 4 years of his life we lived in a farmhouse where a neighbour who shot deer used to drop of carcasses for him including legs complete with fur (?) and hooves so I’m sure he sees them as a tasty treat. He does pick up the odd visiting hedgehog and try to bury them alive but drops them unharmed when shown the hosepipe.

So my dog’s kill streak is zero because I restrict him in his own garden but I expect the cats who are left to roam (and crap) freely are killing local wild life in large numbers.

I'm very confused, are you saying they had the dog for 2 months and you had no idea they owned it until it killed your cat? If you knew they had the dog then how would them have warning you that they had the dog have helped? They obviously couldn't possibly predict that it could/would kill your cat.

Dog saliva causes severe infections in hedgehogs. A hedgehog that has been picked up by a dog requires immediate intervention to a vet or wildlife rehabber.

Why would you not check the garden before you take the dog out?

"Lurchers have a high prey drive". Not them all. I've had lurchers as pets all my life and never once have they chased and killed another animal. Weird how people with cats think it's funny that their cat brings home "presents" of song bird chicks or adult song birds who are nesting..........

I have cats, and would be devastated if this happened to one of them. But what would you have done differently if you'd known about the dog? The only way to stop your cat going in their garden would have been to keep it indoors, would you have done that?. My cats are allowed outside, and I think the trade off for giving them a more exciting life is that it may be a shorter one due to accidents or misfortune. The dog was contained on their own property, they really aren't at fault.

Lauding the cat’s civic-mindedness and community service is a wonderful example of the entitlement of some pet owners. No mention of how roaming cats shit in people’s gardens, kill birds and other wildlife, no, it’s all about rodents and it being so sweet and lovely.

If you let your cat roam, you are responsible for the consequences of that. And don’t assume others are as enamoured by your cat’s activities and ‘sweet and lovely’ nature as you are.

I do wonder about people who have cats they can’t (won’t) manage and allow to roam. Particularly when they get upset at the natural consequences of this. What on earth do they think they are doing?

I’m sorry about your cat.

However, I would be amazed if every neighbour thought it was lovely having it come into their garden

We recently had fledglings in our garden, some pottering about on the lawn. I was petrified any neighbouring cat might pop in and get them

I am sorry about your cat.

I used to have a greyhound and it never crossed my mind to tell neighbours, not even the cat owning ones. I kind of assumed (rightly) that the cats would work out there was a dog about and avoid coming in the garden. No idea if there were any close calls initially, I certainly didn’t hear a commotion or see any cat being chased. Iirc I did read that cats know very quickly when a new dog has arrived in the neighbourhood and will give that garden a wide berth. I think your cat was very unlucky.

would you have made your cat be an indoor cat if you’d known or would you just have assumed your cat would keep out the dogs way?

I'm sorry your cat was killed.

However this is a risk you take when you let your cat roam. When you say "roam" you mean "go into roads and other people's gardens". Cat owners seem to think they have a right to let their cats go into everyone else's gardens.

Cats come into my garden every day, shit on every bit of exposed soil, crush the plants where they've chosen a resting spot, and stalk the birds. I like cats but I hate having to clear up foul-smelling shit left by other people's. I have no idea who the cats belong to and there's no way I can keep them out. But I'm expected to just put up with it.

These dogs were in their own garden and you let your cat go there. Did the neighbours know the cat was yours? If they'd warned you about the dogs, what would you have done? I can't believe you would have chosen to keep the cat indoors.

You say the neighbours "can't look after their pets properly" but it could be argued that people who let their cats roam aren't looking after them properly, because you're not keeping them safe. It's a choice you make and are allowed to make, but you need to take responsibility for the consequences of that choice.

It wouldn’t matter how much exercise my terriers had had. If a cat came into the garden they would do everything in their power to kill it. Fortunately neighbours cats quickly realised this and I now don’t have cats come in ( nor shit in) my garden. Win win

I am sorry for your loss. Losing a pet in any way is awful.
But did you have a tracker on your cat? Do you know how far it went?
Even if you had been informed about this particular dog, what about others? You can't predict or control any potential dangers your free roaming pet may meet.
The neighboring cats are very lucky with my garden as my golden retriever loves a visit from cats. If they are sunning themselves he tries to lie next to them (only one lets him)
He found a nest of baby mice and just whined at them, watches rabbits run in the fields and has let sparrows pull hair from his tail. But he is very focused on ducks and pheasants.
Breed genetics are strong.