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?