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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Dogs chasing my cats…

80 replies

FrenchFancie · 08/07/2021 04:43

I live in a small village / hamlet, maybe 50 houses tops and we know most people by sight, and good friends with some.
We have two cats, not particularly elderly or fragile, who tend to stay close to home.
For some reason lots of people own dogs, several of which are rescue dogs as one woman round the corner is big into rescuing strays and fostering and tries to get others in the hamlet to have these dogs.
Anyway, frequently (two or three times a week) different dogs get loose / are being walked off the lead and end up chasing our cats, sometimes the cats take shelter up a tree, sometimes they out run the dogs. Often enough this involves the dogs coming into our garden barking and running full tilt trying to get the cat.
When I speak to the owners it’s always ‘oh yes ha ha so funny that our dog chased your cats!’.
I bumped into one person at the shop who mused ‘oh yes it’s always your house I loose the dog at because your cats hide under your cat and he so loves to chase them!’

Ainu to think that this is unfair? My poor cats get frightened frequently, people need to keep their dogs under control!

We have a village Facebook group and I’m thinking of posting on there, as it’s not just one person but, as far as I can tell, about 3 or 4 different people who frequently walk their dogs off lead.

I’m not a dog person, but Aibu to be getting annoyed by this now?

OP posts:

KopparbergCazza · 08/07/2021 09:20

@Lockheart

The dogs should be on leads / under control.

Your cats should be kept inside if you're worried.

Your garden should be secured.

I was thinking this.

For a decade I lived next door to an irresponsible cat owner who let their cats roam wild and shit all over my garden. I don't really have much sympathy for cat owners now TBH.

It's ok for your pet to roam wherever, chasing birds, mice and other animals, but yet you complain when others let their pets do the same.

Notwavingbutdrowing3 · 08/07/2021 09:21

So it's a small village where everyone knows each other .. I wouldn't post on group chat then.

It's not funny though. Firstly can you fence yourself front garden so that dog would have to jump gate to get to cat?

If you know roughly what time those irresponsible dogs owners walk their dogs, then can you watch out and "have a word" if their dog runs into your garden to chase cat. "Please can you keep your dog under control, he shouldn't be chasing cats onto my property. Please put him on his lead"

If you have small cctv camera or use your phone video you can capture it and if they don't listen, so that you have a few videos, then I'd suggest to them they either leash dog when near your house or you'll need to report them did having an out of control dog.

backinthebox · 08/07/2021 09:23

The neighbors cat chases birds in my garden seems only fair the dog chases the cat elsewhere Two wrongs don't make a right.

The dogs should be on leads / under control. Yes

Your cats should be kept inside if you're worried. No

Your garden should be secured. No

I can't stand cats, and my neighbours' cats annoy the hell out of me for a variety of reasons, but allowing a dog to chase them or demanding they be kept inside because dog owners dog stop their dogs from chasing them is out of order. And to the number of people who have said a garden should be secure, this is not always feasible either and it still doesn't give a dog owner the right to let their dog run in someone's garden. Part of my garden, where we park, is made up of an old farmyard and is partially open to the lane. It would be possible to secure it with fences and gates, but then it would be much more difficult (or even impossible) to park the vehicles we own easily. This does not mean a dog should be allowed to run on it.

I love dogs, but having witnessed the behaviour of certain dogs and the response of the owner to their dog behaving like a dick, I have concluded it is far more likely that that owner has no moral or physical boundaries than the dog.

JaceLancs · 08/07/2021 09:26

I would be furious
I have an older cat who has suffered with the feline equivalent of PTSD (according to vet) after being bitten by a neighbours dog - her behaviour has changed completely and means she is on medication etc

backinthebox · 08/07/2021 09:28

In addition to my last post - obviously if the dog is chasing the whilst the cat is off the cat owner's property, then the cat owner needs to acknowledge that there is the possibility that they cannot control what happens to the cat when it is off their property. Having said that, it still doesn't excuse a dog owner who allows their dog to chase it. Many dogs have a prey drive, and by allowing them to chase any animal, that prey drive is strengthened. This is why I get so annoyed at dog owners who allow their dogs to chase pheasants in the woods but then get surprised when they have run into my garden and caught one of my children's hens. How is the dog supposed to know which species it is allowed to catch if the owner allows it to chase some things but others are forbidden?

MaskingForIt · 08/07/2021 09:34

@1940s

I'd tell them you're getting a pellet gun / air rifle and will shoot any dogs coming into your garden. they could harm you, your cats or other family members.

Can I shoot any cats that come into my garden then?!

DingDongDenny · 08/07/2021 09:38

We have the same issue with 2 cats and living next to a popular dog walking route on a residential road. Our cats have been chased many times and the dogs have also come into our back garden to continue the chase. All the ineffective calling from the owners has made no difference.

If the owners know the dogs don't have recall and are likely to chase cats, or jump up on people (which they also do) then they should be on leads

Our older cat (no longer with us) had a stress response to being chased around the garden by a big dog, which ended up in their bladder seizing and a hefty vet bill. Should have been the dog owner paying it in my opinion

MaskingForIt · 08/07/2021 09:39

OP, YABVU. Why can your cat come and shit in my garden, but my dog can’t come into your garden? Why does my dog have to be kept under control but your cat doesn’t?

Cat-proof your garden, then your cat can’t get out and my dog can’t get in. Much like I have to dog-proof my garden to my dog can’t get out.

Cazzovuoi · 08/07/2021 09:40

Dog owners are obnoxious. Cats are not considered domestic pets so are free to roam. Keep your smelly disgusting beast under control ffs.

emilyfrost · 08/07/2021 09:45

@Cazzovuoi

Dog owners are obnoxious. Cats are not considered domestic pets so are free to roam. Keep your smelly disgusting beast under control ffs.

And if they’re free to roam, they’re exposed to the wilds and have to take what comes with that ie. roads, animals etc.

Nature is brutal.

If you won’t protect them and keep them inside and/or in a catproof garden then you can’t complain when something happens to them.

VeganVeal · 08/07/2021 09:52

Definitely post about it on the village Facebook group OP, its just no acceptable at all, I'd be livid!!!

DeathByWalkies · 08/07/2021 09:53

Honestly the most practical way to solve this is to fence in your garden. As the saying goes, good fences make good neighbours (on the other hand, Facebook threats about pellet guns make you look like a psycho to your neighbours)

Lots of dogs are genetically hardwired to chase small furry things, so you've as much chance of training those dogs not to chase as you have of training your cats not to hunt songbirds.

Popcornriver · 08/07/2021 09:55

I voted YANBU because I wouldn't allow my dog to chase a cat when walking her. And if she did I wouldn't laugh. I'd be too worried she'd hurt it. I'm having the opposite problem at the minute. The same cat keeps coming in my garden and my dog chases it out. I'd shoo the cat off myself before letting my dog out but it's often hidden somewhere and seems to pop out whenever the dog goes out. I'm terrified she's going to hurt it. Not sure if it should be down to me to cat proof the fences to prevent it getting in?

MaskingForIt · 08/07/2021 09:57

@Cazzovuoi

Dog owners are obnoxious. Cats are not considered domestic pets so are free to roam. Keep your smelly disgusting beast under control ffs.

If cats are free to roam they are free to meet the challenges that they are likely to meet. If you don’t want my disgusting smelly beast to chase it, keep it in its own secured garden.

Northofsomewhere · 08/07/2021 09:58

@emilyfrost you absolutely can and should complain when something happens to them that is completely preventable by keeping a dog on a lead in the appropriate place. Would you have the same approach if you were on walk with your dog off lead and another dog also off lead chased it and maybe bit it. It's the dogs owner (who has a responsibility to keep it under control) who should be keeping their dog under control in public places and on other people's properties if they do stray into a garden.

I'm a dog owner, my last dog used to chase my neighbours cats when they were in our garden (large garden), she would bark and give a little chase then stop if they didn't run or once they were through the hedge. I don't think she intended to hurt them but clearly wasn't fond of them in our garden. On the street she couldn't care less about a cat and showed no intention not chase however she was always on a lead in these areas as she should be. She was only let of in areas where there was nothing else to chase (except other dogs in play) and where we could recall her if needed. She was a sighthound so had it in her to case, my current sighthound doesn't have as big a prey drive luckily and has never chased the cats in the garden, I don't think she's even noticed they're there. It's still my responsibility to keep my dog under my control where I can, especially in public.

These kinds of cats Vs dogs threads (it might not start out this way) always descend into "horrid dogs" and cats should be indoors only. There are different legal responsibilities for these animals for a reason and the owners of these animals need to accept this. Dogs can do far more damage to a cat if they want to then a cat to a dog.

1940s · 08/07/2021 10:00

@MaskingForIt is a cat coming into your garden able to kill you or your pets....?

DingDongDenny · 08/07/2021 10:03

The difference is that my cat is either pottering around the garden or in a small area close to home. So although cats are independent, it's not as if they are doing a 5 mile walk.

Dogs are taken places by their owners (obviously) so they have a responsibility to make sure they behave. Especially as we have probably 20 or 30 dogs passing our house each day. If they all ran riot it would be chaos

MaskingForIt · 08/07/2021 10:05

[quote 1940s]@MaskingForIt is a cat coming into your garden able to kill you or your pets....?[/quote]
Its shit could kill my child or cause me a miscarriage. It kills birds.

DeathByWalkies · 08/07/2021 10:08

[quote 1940s]@MaskingForIt is a cat coming into your garden able to kill you or your pets....?[/quote]
If you have, for Instance, Guinea pigs, then yes they can kill your pets.

Tal45 · 08/07/2021 10:10

If they dogs are being walked along a road they should legally be on a lead, it's an offence not to be. Maybe it would be worth reminding people on FB of that as I'm assuming you have a road outside your house.
Personally I hate cats as pets as they shit in other peoples gardens and have a terrible impact on wild life as they kill everything, birds, voles, slow worms, frogs....But I think dogs should be on leads if they're being walked on roads or pavements as the law is there for a reason no matter how well behaved the dog is.

someonelockthefridgealready · 08/07/2021 10:11

I have dogs and am very much a "dog person" but you are not being unreasonable - it is extremely dangerous for a start, the dogs could knock over a child in your garden or cause an accident by running out in front of a car.

Whatever arguments people may make about your cats (shitting in their gardens, shouldn't be out, whatever else), it in no way absolves the dog owners from having their dogs under control.

OldTinHat · 08/07/2021 10:14

Fence your garden off. I was walking my dog, on the lead, and a cat pounced on him (we were walking on the pavement). One vet trip and several hundred pounds lighter, we came home. My dog being the very injured party.

Oh and could all cat owners stop their pets from shitting in my garden and on the roof of my extension?

DingDongDenny · 08/07/2021 10:30

For people saying 'Fence your garden off' Firstly, why should I? It's up to dog owners to make sure their dogs don't run into my garden

Secondly, we have a large garden, so it would cost of fortune and be a lot of work to fence it.

Thirdly, have you ever met a cat? Ours can escape out of a window opened a few inches, not a chance we could seal off all escape routes

ArnoldJudasRimmer · 08/07/2021 10:43

Personal thoughts on cats aside, I like dogs but I wouldn't want one bounding into my garden uninvited. I don't think cats should be allowed to roam either, but by law they're allowed to do it.

Our dog was always on a lead if not in the house or garden. Loved people, would attack another dog or cat without hesitation. If a cat came into the garden it would have been a case of the cat being able to escape before she caught it, which I think comes with having the freedom to roam. I wouldn't ever have set her on a cat, but equally I wouldn't keep her out of her own secured garden in case one jumped in.

DeathByWalkies · 08/07/2021 10:49

@DingDongDenny

For people saying 'Fence your garden off' Firstly, why should I? It's up to dog owners to make sure their dogs don't run into my garden

Secondly, we have a large garden, so it would cost of fortune and be a lot of work to fence it.

Thirdly, have you ever met a cat? Ours can escape out of a window opened a few inches, not a chance we could seal off all escape routes

Do you want to sit there moaning and being 'right' in an indignant fashion, or do you want to solve the problem and have peace of mind?

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