Dogs chasing my cats…

[FrenchFancie]

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?

I see the dog haters are out in full force! Talk about shooting dogs etc is really unpleasant.

Yes of course, the dogs should not be coming onto your property- and the owners should not be laughing about this. The fact they are laughing suggests they have completely missed the point that you are not happy with this - maybe you need to say directly: please do not allow your dog into my garden, my cats are frightened and this is their home where they should feel safe.

The owners should also be training and discouraging their dogs from chasing animals when out and about. however, this isn't a perfect science and especially with rescue dogs, there are likely to be some unavoidable instances of chasing.

if your cat is roaming in public, then they can be reasonably expected to deal with "nature", which might includea odd bark or chase.

Dogs should be under close control at all times. If your dog has poor recall it should be on a lead.
If it has such poor impulse control it's a risk to itself as well as other animals and people.
Allowing a dog to chase a cat is shitty behaviour. Cats being dicks is zero defence.
Out of control dogs off lead could easily end up run over or causing an accident. It's deeply irresponsible ownership.

@Whoarethewho

The neighbors cat chases birds in my garden seems only fair the dog chases the cat elsewhere

Many, many years ago, my neighbours cat was killed by a dog, in front of their youngest daughter. I still remember the little girls screams.

It was awful.

Don't let your dog chase cats.

A little white lie on the FB page saying your cat appears to have been injured due to being chased , vet bills are so high etc would do no harm at all.

@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

So your cat doesn’t get run over/attacked/chased etc.

Don’t try and pass the responsibility onto someone else if you’re not making every effort to protect them and keep them in/sheltered/safe.

The only responsibility I'm passing on to others is to keep control of their dogs -which is actually the law. Other than that I'm perfectly fine with the safety of my cats. We live in a quiet residential street surrounded by fields - they are fine

Why can't some dog owners understand that there is a difference between cats pooing in gardens and letting your dog chase and potentially kill a cat?

However much you dislike cats, it is not okay to let your dog chase them. Dogs should be on leads in residential areas anyway, and shouldn't be running into people's gardens.

My parents have had problems as they live on a popular dog walking route. People let their dogs run into their front garden and poo and don't pick it up because they're 100 yards up the road chatting to other dog walkers.

Both cats and dogs can be annoying, but the difference between cat and dog owners seems to be that some dog owners actively wish harm upon cats. I've never heard a similar sentiment from cat owners.

The dog owners saying that the cats are "asking for it" because they are out are just vile.

A cat pooing in your garden is not the same thing as your dog killing a cat.

PUT YOUR MUTT ON A FUCKING LEAD.

@Cazzovuoi

The dog owners saying that the cats are "asking for it" because they are out are just vile.

A cat pooing in your garden is not the same thing as your dog killing a cat.

PUT YOUR MUTT ON A FUCKING LEAD.

Did anyone say they were asking for it? 😂

Or just that their owners can’t have it both ways and should actually protect their moggy?

Sorry I posted and ran - early shift at work!

In terms of securing the garden - I’ve mostly been able to do this other than the side gate - the latch is broken and I’ve asked the landlord to repair it but no response as yet…. I’ve been waiting for months. It’s a low gate so the cats can jump over it, dogs just tend to come charging through! I’ve tried to cat proof as much as possible but my cats are escape artists so they still get out.

If they were stupid enough to get into a dogs garden and get chased then that’s their problem - as has been mentioned, I choose to let them roam so from that point of view it’s a risk they take. What I object to is the dog walkers on the road / path who do t have their songs on a lead and who let them chase my cats (or the psycho close neighbour who thinks it’s funny to let hers off the lead deliberately).

I worry that a) one day the cats won’t be fast enough and they will be caught and killed and b) when the dogs get into my garden they are hugely over excited, and may injure my child, plus one of them at least craps all over the place each time.

It’s got so bad that I’ve joked about buying my own dog lead to catch them when they come into the garden…

If the cats sit under your car and she lets them off because they chase them, I'd get CCTV coving the car area, that way you can show how vendictive she is. Letting them off lead just to chase down another innocent animal is vile.
What if she was letting them off to chase rabbits, or ducks or something else? Its not a big stretch, maybe the rescue people shouldn't be letting her take care of these dogs.
I's also secure the gate myself and not wait for the landlord, a sliding lock on the inside doesn't cost much from B&Q.

One of our cats was killed by a dog in our garden this year. Dog warden involved it's not ok at all.

Report them to the dog warden every time, there are laws and they are breaching them.

This isn’t anything to do with rescue dogs but with irresponsible owners.

Dogs should not be off the lead on public highways. If your cat ran across the road and the dog chased them just as a car was coming then it is an accident waiting to happen.

I'd start a rumour, maybe even post a pic of a hotdog studded with nails. That should keep the irresponsible dog owners with their dogs on leads.

Do not actually do it before anyone twists my words

Can you secure the gate for now? A length of chain you can thread through the gate and loop over the gate post would be an easy temporary measure.
My dog would chase some cats, that's why I walk her on a lead on the pavements. When we are on the park or trails she will set off to chase, she has no hope of catching anything as she's small and elderly, but I call her back.
It's very wrong that some are allowing their dogs to chase your cats deliberately. I don't think there is anything wong with raising this on the local Facebook page.

To the sanctimonious dog owners that seem to think dog shit and pee is some kind of natural elixir. Guess what? Dog excreta also carries disease and can blind or even kill people. Its not just cat shit that is nasty, and if our area is anything to go by the streets are literally dripping in dog wee (Leptospirosis anyone?)
Dogs also kill birds and rabbits and squirrels and any other small animal they fancy chasing so bugger off with 'well cats kill birds so its ok for my dog to chase them'
Irresponsible dog owners are a nightmare and seem to be ten a penny at the moment.
OP - I would definitely mention it to your neighbours, some dog owners are so stupidly blinded by the love they feel for their dog they cannot for one second comprehend that you might not be as amused as they are that their dog chases your cat. Perhaps remind them of their legal obligation to control their animal and let them know should anything happen to your cat because of their irresponsible attitude that you will not hesitate to use every legal avenue available to you which could result in the destruction of their dangerous dog.

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.

You could, but then the police would probably want to talk to you...

@Lockheart @1940s

Interesting hypothetical legal conundrum! I think the cat owner would be quite entitled to do that. I doubt the police would have any leverage.

I like dogs, but have two cats. Very popular area for dogs here and the large amount of irresponsible owners are unbelievable. Dogs off lead on beach everywhere - jumping up and scaring my toddler to death, dog crap everywhere etc.

Dogs can kill: cats - small children - people. I very much feel people forget that.

Neither of my cats kill birds, one is old and totally uninterested. Other is a mouser. Yes not totally ideal, but who wants a mouse infestation at home? I don’t want mice running around the house, she keeps them out at least. This shouldn’t be a dogs versus cats thread I agree - but you simply can’t compare cat behaviour to dangerous & out of control dogs with irresponsible owners.

I really hope you can get this sorted OP. The woman who thinks it’s funny - have you tried to talk to her & tell her how out of order she is?

It’s NATURE for dogs to chase cats. You cannot make them not do it?!! That’s what they are born to do. The only thing you can do is stop them interacting.
So stop them coming on your property or
keep the cat inside.
Cats and dogs both kill other animals. This is NATURE. You can’t stop them doing it. You just have to put up with it. Neither of them are saints. But you can stop them doing it on your property.

I would fix the gate myself, honestly. It's not worth risking your cats safety and at best they must get very stressed out.

I grew up somewhere full of quite scary dogs and we lost several cats to them, it's really distressing. Can't believe any dog owner would find their dog chasing a cat funny.

I have dogs and cats.

Dogs shouldn't be coming on to your private property, however I do feel that if you choose to let your cat out to roam unsupervised, then you need to accept the potentially dangerous risks that run alongside that.

Dogs chase small furry things - that's their nature. My dog doesn't chase our own cats however a cat on the street he would consider fair game, which is why I have him on a lead on the streets.

However if he was in an area where he was allowed off lead (like a park or field) and a cat appeared, he would give chase and there's probably nothing I could do to get him back.

If you feel as though your cats are in danger because they free-roam then you need to cat-proof your garden and keep them on your property. We have three and they all stay inside our cat-proofed garden as I don't want them being chased by dogs, hit by cars, getting lost or hurt or trapped.

@Husbandno5

It’s NATURE for dogs to chase cats. You cannot make them not do it?!! That’s what they are born to do. The only thing you can do is stop them interacting. So stop them coming on your property or keep the cat inside. Cats and dogs both kill other animals. This is NATURE. You can’t stop them doing it. You just have to put up with it. Neither of them are saints. But you can stop them doing it on your property.

It's illegal to have an uncontrollable dangerous dog. So whilst it may be nature these are domesticated animals with penalties to those who don't prevent their dog causing harm

If you want to keep your cats safe keep them at home. If they are wandering into the wider world then they will encounter dogs , foxes, cars etc etc. They may even chase birds or other people's pets. Pretty hypocritical to let your cats express their "natural instincts" then complain about other animals doing the same.

God, the same type of dog owners who were all over a previous thread getting indignant that people might object to their precious fur baby worrying sheep are here to justify their dogs attacking cats. On that thread it was justified by the sheep being unloved lesser beasts owned by evil farmers. Here where it’s loved pets being chased down it’s just a dogs nature (yes, indeed, they are predatory animals that’s why there are strict dog control laws). I don’t hate dogs, I have a dog (a not particularly strong prey drive breed - on purpose), but I have also had a cat, and a sheep and currently have small children - it’s on dog owners to make sure their predatory animals don’t harass any of those (cat in an offlead dog park is different - but I’ve rarely seen a cat there!)