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Original poster

Today my 2 JRT's got our cat :(

36 replies

Piffle · 04/05/2007 12:12

Totally shocked
1 yr old pups, our cat Thelma is 3, and knows she can beat the dogs in thru the cat flap. BUT dd (4) had locked it and they cornered her and both had her round the neck, DP and I were right there, and got them off her, cat ok but now no way can I trust my dogs.
WTF do I do?

OP posts:
NomDePlume · 04/05/2007 12:14

Fucking dogs. Sorry, but fucking dogs.

My Mum's (now dead) jrt bit dd on the face when she was 2yo. It wasn't a bad bite, more of a warning (although she wasn't doing anything to the bastard animal) but she was left bruised and traumatised. I wanted to kick the effing thing to death.

[end]

Original poster
Piffle · 04/05/2007 12:19

The dogs are normally excellent around the cat, they do not even chase her
Came out of nowhere
I never let dd out alone with them anyway, even though they seem great dogs
But now...
I love this cat, 3 of our cats ahve been run over here and she has out foxed the trucks,cars and tractors and we adore her - far more than the dogs if truth be told

Ahhh fuckity fuck fuck

OP posts:
Kelly1978 · 04/05/2007 12:26

'love the cat...far more than the dogs' - doesn't that spell it out?
I do wonder if JRT are the right sort of dogs to have around young children too. Maybe you could look into rehoming them, and gettign a more docile breed later on?

Kelly1978 · 04/05/2007 12:28

I grew up with labradors and cats btw. One of our cats was a rescuee and half feral when we got him. We managed to calm him down a lot, but he still was bad tempered. He'd sit on a dining cahir under the table and swipe the dogs as they walked past. They were terrified of him!

Joannie2 · 04/05/2007 12:28

So sorry to hear this - glad she is OK. However, it is instinct, the dogs really haven't done anything wrong. Terriers are bred for this very purpose - in their opinion they were only doing their job. If I were you, I would rehome the dogs through JRT Rescue as they will understand the very specific needs that the breed has - generally speaking terriers and cats don't mix (there are exceptions of course). Hope you are feeling better, what a shock you must have had.

NomDePlume · 04/05/2007 12:30

I'd get rid of the dogs, rehome them or whatever. Sorry Piff

NomDePlume · 04/05/2007 12:33

I'd take it as a warning of how quickly a dog (particularly a terrier) can turn.

BTW, dd wasn't alone with the dog, my mum, ds2 and i were also in the room at the time. DS2 was eating a bag of crisps and the dog was sat at his feet waiting for any crumbs. DD toddled up around and behind the dog (not right next to him) and stood next to him (a foot away) to ask her brother for a crisp. The dog must've seen her move out the corner of his eye and went for her face. It happened so quickly there was nothing any of us could've done to prevent it, other than putting the dog out when the kids were around. Previously he'd been fine with children

ediemay · 04/05/2007 12:34

Agree with J2. Must have been horrible but terriers + cats = not great. JRTs will bite the throat by instinct - they will even go under much bigger dogs & bite their thoats.

Whoooosh · 04/05/2007 12:36

Sorry but I would never trust a terrier-it's in their instinct to behave like this.

So sorry for you Piffle.

NuttyMuffins · 04/05/2007 12:38

That ws one of the reasons we rehomed our JRT pup, he was constantly chasing the cat and would try and get his mouth around her throat. We had the cat before the dog so the dog had to go.

Luckily for us my dad had him.

mishw · 04/05/2007 12:42

What an awful experience for you and your daughter ndp. I have also been bitten by a dog when it felt I threatened it when food was around - this is just what some dogs do.

Owners need to take more responsibility of their dogs, it doesn;t matter whether a dog has done anything similar or not, they can 'turn' at any time. I know you said that your DD wasn;t doing anything to the dog at the time and in our eyes she wasn't, however the dog may have felt that someone else was coming to take away food that was rightly his so he attacked. I would never have a dog around children whenever there is food around.

Piffle I agree with the others and would look at rehoming the dogs if I were you, you've already said that you don't trust them and that you prefer your cat. There are also more child friendly dogs out there.

mishw · 04/05/2007 12:43

that meant to say breeds not just dogs in general!

magnolia1 · 04/05/2007 12:45

Ah Piffle, how awful for your ca and for you

It is true that JRT'S are bred for rabbiting ect so see al smaller animals like prey but to be honest I would say being 2 of them probably made it worse.

I am not saying what they did was not awful but its any dogs insticnt to chase and they can get over excited. Were they really nasty with it or is it possible they were over excited.

I have 2 dogs and 2 cats, the other day my older cat wound the dogs up so much by stalking them round the kitchen and swiping them whenever they tried to move that in the end one of them jumped on him, lots of fur flying but cat was fine and still did it again that afternoon
I wouldn't consider re homing my dogs because of this (unless and injury was caused then I may rethink)

Sorry your having to go through this xxx

Original poster
Piffle · 04/05/2007 14:26

not playing they were actually really bloody savage, really snarling and stuff.
The cat won't come near the house now
As it happens the dogs sleep in the crate at night in the kitchen and the cat comes in and out as she pleases.
The dogs are out most of the day anyway and she is in most of teh day sleeping off her dawn hunting exploits.
How the hell can I rehome them in all conscience?

OP posts:
hennipenni · 04/05/2007 15:13

Glad your cats ok. I was attacked by a JRT when I was young- my dad had to kick it repeatedly for it to let go of me. I don't trust them at all.

LilRedWG · 04/05/2007 15:19

I'm sorry Piffle, they're going to have to go. You'll never be able to trust them again and next time they could hurt Thelma or your DD. Better to be safe than sorry and all that.

WigWamBam · 04/05/2007 15:26

Oh, Piff. It sounds terrifying - they are really frightening when they're so savage.

That's why, for me, the dogs would have to go. If I couldn't trust them with the cat, I certainly couldn't trust them anywhere near children.

I know you say that in all conscience you couldn't rehome them, but in a home with no other pets, no children, and a loving, responsible owner they would be OK.

WigWamBam · 04/05/2007 15:27

(That sounds as if I mean you're not a loving, responsible owner. Sorry, I didn't mean it that way at all).

Whoooosh · 04/05/2007 16:20

Oh Piffle- I really do feel for you and if hugs were allowed on Mumsnet there would be a big,fat,warm,comforting one heading your way

MascaraOHara · 04/05/2007 16:26

JRTs are known for being agressive..

Everybody I know who has had one it has killed something.. think you need to get rid of the dogs tbh.. they're not great dogs to have around children as they are, ime, always quite 'nippy' little things.

dp has one which he loves and it's soft as anything with dd but at the end of the day it's out everyday killing baby rabbits and rats so would never leave her alone with dd.

AnAngelWithin · 04/05/2007 16:33

oh god. deja vu. feel for you i really do. been through this myself only with my rabbit being ripped to pieces by a stray we took in

personally i feel that once a dog has bitten anyone or anything that is supposed to be a member of the family then they have crossed the line. Though that decision was very hard to make at the time to let him go, i feel it was for the best. If you doubt how much you would trust the dog around your child, you will never be able to change that feeling. it will always be in the back of your mind eating away at you. At the end of the day, yes, its what dogs do, especially terriers, but you need to work out if you can live with that comfortably. And your quote saying you love the cat more than the dogs, kind of says it all as well. I would imagine emotions are running very high at the moment. You need time to calm down before you make any decisions.

lucyellensmum · 04/05/2007 16:44

im afraid the dogs were doing what comes naturally. They are terriers and it is in the breed to chase and attack, not thier fault per se but never the less. I don't think you can say that this means they will or will not be a danger in the future, but it does go to show how they can react if over stimulated etc. TBH i would consider rehoming them, JR are notorious for being biters and they are bloody quick too.

HNmmm, was thinking about getting border terrier but this has made me re think, reminded me how terriers can be. I think they are fantastic little dogs, real characters, but not good with kiddies.

wannaBeWhateverIWannaBe · 04/05/2007 16:54

I do think a bit of perspective is needed ?it shows how quickly a dog can turn? ?you have to get rid of them? ?they will have to go??

Jrt?s are generally ratters and they were doing what comes naturally, albeit that it is very unpleasant. But just because they attacked your cat does not necessarily mean they will attack the kids, the two are not necessarily linked. How many threads are there on here that say for instance, that staffies are the ?nanny dog? and in those same threads people freely admit that they have a reputation for being aggressive towards other dogs? People own staffies that will usually attack another dog in a heartbeat but are happy to have them around their children, so there?s no reason why a jr can?t be considered in the same way.

I would look at your options, and think about how you feel before making any rash decisions.

Personally if it were me I would rehome the most dominant of the two dogs and keep the more submissive one. I seem to recall from other threads that one dog is definitely more dominant than the other? Or was that someone else? But if you only have one dog rather than two, there isn?t the chance of them ganging up together against the cat. Lesss of a pack mentality means less chance of an attack that the cat won?t be able to withstand. I would rehome the one dog through jrt rescue or similar as they will be able to place it with an appropriate owner.

Good luck x

wannaBeWhateverIWannaBe · 04/05/2007 16:55

I do think a bit of perspective is needed ?it shows how quickly a dog can turn? ?you have to get rid of them? ?they will have to go??

Jrt?s are generally ratters and they were doing what comes naturally, albeit that it is very unpleasant. But just because they attacked your cat does not necessarily mean they will attack the kids, the two are not necessarily linked. How many threads are there on here that say for instance, that staffies are the ?nanny dog? and in those same threads people freely admit that they have a reputation for being aggressive towards other dogs? People own staffies that will usually attack another dog in a heartbeat but are happy to have them around their children, so there?s no reason why a jr can?t be considered in the same way.

I would look at your options, and think about how you feel before making any rash decisions.

Personally if it were me I would rehome the most dominant of the two dogs and keep the more submissive one. I seem to recall from other threads that one dog is definitely more dominant than the other? Or was that someone else? But if you only have one dog rather than two, there isn?t the chance of them ganging up together against the cat. Lesss of a pack mentality means less chance of an attack that the cat won?t be able to withstand. I would rehome the one dog through jrt rescue or similar as they will be able to place it with an appropriate owner.

Good luck x

hercules1 · 04/05/2007 16:57

I agree with others. Dogs have no morals or any idea of right or wrong. They were simply being dogs. Personally I wouldnt have a Jack Russel with kids.