New neighbours have a cat - I have a greyhound. Help??

[acrispyguinness]

As per the title, we have new neighbours. They have a cat which they have now started letting outside. Their cat likes to scale the fences and walk along the tops and over my shed - ordinarily not a problem, I like cats. My senior greyhound however does not. He’s very reactive to them and honestly I’m not sure what he would do if he were presented with the opportunity.

How can I deter their cat from strolling the fences? I’m having to keep my poor boy inside as I can’t supervise 24/7 so he’s no longer able to sunbathe in the garden as I work. He was sunbathing by the back door this morning and their cat appeared at the top of the fence about 2m from him, luckily he didn’t see and I quickly ushered him indoors and shooed the cat but I can’t do this every time it scales the fence. Help!

Thank you for a sensible post about the steps required. Dogs need to be under control and cats are allowed to roam. Might seem unfair but there have been court cases giving case law. I will say if a neighbour's dog killed my cat I would apply straight away to have the dog put down.

My reactive greyhound wound bark and lunge when the cat was behind a window/on the wall but on the rare occasion the cat was in my garden my dog would kind of freeze and not dare go too close 😆 the cat enjoyed winding her up I think

I'd also say it's an owners duty to do all possible to prevent a dog mauling someone else's pet.

Surely keeping the dog in a secure garden is reasonable enough.

Yeah.
After a good chat I'm sure the dog will be fine with this 🙄
OP... the cat will avoid the dog.

If its in an enclosed garden... job done.
The dog isnt the one roaming.

I will say if a neighbour's dog killed my cat I would apply straight away to have the dog put down.

Good luck with that 🙄

People do not need to keep their gardens safe for other people's pets.

If your cat came into my enclosed garden where the dog was secure... I'd say that's on your cat.

Enclosed so the cat can't get in? Or give the cat owner a chance to cat proof their own garden? Sure.
Cat moves in and has immediate access to a dog with a high prey drive - be the bigger neighbour and give them some time to sort something out please.

Why not keep your cat indoors? Cats are 'allowed' to roam but why do people allow this when they know they could be killed by cars, poisons, other dogs, cats etc? My cats aren't allowed out because I don't want them to be harmed. If they are run over by a car, do you want the owner of the car punished for what you allowed? I'm not being goady, I truly want to understand the mentality behind this kind of thinking. It's your job, surely, to protect your cat. It's not the responsibility of the world to look after your pet.

Well you can apply. You wouldn't be successful though. If you treat your cat like a wild animal then it is treated like a wild animal in law.

Actually it's not but you probably know that.

Well yes, but have you ever seen the damage that a cat can to do to a dog's eyes if they can get on their back? This can be achieved by jumping down from the fence.

The cat will learn to stay away. Mine has and he is pretty daft for a cat.

Let your dog out as normal x

Let the dog out as usual - the cat will soon learn (or not).
FWIW, I love cats & hate dogs.

People don't hate cats exactly. Just entitled cat owners (so not all)

People saying put a muzzle on the dog, have you ever tried putting one on a dog that’s never worn one before? 🤣

As a cat owner with neighbours with dogs, the cat learns not to go into their gardens. Both my cats (past and present) would walk the fences on occasion, as if to wind up the dogs but other than that, nothing more. If your dog can't reach the top of the fence, then not much more you can do. I would say any dog shouldn't be able to reach the top of their fences anyway, as danger in getting out. I also don't agree with people leaving their dogs in the garden all day while at work because they can overheat, knock over water or whatever, but if wfh, no biggie.

My old neighbour had a high kill drive dog, even killed a fox one night that went into their garden - the neighbour even warned me his dog would kill my cat - my cat never went in there.

I have a reative dog and several cats who wander in my garden and sometimes in my house! I've discovered that cats are far quicker than dogs.

The cat will soon learn to avoid your garden, or it won’t.

If cat owners expect their cats to be 100% safe then keep them in. If a cat gets mauled in a neighbours garden then that’s on the cats owners, not the dog..

So if a roaming cat kills or injures someone's pet rabbit or guinea pig should the cat be put down?

My neighbour got a greyhound knowing both neighbours have cats, but what they've done is put a fence at the edge of their patio so the dog can't run straight out of the back door into the main garden. The idea is that by the time they've got the gate open any sensible cat will have noticed the dog on the patio keen to eat them and run away.

Greyhounds are bred to chase small furry creatures and have been for generations
You can't train out breeding

Put trellis up or speak to the neighbors, they may want to put netting up on their side to deter the cat

Ha ha good luck training such a high prey drive out of a greyhound 🤣

I have a lurcher and also noticed a new cat in our garden today. I took the dog out on the lead and let him have a good old bark at the cat which scared him off and will do so again until cat learns the garden isn’t safe. I don’t check my garden for local cats before letting the dog out but most have learnt to stay away.

I would warm your neighbours you have a dog with a high prey drive and whilst you won’t knowingly let the dog out when the cat is on the fence you can’t guarantee the dog won’t be unsupervised in the garden.