Neighbour's cat killed our guinea pig

[GuineaPiggie]

We had two guinea pigs - until Sunday; now we just have one :-(

Our next door neighbour got two cats a few weeks ago. They have been coming into our garden, and I have been trying to deter them with water pistols. I bought cat spikes and laid them around our guinea pig hutch. I thought I had successfully warned them off but it turns out they have been coming into our garden when we have been out.

On Saturday evening my neighbour said she had tried to knock on our door to tell us that their cats were scratching at the guinea pig hutch. We were not at home.

That evening, one of our guinea pigs stopped eating and was sat trembling, as if in shock. We didn't think much of it, since she was otherwise perfectly healthy and only 3 years old.

On Sunday we found her dead. Her sister seems okay, apart from being distressed at having lost her sister. We will get another guinea pig to keep her company, but obviously are absolutely devastated at this loss. My children are so so upset, as am I. It seems too much of a coincidence that she died just after the cat attack.

Any suggestions about what I can do about this, and how to broach this with my neighbour? I'm not the kind of person to march round and have a go at them, but I am angry and upset and am terrified of leaving the house in case the cats come again. It seems so unfair that my neighbours' pets are allowed to roam all over the place, terrorising (and now causing the death of) other people's pets (others on the street have complained about them too - they mentioned this on Saturday).

I understand that you can't prevent cats from roaming, but it seems so unjust that our neighbours disown any responsibility, having brought these cats into our life. It won't bring our piggie back, but I don't want this happening again. Their attitude is "cats will be cats". We have tried to cat-proof our garden but surely they should share some of the responsibility? Should they not have considered this before deciding to buy these cats?

Also, if you placed cat spikes around the hutch, what access were your guinea pigs able to have outside their hutch? Surely they weren't confined at all times? You don’t mention a covered run to stop the cats jumping in...

Most cats are no problem, however there are a few that quite frankly are a nuisance, anti social and a complete pain in the arse. It is in these instances, more often or not, the old 'right to roam' card is deployed by owners who refuse to even tacitly accept that maybe, just maybe, not everyone loves their fur baby in their homes and gardens and that if you have a problem the onus is on you to spend time and money fixing it as opposed to maybe the owner themselves doing something about their problem cat.

Our GP's lived outside their entire lives, went on the grass under a run for several months a year, and we have cats. They were absolutely fine. They lived until they were 8 years old.

Honestly OP, I doubt the GP died from fright. GP's are very prone to infections that can kill in 24 hours. It's sad, but just one of those things.

I’m sorry for your loss. It sounds like your GP died of fright. She perhaps needed to see the vet when you found her shaking. Even without the cats, foxes could also get up to the hutch and scare them. You need some sort of safe fence/enclosure with a roof around the hutch to give the GPs more safety.

I don't think you can blame your neighbours for cats roaming and being cats.

It's very normal to let cats out, and if it wasn't those neighbours with cats, it would be another.

It's your responsibility to keep the guinea pigs safe and provide a large enough enclosure that they can retreat to safety where they can't be seen/ antagonised by foxes and cats.

Your guinea pig did not suffer a cat attack

I’m sorry for your loss but you can’t blame the cat

You can't expect neighbours not to have a particular pet, because you have outdoor guinea pigs. They have just as much right to have pets as you do.

We had guinea pigs and assorted very interested cats for years, so I clicked on this thread thinking, 'Gosh, unusual for a cat to do actual harm to a guinea rather than a bit of a prod or a hard stare.'

I do think your guinea pig must have had something else going on. We've had them live anything from 18 months to 8 years, and the end is often very sudden.

As someone else said, if they stop eating, they die quickly. It's worth having a packet of Critical Care (basically powdered extra tasty grass!) and a small syringe on hand so that you can squidge emergency green slop into them and get them past the worst.

OP can you please expand on the cat attack?
I can't seem to find it in your OP unless you mean a cat pawing at the hutch.

Is the hutch in a lidded run?
How are the cats getting in your garden?

So I'm not the world's biggest cat fan (I'm not single either, for the record @Jennyathemall 🙄) and adore guinea pigs, but if a cat could frighten her to death then so could a hawk, a fox, a weasel. Cats are a pita though.

You may have had cats in the garden but guinea pigs are sensitive creatures so anything could have shocked it. It could have been a health condition and not shock at all. Though, the fact you knew the guinea pig was shaking and not eating and you did nothing about that, then were shocked when it died, is a little odd.

@Alicewinn
Yes but you have a run for them in the garden.. not keeping them outside 24/7

Sorry for the loss of your little piggy. 💐

It's very likely the death was due to the cat. No point denying that. Guinea pigs are prone to dying of shock. 😔

But that's just the way nature works, sadly. Your neighbours have a right to keep their choice of pets, just like you do. There's nothing that can be done about the way animals interact...in other words, there's not a lot your neighbours could have done to prevent this, and it's not their fault so no point in trying to lay blame (nor in trying to deflect blame tbf). You can't really do anything about it and it'd be extremely unreasonable to try to make an issue of it with them.

Do you have a shed or a garage? Maybe you could move the hutch inside, if that's an option, as it would keep the cats away.

Again, sorry about your pet, it's very sad and of course you and your children will be upset.

Oh and as others have said, as likely as I think it is that the cat did frighten the piggy, it's just as likely that it could have been anything else. They also often die for no apparent reason. It's sadly part and parcel of owning the little guys. 😔

Inside unless you are home and can watch them in the run.

it was probably the cat but they do, sadly, just drop dead. Kind of the no 1 rule of Guinea pig.

I disagree that guinea pigs are notorious for dropping down dead (I used to breed and show guinea pigs, having had 50+ over the years). They usually show signs of ill health first, or stop eating for days before dying. But I do agree that the neighbour's cat is not likely to blame here.

It's not the cats fault. It's yours.

Keep them inside.

They don't. I never lost a guinea pig like that. All of mine had signs of ill health or stopped eating. I don't mean they never do, but I had 50+ and it didn't happen to mine, so it's far from common to just find them dead without expecting it.

When an animal shocks or spooks them though, OP was out, could have been a badger/fox/the cat scratching at the cage for hours?

I’ve gone out to a dead pig in the garden, signs of scratches on the cage but no marks on the pig

Yes, possibly the case with a guinea pig just in a hutch. Mine were only ever inside a shed, or indoors. I wouldn't keep a guinea pig unless in a shed, as they can't cope with extreme cold or heat (or wild animals spooking them). When kept in the correct conditions they don't just drop down dead.

Yeah that's true - I suppose most of the cases of unexpected/unexplained deaths probably are due to a specific cause, and it stands to reason that living outdoors there would be way more incidence of shock-inducing circumstances.

Thinking about it our indoor piggies also lived long happy lives.

Is there any way you can move yours inside @GuineaPiggie?

Completely agree. I learnt the hard way not to ever leave them in the run. The sad thing is, I was home and just making myself some food!
I was only a teenager and bloody loved my piggies (I still do but the three I had at the time were just the MOST tame!)
I was devastated 😭

When I read the title of this I genuinely thought that the cat had eaten the guinea pig!
But the cat didn't kill it at all did it? At most it scared it which may or may not have led to its death. But so could many other things. It's all very speculative.
Sadly there's little you can do to prevent cats entering your garden. Lemon peel is thought to work. But legally cats can roam and they do tend to bypass spikes and other deterrents quite well.
I'm sorry about your pet.

Surely they don't spend all their time in the hutch? That would be awful for them. They need a proper secure run on grass with the hutch inside it then they can hide in the hutch if a cat appears. No living creature should be shut in a box all its life

Is the hutch a decent size so the guinea pigs could get to a dark quiet area away from the part bordering the outside? If it's tiny so cat or fox or large bird can circle it and they can't hide then it may not be suitable.