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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

My dog killed a cat this afternoon. What now?

278 replies

HarrietSchulenberg · 18/05/2014 21:25

Out with dog this afternoon. Dog off lead in seemingly empty field. Cat jumped up from long grass in front of him and he pounced. Cat didn't really have a chance. It was still alive when I managed to get dog off so wrapped it up and took it to vet who lives locally. Vet just rang to say cat died. Owners on holiday till Tuesday but have been told.

First step is dog is staying on lead at all times. Next step is training classes, will ring when I get home tomorrow eve. What else?

Dog is insured so should be covered for vet costs for cat. Will have bill for him too as he was injured, but still waiting to know how much. Will offer to meet with cat owners, if they want to. Do I need to muzzle him if he's on a lead?

Really shocked at the mo and prob not thinking straight. I've always had cats until recently so I really feel for the owners.

Will be bwck in a while, need to get kids to bed.

OP posts:
CQ · 18/05/2014 21:46

My dog's a labrador. She still hunts and kills whenever she can. It is not a breed specific thing.

Artandco I agree with your point about a small child. I was so horrified I took my dog to the vet to seriously discuss having her PTS. She wouldn't put down a healthy dog. Referred me to a dog behaviourist but tbh I will never trust her off lead again. What if it was a small child rustling in some bushes? Shudder.

Bowlersarm · 18/05/2014 21:46

Oh, thanks snowmummy. I think all breeds are capable of it though. One of my Labradors would catch and kill all small furries if it could, including a cat I'm sure, but the other one wouldn't be interested in the slightest. And sad as it is, if my lab could be pts for killing a cat, I would think more than twice about telling anyone.

tryingtocatchthewind · 18/05/2014 21:46

I too would be horrified if this was my dog but isn't that the chance you take when your cat is out and about. Don't cats kill hundreds of birds, mice etc? You can't blame the dog for being a dog. But I am sad for the poor cat and owners, awful thing to happen to your pet.

VivaLeBeaver · 18/05/2014 21:46

Oh dear. There is a world of difference between a cat and a small child. A huge difference. No one will order the dog to be pts.

I used to have a greyhound which would catch and kill rabbits. She was cat friendly at home but I wouldn't have trusted her with a strange cat. I walked her off lead in fields, never saw a cat in the fields thankfully. But it was a long way from any houses.

MrsMaturin · 18/05/2014 21:47

Of course it was an accident. By the sound of things the dog was surprised by the cat and his instinct tragically took over. I would be interested to hear how he was with the OP's cats but I suspect he may in fact have been fine and what happened today was him going for something smaller and furry rather than going for a cat iyswim. I agree though that the Op needs to be very conciliatory towards the cat owners - as she obviously intends to be.

Wickeddevil · 18/05/2014 21:47

Harriet I am so sorry. We had a horrid experience with our rescue dog last year. She escaped from our garden and attacked another smaller dog. The other dog had some nasty wounds but survived.
We felt utterly sick though. There were so many what ifs. And inevitably we felt judged.
It didn't matter that we knew she didn't like other dogs and we only ever walked her on a lead, in a few moments her instincts took over and she did what to her was natural.
I just wanted to reassure you that it happens. And it happens to responsible owners

snowmummy · 18/05/2014 21:51

And what when the dog is surprised by a small child...

Corygal · 18/05/2014 21:54

Talk to the vet. You need a muzzle and leash whenever you go out at the bare minimum. Don't let things slip or think 'my ickle pooch will be fine' - you have proof he won't.

To all the posters boasting about keeping dangerous dogs, killing cats or attacking other dogs isn't 'natural'. Most dogs don't ever do it.

But once a dog does start attacking, they often don't stop. Successful retraining is not guaranteed. What breed is your dog?

VivaLeBeaver · 18/05/2014 21:59

A high percentage of dogs will have a prey drive for small furry animals. Only a very, very small percentage will attack a child.

When a dog attacks a child its due to aggression rather than prey drive and there would be signs in the dogs behaviour already that it was aggressive.

Ubik1 · 18/05/2014 22:01

Poor cat

What a dreadful way to die, terrified, in agony.

Really, poor creature Sad

BettyBotter · 18/05/2014 22:04

How awful for you all Sad

But it is instinct for dogs to kill small furry things and that instinct can't be trained out. Saying 'what if it was a child' is ridiculous. It is not canine instinct to kill humans.

Many dogs kill rabbits if given half a chance. Obviously rabbit owners would be very unwise to let their rabbits wander free in a dog walking area. Likewise a cat in an open country area is going to be unfortunately similar style prey to most dogs.

This does sound like tragic happenstance and a muzzle would prevent it happening again.

Wolfiefan · 18/05/2014 22:07

Viva speaks the truth.
If this was my cat I would be truly devastated. I think the fact you took the cat to the vets, are paying bills and offering to meet owners makes a huge difference.
I can understand why someone mentioned breed. If this is an ex racing grey then I would be very cross precautions weren't taken.
Poor cat.

FrontForward · 18/05/2014 22:11

To all those people saying you should be a responsible owner and rein in an animal from killing I don't disagree. Wish a cat owner would stop their cat coming into my garden and attacking my chickens

MrsStatham · 18/05/2014 22:13

Owning a dog which is dangerously out of control in a public place is an offence.

Wolfiefan · 18/05/2014 22:13

How would they do that Front?

Original poster
HarrietSchulenberg · 18/05/2014 22:14

Dog is a lurcher and apart from chasing (and spectacularly failing to catch) a rabbit once, he's shownno sign of aggression. This wasn't aggression - the cat leapt out of long grass right in front of him and he leapt for it, so more instinct.

We've seen the cat before and it's faced him down but this time surprise got the better of him. I'm quite confident he wouldn't attack a child but I've always kept him on a lead round people and other dogs just in case. We were in what appeared to be an empty field but the cat was in a clump of long grass in the middle.

Both vets have said "that's what dogs do" and implied ythat it was just a tragic accident, but I would have been gutted if it had happened to one of my cats. I don't have any at the moment, just the dog, so he's not been cat tested.

Ironically, I did once home a rescue greyhound but we had to return her because the cat we had then was so vile to her. She never turned a hair or even looked at him hut he used to pounce on her and snarl, so she had to be rehomed for her own safety.

Anyway, just have to wait to speak to owners on Tues to see what they want to do.

OP posts:
biglill · 18/05/2014 22:14

This happened to my friends dog a few years back. She took the decision to have her young dog put to sleep. She was a rescue dog with an uncertain past and she felt that once she had had the taste of blood she could be a threat to small children or animals in the future. Sorry this has happened, horrible for all concerned.

BettyBotter · 18/05/2014 22:22

Yes Viva . A lot of people seem to be confusing aggression (fighting and biting - bad) with the prey instinct (hunting and chasing - normal).

All dogs have the prey instinct and the even if many family pets are too unfit or well fed to feel the need to chase things (hence chasing balls etc). They also all have the innate capacity to kill small furry things with a quick shake of the neck. Most thankfully never get close enough.

You can train a dog not to chase or bother cats at home or cats in the garden or even cats on the street. But a cat popping out of a bush in the 'wild' is very bad luck. No more could you train a cat not to kill a hamster or a budgie if it walked in front of it.

handcream · 18/05/2014 22:22

Taste of blood.... Do people really think this is true!

Matildasmam22 · 18/05/2014 22:24

That must of been awful for you.

I really don't get the child comment though.

Dogs instinct can be to prey on animals but very few prey on children humans.

I don't have mine of the lead full stop he does not like other animals at all.

He once chased a cat out our garden lucky he was too old/slow too catch it, but if he had I would of course been upset but wouldn't consider him being pts or a risk to children.

Matildasmam22 · 18/05/2014 22:26

Handcream unless it's a new breed of vampire dog I doubt it.

FrontForward · 18/05/2014 22:30

All animals have the ability to act aggressively to humans and other animals. My earlier point is that cats kill other animals. (It's not nice especially if they are pets and in your own garden)

A dog acting instinctively when startled in a field off lead (when it would feel completely different to a domestic environment) is the same behaviour that the cats show.

To suggest all cats are restrained and controlled to prevent them fouling other peoples gardens where their children play or attack small animals/birds are is considered unreasonable. I see restraining dogs much the same way.

Kleptronic · 18/05/2014 22:51

There was nothing you could do. Empty field, lurcher, instant cat, it was bound to happen in those circumstances. I've got a cat and a collie, and I'm pretty sure if that happened with my dog he'd have pounced too. This despite my cat regularly showing him who's boss, and my collie being a pastoral breed. He doesn't know that he should confine himself to sheep when he accidentally flushes grouse, he goes after them and tries to catch them. His prey drive is high, it's been bred into collies, but with training it's sublimated into bossing sheep rather than biting them. In his case, it's balls/frisbees/agility/obedience/attempted cat herding, but it's still there. All dogs have a prey drive. That is what dogs do, and all the training in the world can't override a split second instinctual response to overwhelming sudden stimulus.

I feel for you all here, but I don't blame the dog, he'll turn into an unsafe predatory liability around sudden small furries because he's a dog, and a lurcher to boot. He's done what he was bred for, and can't be blamed for it. You tried to do the right thing by the cat and you're doing the right thing by the owners, and that's all you can do.

Dogs however do not, in the main, have an instinctual bite response to small children. A child is not a cat in flight. Dogs usually (sadly there's always exceptions, but nearly all dogs) don't see children as prey.

rideyourbike · 18/05/2014 22:56

This could have been a child though, most dogs are capable of killing a child.

VivaLeBeaver · 18/05/2014 23:03

They're really not.