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Original poster

Neighbours dogs have killed my cat. Distraught.

296 replies

MissingKittyCat · 19/04/2015 13:52

I've name changed as this will totally out me.

On Thursday night, my darling 5 year old cat went out. she was the most timid cat, I rescued her as a kitten from an abisive household. It took her months to trust me but for the past 5 years, she has been my shadow. Scared of everything, she took huge comfort in me.

She didn't come back on Friday, I knew then that she was never coming home. I kept the faith and asked all my neighbours to keep an eye out. She had never been missing for this long. She hardly ever left the garden, if she did I knew her hiding place and she used to pop out when she heard my voice. She wasn't in the hiding spot.

Saturday morning, I started a social networking missing cat campaign. I was still half hoping she was in somebody's house (very unlikely as she was so timid) but I assed she had been hit by a car or something and just wanted to know. Tried the local vet, neighbours again. People on social networks were so helpful.

I went searching. It transpired one of our neighbours, who erected a 12ft fence lately (with spikes on top) has three dogs. Two Staffordshire bull terriers and an enormous bull mastiff. He welled up as he told me he had found my beautiful cat in his garden on Friday morning. He had taken her to the vet who were going to keep her for a few days to see if an owner enquired. She was dead. I asked if his pack of dogs had savaged her, he said not. I told him she had no chance of escape, that his fence was too high, he was visibly upset, profusely apologetic. He told me 3 times what he'd done, said he thought he was doing the right thing when he erected the fence. He took my number and said he'd get the vet to call me when they open tomorrow.

I am heartbroken. My cat was a nervous wreck, scared of her own shadow. I can't understand why she's end up in a garden with three dogs. She barely left the house, she followed me around like a lamb. I'm so upset, I feel her trauma, she must have been so frightened.

I know it's not the dogs fault but I cant help but hate them for it. I don't want to live near them anymore. My other cat (who is very old and frail) looks so lonely and keeps crying at the door for her.

It's unbelievably tragic. I'm utterly heartbroken. She wasn't just a cat, she was my friend, she was my therapy. And I miss her.

OP posts:
PrimalLass · 19/04/2015 19:01

How is everyone getting away with these high fences? I thought 6ft was the max allowed.

Mypubesarestraight · 19/04/2015 19:03

My fence is 10ft from the outside but 6ft from inside my garden. We're on a hill.

Stratter5 · 19/04/2015 19:24

Missing lovely, I am so, so sorry about your cat Flowers

Planning, for a 'vet' you seem to be quite spectacularly ignorant, and very antagonistic. Maybe time to step away from a thread that should be full of condolences to Missing, and instead has turned into a scrap pretty much because of your quite bizarre opinions on fences, MH issues, and dog owners.

BoneyBackJefferson · 19/04/2015 19:31

Missing

You have done nothing wrong.

PlanningMyFuture

Your funny.

AliceLidl · 19/04/2015 19:32

"alice I work in a garden/homewares shop and we sold an amazing amount of antifreeze to people who were using it in there outdoor water features over winter."

Were you allowed to warn them of the dangers of doing that, or did you just have to hope they read the label and decided against it?

PlanningMyFuture · 19/04/2015 19:34

Stratter5 RTFT
Don't hang on apron-strings

Stratter5 · 19/04/2015 19:38

I have thanks, Planning. Every post. Although, how that is relevant is beyond me. I'll go and sit on the 'you're on glue/stoned/pissed/leeetle bit barking bench, along with half the posters on here Hmm

RenataFlitworth · 19/04/2015 20:06

I'm so sorry OP. Flowers

26Point2Miles · 19/04/2015 20:10

Well the vet may shed some light on it. Hope he calls you op

BastardGoDarkly · 19/04/2015 20:31

I'm so sorry about your cat missing [that's bloody awful Flowers

Psipsina · 19/04/2015 20:38

Missing,

it's just occurred to me, you know you said she never went very far - well is it possible that the guy is not telling the truth?

Especially as it took him so long to front up about it. Could it have happened in some other manner, for example the dogs got her when they were walking past your house or similar - I don't know, but it just sounds so unlikely and as others have said, she would have smelled the dogs and not gone in imo.

ThisIsTheJamHot · 19/04/2015 21:06

With respect, it's not really helping Missing to speculatePsipsina. No amount of knowledge can put matters right now sadly and speculation is as unhelpful as it is hurtful.

Planning, you're "vets" plural? In a remote part of the country?

It figures. Your kind of backward attitude is unfortunately too common in certain areas.

MadeinSouthWest · 19/04/2015 21:17

OP, I am so sorry to hear about your cat. My cat was killed in almost identical circumstances except I heard the attack. I found it comforted me that my neighbour was genuinely upset but it was also a few days before we got the body back.

Flowers

Original poster
MissingKittyCat · 19/04/2015 21:22

Psipsina it doesn't add up. Maybe he is lying but I'll never prove it. If a dog had chased her in the open, she'd have got away, I'm sure of it.

It has run through my head that some sicko could have grabbed her and thrown her in. They'd have done well to catch her though.

Will see what the vet's opinion is.

Thank you for all the Flowers I hope I feel a little better tomorrow.

OP posts:
Original poster
MissingKittyCat · 19/04/2015 21:23

So sorry Madein, thAt must have been hellish.

It's a good job I was unaware as if have thrown myself in there to save her! I'd have ended up mauled. The foolish hero.

OP posts:
PlanningMyFuture · 19/04/2015 21:32

Yes JamHot I think you may be on to something. We live just 80 miles from London and it is remote, so we are all in-bred. Not only that but we carry umbrellas around all the time just in case the cows might decide to sit down, because then it will rain. I took me last eye-pad back to the Apple shop coz it kept falling off me forehead.

MadeinSouthWest · 19/04/2015 21:33

When I heard it I didn't realise what I had heard. I just thought the dogs next door were being very loud about something. My cat made no noise, I don't think she even had time to draw breath it was so quick. It was only later when she didn't come home I worked it out. When we got her body back she was in tact and looked asleep.

Mypubesarestraight · 19/04/2015 21:38

Alice I did try to warn people, especially for the poor birds and other wildlife but they didn't care.

Moreisnnogedag · 19/04/2015 21:39

planning did you actually cut down your hedges on your land?? Please tell me not. Nobody with such hippy attitude would destroy a wildlife sanctuary, surely?

I have hedges and fences to keep my very stupid but lovely sheep off the road. My neighbour has his to stop his freisian cows from wandering onto our land or the national speed limit road.

AliceLidl · 19/04/2015 21:50

That's awful My, people are bizarre sometimes.

PlanningMyFuture · 19/04/2015 21:51

Yes and No Moreis we did cut down completely about 5% of the hedge and tree growth which was mainly introduced foreign species around the house. In that way we had more light and also the house was visible from the road (and much, much more). We planted several hundred yards of mixed deciduous hedging to keep stock in. Feel free to PM me if you want the name of the firm that we used. They fenced the area also, to a height of about 5 feet, just post and rail, grubbed some existing hard growth, and also came back and replaced a gate with a different size with no extra charge. It was well worth the money and we did not get a grant. We get fly tippers at the end of the drive, but at least they don't come up now and hiding behind the leylandi and tip a couple of tonnes of plastic and shit. Oh, and nobody has been murdered her since 2011 so that is a relief. Back to my hippy pipe and music.

Mumteadumpty · 19/04/2015 21:51

OP I am so sorry to read about your little cat. The same thing happened to one of mine, and it is so very much harder to process than if your pet had died of natural causes.

Other posters, THIS THREAD SHOULD NOT BE ALL ABOUT BLOODY FENCES! Have a bit of insight into the life of someone grieving.

ipadmad · 19/04/2015 22:01

Something similar happened to me although in my case my kitten on my property was killed by a neighbour's dogs (two or three of them acting as a pack) who had entered my garden. I was pregnant at the time and remember being very scared that it could be my baby next time.

Sadly, at the time, as this was on private property, they couldn't be prosecuted - I think the law has changed since.

Your neighbour at least seems to be showing empathy. My neighbour walked off and when spoken to about it several days later, was very 'unarsed' about the whole thing which was probably the most upsetting of all.

I'm really sorru for your loss Flowers

WelcomeToMNMadness · 19/04/2015 22:11

I'm so very sorry for your loss Missing.

Planning, you haven't a broken wrist atm, have you?

PlanningMyFuture · 19/04/2015 22:13

Welcome - yes! How did you know Shock

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