Neighbours dogs have killed my cat. Distraught.

[MissingKittyCat]

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.

How many instances of a cat coming into someone's home and killing their hamster are you aware of? Or a hamster that wanders into someone else's garden and is hence savaged by their cat?

That's just silly. Of course if it's your own cat and your own hamster, you get to play God.

I have a 10ft fence and I have nothing to hide.
It's to protect my animals from cats.

Planning after reading your subsequent posts I've decided you're on another planet and I think you've completely misunderstood boneyBacks post. She was explaining why she needed such high fences.

I have fences because someone was pinching my washing from the line. Taking away the fences isn't going to make the world a better place and prevent people from jumping over

This thread is almost becoming a bit eerie.
God why is the UK becoming so insular

We do not have a high fence.
Our land is totally exposed.
We cut our hedges and walls down.
Our apples and damsons won't steal our neighbours corn.

Come and rob us if you want Haha.
But do it openly.

The 12ft obstructions are a sign of something else.

GraysAnalogy

You are a stalker.

planning just because you don't have high fences doesn't mean others have something to hide if they do.

Besides which I didn't say that big, cat killing dogs ought to be banned or something. I just said I don't understand why people keep them. And I am grateful that my neighbours seek to train their dog not to leap over our fence and kill our chickens. If one of the chickens got over in to theirs, I'd blame myself (and the chicken) but cats need to be free to wander.

I disagree that indoor cats are a good thing, in many cases. If it's the only alternative then fine - but a cat is usually far happier when it can roam.

you have apples and damsons? how lovely. we have broken glass and empty laughing gas canisters here.

maybe thats why you dont need a fence, and i do

Or should people just not keep cats in case they wander into a garden that has a dog in it?

Should people just not keep dogs, ON THEIR OWN PROPERTY because folk think it's perfectly acceptable to allow their cats everywhere and then lambast the owners if god forbid something happens?

planning

are you stoned?

Grays

But have you tried not allowing a cat to go in someone's garden? It isn't possible. The only answer is to have a super wise cat that avoids other gardens with dogs in, or just not to have cats unless you're prepared to have them killed when they make a mistake.

I am just not sure why some dogs find killing cats an instinctive activity or why people like having such dogs. What's the point? It isn't like cats are vermin.

I am going to use Google Earth the rest of the world as a cunning retort to those who disagree with me from now on.

It is sad that this happened, of course it is. However, it would be equally sad if the cat had been hit by a car, or any number of other fates that could befall a free-roaming animal.

Demonizing the neighbour, who admitted what had happened, (presumably to help give the OP some sense of closure?) does nothing to help. He could have kept quiet, disposed of the cat's body and done nothing, just as many people do if they run into a cat with their car.

Cats often steer clear of gardens where there are dogs. In this case, the cat wondered into the garden of the dog's house. It has an unfortunate incident, with no-one to blame, none the less upsetting for the OP, but the neighbour was not to blame.

psipsina I appreciate it's hard to stop a cat from going in someones garden, but don't you also realise it's practically impossible to stop a dog from having it's instinct to kill a cat?

I'm incredibly lucky that my dog doesn't mind cats. In fact the cats bully him. But that's not true for a lot of dogs, and how does anyone propose we train dogs to suddenly like cats? Have you seen a cat and a dog together!

I am just not sure why some dogs find killing cats an instinctive activity
They're animals. They don't know the difference between vermin and none vermin because it's a human concept. You're expecting dogs to think like humans. You could just as easily say 'I don't know why some cats find killing mice an instinctive activity'

Iknow I realise cats are roamers. I realise she put herself at risk. I think it's cruel to keep cats indoors/in runs. That's just my personal opinion, I don't judge others for keeping house cats at all.

How the actual fuck is this useful When i saw so many posts on the thread i assumed that many posters were simply offering condolences to the OP.

WTF is wtong with people.

OP if you are still reading i am so very sorry about your cat. Please know that it would have been very quick and she didn't suffer.

so very sad on your behalf. Feeling angry with the dogs/ neighbour is perfectly normal and understandable even if you don't blame them.

There is no mileage in trying to figure out what happened. Just hold on to the fact that your little cat had a lovely life with you. You gave her that, you have your memories

I'm really sorry about your cat OP, you must be devastated

Psipsina Somebody else's cat does not have more right to my garden than my own dogs do.

Blimey, there's some weird posts on this thread (not talking to you OP).

It's always tragic to lose a pet, in any circumstances. However, if you allow a cat to roam (I do, my cat would hate to be cooped up 24/7) then you have to accept that something awful may happen to it. It's all about deciding what works for you and your cat. Quality of life vs 100% safeness.

The size of the neighbour's fence is absolutely irrelevant in this sorry tale. The dogs were on their OWN property. The cat was not. End of.

Btw, I will cross to the other side of the road with my dog if someone is approaching as he doesn't like strangers and will bark. Doesn't make him dangerous. Yes, he will create an almighty racket if a stranger knocks the door but I don't discourage that at all. And yes, I have no doubt that he would kill a strange cat that came into his garden, it's nature... no different at all to cats killing birds and mice. Oh, he's a Dalmatian; not sure if that's relevant to anything, I suspect not my friend owns 2 who would be more likely to lick any prospective burgler or strange cat to death, so the breed has bugger all to do with it in my opinion.

I am very sorry for your loss OP.

Psipsina, when I lived in the city I fenced in my back yard to make sure my cats couldn't get out, so it is possible. Where I live now is not possible to fence in, so yes, when I let my cats out I'm aware that they could get killed by another animal or by a human. I would be very sad if that happened, but it is a risk.
I don't think dogs can choose their instincts any more than my cats can choose not to kill mice, frogs, birds etc. I still like my cats despite them being murderers of other animals though.

I was well aware of the risk. I just didn't expect her to die like that. I thought cats were clever! A 30mph car would catch them off guard but falling/wandering into the lions lair came as a huge, huge shock to me.

Some posters are saying I should have expected a roaming cat would come a cropper. I honestly didn't foresee this! I'm upset, shocked and I miss my beautiful nervous cat terribly. Back off.

We have standard 6 ft fences. I hav nothing to hide but do like a little bit of privacy.

I don't think people are trying to be nasty in saying that a roaming cat has risks missing, I know I mentioned it to prove a point that it's a very real risk when you get a cat but not one that's your fault. We all take risks as pet owners, it's some people on here thing a cat roaming and being killed is someone's fault rather than something that unfortunately and tragically happens.

Cut down the fences.
At every level.

Op ignore crazy. Sorry for your loss