Death on the Yard!

[Merry]

I have a rescued racing greyhound - very laid back and good natured.
A cat just came over the 6 foot fence on to our back garden - the dog killed it!
Never seen it before - neighbours don`t know who it belongs to.
Don`t know quite what to do.
I`ve put it in a box in the garage for now so the foxes don`t get it.
Plan to bury it tomorrow.

[frozenthunderbolt]

no tag or collar on it then its feral i guess. not to be insensitive but it will make good fertiliser - plant a tree on top of it.

[Tigerhair]

I would suggest you take it to your vet and ask them to check for a microchip so that the owner can be traced.

[Annpan]

I don't have a tag or collar on my cat, I think they are dangerous. So please check around if anyone has lost a cat, or check it for microchip (though my cat doesn't have that either)

[red]

thats really awful.

take a picture. then if anyone does start looking for the cat, you might be able to tell if its theirs.
ask vet to check for microchip, as already mentioned

seriously consider if you want to keep dog. if you do, you will have to expect this to happen again. be very careful with your dog and other smaller dogs when out in park etc. I would not keep it.

[colhut]

no tag or collar on it then its feral i guess.

It might be different in New Zealand, but over here thats no guide at all, I have always had cats and never dreamed of putting a collar on them (I think its dangerous). Our current cat is micro chipped, but is a rescue cat and was chipped before we got him, I don't think I'd go out of my way to chip a cat.

Our cat went missing for a while last year, I rang all the local vets and gave a description, they in turn all had logs of cats that had been found, or where people had notified them that they had run one over. So I'd tell all the local vets, and yes get it scanned in case it has a tag. If I was the owner of that cat, I'd be devastated, but I'd still prefer to know what happened than spend my time wondering.

I would have to seriously consider if I could keep the dog, never an easy question. But with an incident like this I feel he has shown his cards, what if the object of his agression is a child next time. I could not live with the guilt.

Sorry, not sure I've been much help. Horrible situation to have to deal with.

[frozenthunderbolt]

hmmm sorry if i came off as insensitive in the last post, i probably was a bit. in NZ our native birds get absolutly decimated by wild/feral cats, while i wouldnt wish for something like that to happen, that may be why im a little more ambivilant about it i guess - cultural difference

[the.fee.fairy]

Um...

I have a dog who would kill a cat if he got a chance.

To be fair to the dog, he was protecting his territory - that's what they're there for. A racing greyhound will have been triained to chase - a cat provides him with something he can chase.

I'd say trace the owner and apologise, but not too much. After all, the dog was doing what comes naturally to it. A dog killing a cat in his own garden is not classed as a dangerous dog (i checked this with the police when we had a wolf-mix) because the cat shouldn't stray into anyone else's garden anyway. Its an unforunate happening in nature.

No-one tells people to rethink their dog if it catches a rabbit, or a rat. Its because cats are domesticated, we think that they should be protected from other animals. Dogs don't see it that way unless they're brought up from a young puppy with cats. I've also never seen anyone told to get rid of their cat, or rethink it because its killed a bird. Its nature, its the food chain i#m afraid. just because a dog kills a cat doesn't mean its going to turn on a family member - or a member of the pack. In the wild, they'd kill it and either offer it to the alpha male, or eat it themselves.

If the dog shows aggressive tendencies towards humans (especially those that feed it) then the homing situation should be thought about seriously, and you should also think about whether the dog should live (i've been through this, and it was horrible, but the dog was a danger as soon as it turned on the pack leader), but not after killing a cat.

I'm afraid to say that in this house, if my dog killed a cat, i'd find the owner and return the body, but nothing else. If it was a certain cat in the neighbourhood, then i'd actually be quite pleased - the thing scares my birds all the time, and Finlay is out for it! I've never understood why cats are allowed to raom freely killing other peoples' birds and pooing in their gardens. I wouldn't expect anyone else to clear up after my dog, why should i have to clear up after someone else's cat?

We've actually spoken to the neighbours next door and warned them that our dog doesn't like cats, and has no problem with chasing them to get them. She replied that if the cats came into our garden, and Finlay's territory, then they're fair game. The cats are a bit cleverer though, and tend to walk on the flat roof looking at Finlay because he can't reach them

[Merry]

Thanks for the thoughts. I hadn`t thought about the microchip issue and I`ll take it to the vet this morning.
Ours is the third rescued greyhound we`ve homed from the Retired Greyhounds Trust and they`ve all been great dogs. He is always on a lead and muzzled when off our garden because we know he isn`t cat friendly.
We had a home inspection when we first adopted a dog from the Trust and they approved our garden which is completely surrounded by a 6 foot solid fence.
The local cats tend to keep out - which has meant less digging up and soiling of veg beds etc and more birds.
Anyway - thanks again for your thoughts.
I wanted to add a `smile` emoticon but there isn`t one is there? I didn`t think a `laugh` was appropriate :)

[Tigerhair]

I have to say that I agree - greyhounds are made that way by humans and they cannot simply be put to sleep once their "usefulness" is over. I would love a greyhound they are great dogs, but I have cats at the moment (and 4 dogs!) so I couldn't right now.

I know how quickly a dog can kill - my rotti cross killed a rat the other day in a blink of an eye - well done, I say! He is also dog aggressive (not to "his" pack but to other dogs). However, as long as I am careful.... I hope nothing bad will happen.

It's rotten, but it happens - it's their instinct. You are right to muzzle him when he is off site, but perhaps, unfortunately, and so you don't upset your neighbours by killing all cats who venture on your land, you should muzzle him in the garden too? Not ideal, I know, but it might be wise??

[Tigerhair]

Oh also the vet may store the cat in cold storage for a while to see if an owner comes forward.... That's what we would do at the vets I work in (Ashbourne).

[Merry]

Thanks T, in fact, we`ve had greyhounds for ten years now and this is the first time this has happened. We don`t get cats in our garden as a rule.
I`ve phoned the local RGT branch and they tell us that we`re doing all the right things. Other dog owning friends tell us that many dogs will chase a cat but a greyhound will tend to catch it!

[hmk]

We've had long dogs of various types for about 15 years- whippet x, Great dane x greyhound, whippet and currently a Saluki x.

They'll all chase anything small and furry (despite none having been worked) but all live(d) with at least one cat. In the garden, they'll chase even our own cats but in the house the cat is very definitely in charge

They were all also excellent with children- affectionate and tolerant. We have 3 children under 8 years.
I would never trust any dog 100% with children, but I would trust my long dog as much as my friends lab. As someone else said, the big difference is that long dogs are quick enough to catch when many other breeds aren't, but it doesn't mean the desire isn't there...

Hazel

[Merry]

No chip - and the vet said that it was poorly nourished and had several healed injuries and signs of a bad flea infestation - so it might have been feral. It will be cremated so I won`t have to bury it.
Thanks again for your thoughts and advice :)

[Tigerhair]

the cat is very definitely in charge

Hazel, I couldn't agree more. In fact, most healthy cats would probably have escaped the chase!

In a way I am glad for you and your dog.... :) I was thinking about training, but i don't know how... Perhaps a cuddly toy on a string - someone pulls it - when your squirt in on a lead and when he goes for it say "no"... and praise with something yummy (liver?) if he stayed sitting... long winded, but if you did 2 mins a day for a month or so, perhaps he'd get the message??

Glad it's all sorted.