My 12 year old lab killed a 5 month old kitten

[Animal _lover]

The dog grew up with cats first of all.
We ended up with two out of a litter of four feral kittens,the others did not survive.They were both due to get spayed today being they were 5 months old this week,but last night the gray kitty " BB " was rubbing up against the lab and the lab lashed out and bit her in the head severely and she died.I saw it happen and smacked the lab rather hard as fast as I could get out of the chair and held the kitten in my arms until she had passed.
This is a two fold tragedy , now I know the lab can not be trusted and second Feisty the surviving kitty is going to be searching the house for her sibling,soulmate all in vain.
I am going to keep the dog and kitten as separated as best I can and am thinking a muzzle for the dog if we are not in the house and maybe even when we are in the house.The dog has changed her life through her unwarranted action in the death of an innocent kitten.
I was so mad I almost put the dog down,but did not as reason came back to the forefront of my thoughts of the situation.
I buried poor little BB in the middle of the front of the yard along with the ashes of Z kitty we lost to laryngeal paralysis earlier this year(He would have been 12 years old this year) as well the ashes of our dog Brandy who would of been seventeen if she had lived two more months ,so little BB is in good company.
If anyone has any positive suggestions on what to do with our situation I welcome some advice as I am still stunned that this occurred.
Just writing about this tragedy will be therapy for me,but even as I write Feisty is making her third round through the house this morning looking for her friend.It breaks my heart and my wife is really taking it badly as it was she who found the feral kittens in the woods and saved their lives.
Picture of Feisty and BB as well as an older picture of Z kitty, Brandy,Ginny,Tia at dinner time.Plus Chrissy a Walker Tree Coon Hound that was abandoned at the end of hunting season last year and ended up at our property.
We are softies when it comes to the four legged creatures of the world.

[Freedom]

Oh NO!!! I have no ideas or suggestions. Just heart felt sympathies.

[Karen]

As I said in the other thread, I'd consider rehoming the kitten, for its own safety.

[Animal _lover]

As I said in the other thread, I'd consider rehoming the kitten, for its own safety.

I thought of that very solution.
We actually have been trying to find a home for the hound since January to no avail. It is not that easy to find a good home for an animal.Needless to say the hound is staying here at our domain in the woods and the neighbors seem to be OK with the new dog that will visit their yard from time to time.
There are so many cats and kittens where we live that are up for adoption it is a bleak outlook upon first glance,but I will try to look into this a bit in a day or so.We are both,the wife and I , still in shock over what happened.It made no sense the dog has never ever been aggressive towards cats except when she had a bone and then it was just a growl and showing teeth.She is getting old though and so her demeanor may be changing.
In the mean time I am just keeping them separated.
The poor kitten is looking for her sister and calling out for her, this too is a hard fact to deal with for us.
Thanks for your comment.You are correct it is the best answer if it can happen.

[Karen]

Maybe if you have a local pastor you know, see if they know an elder who might be lonely that a kitten would cheer up!

[katladyd]

A few years ago, my precious Miss Kitty was killed by a dog. I would put the dog down because the humane society in our area said a dog that does that may attack anything smaller than itself in the future. Sure enough, we asked that the dog NOT be put down and a year later, it mauled the neighbor's dog and small child. We DEMANDED that the dog be put down then, and it was. I know you love your dog, BUT IT KILLED A LIVING THING!!!!!

[luvofallhorses]

Agreed with Karen. You have to think what's best for your kitten... rehoming her may be best so the same thing doesn't happen as your dog obviously has quite a prey drive and you can't train or love it out.

Sorry for your loss, but even if dogs are raised with cats there is still a chance prey drive could kick in. Prey drive is normal in dogs, they don't do it out of resentment.. it just happens.

[Malibu's Mom]

Ok - firstly, I am sorry you had to witness this and am very sorry you lost the kitten. RIP BB.

Let's look at this situation - small kitten rubs up against large dog, dog delivers a single fatal bite to the cat's head. I'm not seeing this as an intentional, deliberate killing at all. Sounds more like the dog was startled by the kitten's actions and lashed out of fear. Since the lab is 12, I wonder if her senses are impaired or if she has some sort of dementia which could lead to her being hypersensitive.

What was the dog doing at the time of the attack? Was she in proximity of a person, another animal, food, toys? There is ALWAYS a reason for a bite. Always. It may seem unprovoked to us, but it's not the case from the dog's POV.

When you keep a large dog with small animals, you are taking a chance in every situation. I have a multi-species household consisting of birds, cats and a large dog. I am fully aware that at any point my cats could kill my bird and my dog could kill my cats or my bird. It's very highly unlikely given the way I manage my animals, but things happen. You have to be comfortable with that risk when you put animals in that situation.

Glad you are considering rehoming the kitten. It's really the kindest option for everyone involved.

People forget that dogs are big, predatory animals with sharp teeth and that they know how to use them. We expect so much of them and they often live up to our high standards, but they can and often will kill things. It's disturbing and unsettling to witness, and very tragic in this kind of situation, but it happens, unfortunately.

And please don't be angry at your dog. It's not her fault and she shouldn't be punished for it.

[ToBeEvergreen]

The sheer size of the dog and the kitten may be the top contributers here.

Not to say there aren't gentle giants. BUT, large creatures who would normally NOT be dealing a fatal blow to a large cat or another dog can easily accidentally do so to a small thing. The dog did not, I don't think, growl and bare its teeth, and then shake the poor thing to death. He had a moment of doggy defense- he snapped at something, hard. To me, it does not sound like his intention was to hurt, certainly not to kill. I know you are angry at the dog, but it sounds like she has no history of violence. It sounds like a horrible accident, that probably startled the dog as well. That the dog was hit may have startled her as well, and especially because of her age I do NOT recommend ever using physical means like that, though I'm sure you were startled at the time, and I understand your main goal was to try and save the kitten.

The dog is 12- is she blind? Does she have any sort of dementia? Athritis (pains)? Food aggression? Deafness? Any number of old-dog problems can cause them to snap, out of cranky annoyance, startlement or more likely, pain. I've had the scars to prove it, as I have owned many older dogs. A blind one we had once, my mom went to cuddle him in his sleep (bad move for an old, blind ex racer) and he bit her on the head. Not hard enough to go to the hospital, but it was a learning experience, a painful one.

Just throwing in my two cents. I understand that there is a lot to consider. One thing I can say for sure, I would consider re-homing the remaining kitten for safety reasons, as you were thinking of doing!

I am very sorry for your loss. It is devestating for such a young life to be taken and to go through that first-hand.

[sasvermont]

I would not punish the dog. Sounds to me like the old dog just lashed out, not intending to kill the kitten. I would chalk it up to old age and bad timing. I would keep the kitten far away from the dog, even if you are near. It would take only one second for that to happen again.

I have a dog and three cats. They mix it up sometimes, but my dog is AFRAID of the cats. Prue, the dog, still goes after them if they are in the kitchen while food is being prepared. She herds them out of the kitchen by barking and going after them. It is her way of protecting her chance of getting food and not wanting the cats to have any part of it. I allow it. I don't reward her for it, I just don't mind her getting the cats out of the kitchen. They can be a pain in the butt when preparing dinner etc.

My heart goes out to you and your family. I imagine it will take years for you all to get that moment behind you. Forgive your dog, get a new home for the kitten, fast and let the 12 year old live out its life as it was before the kittens arrived.

Lesson learned.

[wolf_Q]

A few years ago, my precious Miss Kitty was killed by a dog. I would put the dog down because the humane society in our area said a dog that does that may attack anything smaller than itself in the future. Sure enough, we asked that the dog NOT be put down and a year later, it mauled the neighbor's dog and small child. We DEMANDED that the dog be put down then, and it was. I know you love your dog, BUT IT KILLED A LIVING THING!!!!!

I'm sorry for your loss but just because a dog "killed a living thing" does not mean it would kill anything smaller than itself. I have three huskies and a lab mix....any of them would kill a cat/small animal/bird if given the chance. They did kill a chicken and have killed several wild birds that flew into our yard. Does that mean they are going to kill a small dog or a child? My one husky is fearful of children and strangers so I can't say she's good with kids (though she's never tried to bite) but the other three are great with them. They know the difference between a child, dog, cat, bird, etc. they aren't dumb. My mom has two small dogs and she regularly dog-sits my dogs and my dogs do not try to eat her small dogs, and one is about the size of the chicken they killed (it flew into our yard). My dogs have a prey drive, they were born with it, it doesn't make them vicious child-eating dogs. I just don't let them around cats/birds/small animals.

As far as this case it sounds to me like the dog wasn't necessarily trying to kill the kitten since it was just a single bite she didn't maul the kitten. Older dogs can really change in personality I'm a groomer and I see a lot of dogs I've been grooming for years change when they get old. Dogs that would never try to bite do, they just don't have the tolerance they used to. I definitely would not let the kitten around the dog though if you can't rehome him then keep them separate like you have been doing. My older husky Nebo bit my younger huskies Keva and Skya in the face a couple of times when they were puppies. It was just a "hey I'm the boss leave me alone" bite he was not trying to really injure them but if they were a small kitten it could have been different. Sorry for your loss what a horrible thing to witness.

[Animal _lover]

Thanks one and all.
I do not think Tia was being anything ,but reactionary to the little kitten.I was so startled when this occurred I was trying to get her and the kitten separated and I am sure I over reacted as well towards the dog as I saw the kitten was doomed after the attack.It was more of a quick turn of the head and a snip more than an attack as the dog was laying in the middle of the floor.
I am trying to convince the wife that the kitten needs to be removed to a good home as trying to keep the kitten and the dog apart is a very difficult procedure.Actually rather taxing on the nerves for me.
Tia has had her share of problems growing up and has had both front legs operated on ,her stomach operated on and her right rear leg has a plate to hold the CCL together.She is twelve going on thirteen somewhat deaf and most likely does not see the best,but she never has shown aggression towards a cat except to half heartedly chase them off the cleared part of our property.My dear Brandy who lived until she was almost seventeen would catch field rats and bring them home.Actually brought a deer head home with a 3 point rack one time.We do live in the woods where people hunt.I do not hunt and never have just to be honest.I took the head and left it in the back of the property until some kid heard about it and asked if he could have it and I let him take home the skeletal head.
Friday the kitten gets neutered and then after she recovers hopefully the wife will see it would be best for the kitten to find it a loving home.
I do not ever want to go through the trauma I went through yesterday evening and I am still reeling from the loss .Nor ,more to the point do I want to endanger an animal.

Thanks again for all the comments.

[sasvermont]

I am glad you are doing ok now. It must have been difficult.

Maybe you could arm your kitten with an AK47.

As the dogs gets older, more problems may come up. To be safe, I could find kitty kat a new residence.

[Animal _lover]

I am glad you are doing ok now. It must have been difficult.

Maybe you could arm your kitten with an AK47.

As the dogs gets older, more problems may come up. To be safe, I could find kitty kat a new residence.

Thanks for the offer for the help on a new residence.I am working on getting the wife to see that the best thing for the kitty is to find a good home where there is no danger of an incident which just happened to her sister kitty occurring.
Fiesty gets Spayed this Friday.Then I will have a fully vetted and spayed kitty with a great personality that actually allows a harness to be fitted and go for a walk about around the yard.
Thanks again for the concern shown here at Pet Talk.

[Karen]

Where are you located? Just in case anybody nearby might see this ...