My dog killed a Cat. . .

I feel honestly terrible and I can't stop crying I have had my dog for three years and he has never done anything like this. I just moved to a new house and there are holes in our fence that our dog escaped out of. He likes to chase small mammals, but I dont know he had ever caught one before. My neighbors (who owned the cat) are obviously heartbroken and terrified. He is great around children and has never shown aggression towards a human. I know there is no way I can make them feel safe. I am the new neighbor here and now I know i am not wanted. What do i do?

I'm sorry about this.
A friend of mine had the same thing happen to him.
Just try to keep your fence escape proof since you know he is prone to capturing lil animals.

You need to fix your fence. Keep your dog confined to your yard. Keep him on leash when walking him in the neighborhood. Only let him loose in places where he can't hurt another small animals.

This is not your dog's fault. He acted on instinct. He's not a bad dog. You have to prevent him from getting the opportunity again.Prey drive and aggression are completely separate issues. There is no reason to think that your dog would harm a child because of this incident--although no dog should ever be left unsupervised with a small child.

My own dogs recently killed one of my cats when she got out of the house. All my cats are indoor only creatures. The dogs are just fine with them inside. They have lived peacefully together with no incidents for over five years. Outdoor cats are prey though to them, just like squirrels, mice and voles. Unfortunately, Dominique paid for my inattention with her life. I did not see her sneak outside- My fault, not the dogs'. Finding her body was the single worst moment of my life. I will never forget it. I miss her forever.

You know your dog can get out of the fence, so fix it. If you don't, this will happen again and it's your fault, not the dog's. You should also be aware that in some places a dog that kills another domestic animal off the owner's property can be declared dangerous and be euthanized. If you don't stop him from getting out, his life could be at risk--from any number of things, including Animal Control!

You might also want to offer to pay for a new cat when your neighbors are ready to adopt again.

And your neighbors need to keep their cats indoors. An outdoor cat is at risk from alot more things than just dogs!

Welcome to PT!
I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your neighbors cat.

I agree 100000% with Glacier & can definetally relate to her post as similar things happened to me.

Once my ex b/f's dog got loose & killed the neighbors cat.

Once my ex b/f accidently let one of the ferrets outside & his friends dog killed it.

Once my ex b/f accidently left my rats out of the cage & their bedroom door open and one of our dogs killed 3 of the rats.

Once my ex b/f didn't know & left one of my rats in a small cage on the floor, one of our dogs tipped it over & killed the rat.


PS yes they all happened with the same ex & yes he is an EX b/f.

I am so sorry this happened. :( It is so sad for everyone involved. I too agree with everything Glacier said. My dog Duncan will chase and kill anything and everything that runs from him so I have to keep him leashed at all times unless we are in a very very rural setting with noone and nothing around or in a yard. Even in the yard, I stay with him as the neighbor's cats have found their way into our yard on occasion.
I know how horrible you feel...I have been through it myself and it was the worst experience. I couldn't even look at Duncan for weeks afterwards, the memory of it still haunts me.
However, like Glacier said, the dog is doing what dogs do and it is your responsibility to prevent it from happening again. Some dogs just cannot be around smaller animals. I don't know why some dogs can and others can't...? Probably a question for Carrie or Dixie...

Welcome to Pet Talk by the way. :)

I'm so sorry to hear about this happening, but I 100% agree w/Glacier. Definately fix your fence asap. Your dog isn't a bad dog for acting on instinct. Nikka my pointer X has killed a gopher that was in our yard and she's a cream puff. My RB terrier X, Sandy was the sweetest guy around, he loved everyone, dogs, cats, kids, people, whatever. In fact one of his main playmates was a rabbit when he was young. But my brother's hamster got out of it's cage once and Sandy killed him without a second thought before we realized what was going on. It's hard to fight a dogs prey instinct, I'm not even sure it's possible, maybe one of the more experienced people here might know, but you can work to prevent putting the dog in those situations.

My dogs are great with my cats INDOORS. Outside, they will
chase any small creature who ventures into the yard. I really
don't think they would kill anything maliciously, but dogs do
play very rough outside. They naturally play rough with each
other and would treat cats the same way.

I am fortunate with my dog Buck, he hasnt killed anything and has no desire to chase small animals when he's outside. When we walk down by the river and he's unleashed, he'll trot right by the ducks and doesnt even notice when they fly away.

Now, my Goose was a different story! When he was about 1 year old he would bring baby rabbits inside and skin them right in front of me. Horrible! Then he killed one of my cats inside the house while I was sitting 3 feet away. *This is also horrible but it worked* My husband tied the dead cat around his neck immediately after it happened and made him stay outside until it rotted off(it was summer at the time) Poor Goose was soooo miserable, and acted very ashamed of himself....and no one wanted him around them! He never chased or killed anything ever again. In fact when I had 4 week old little kittens after that, they would crawl all over him, and play with his ears and tail, he never moved an inch!

Jennsen, that is pretty extreme, but I honestly don't think your dog made the connection the way you might think. More likely, being "banished from the pack," a very basic instinct that dogs and wolves strive to avoid, made him deeply unhappy which made him look guilty. It could be he felt he was the alpha in the pack prior to that and that he needed to hunt. After being "banished" and then later accepted back, he may have accepted his place as lower in the pack and therefore his prey drive diminished. Or it could be something in the first cat triggered his drive and it never happened again. Kittens crawling over him, since they aren't running in terror ;), would probably have much less a chance at triggering his prey drive. Animals only have memories for the moment, and after a brief time, they no longer connect something that is happening to them with something they did the day before.

I realize you and your husband only did what you felt was right in order to protect the other pets, but I definitely would not recommend that method at all myself. It could serve to have traumatic and very negative effects, plus, dogs are not repelled by the odor of carrion like people are (in fact, my dogs seek it out if they smell a dead bird or fish etc, to roll in), so again it probably did not have the punishing effect you may have thought it would. He looked sad and guilty because he knew you were upset with him and he knew that he was outcast from his pack. I hope I am not coming off as lecturing as I don't mean to, I just want to explain so perhaps you can have a different understanding of the situation than you might have at first.

As for the original poster, I really cannot add any better advice than what you've been given. Your dog is not a bad dog, and he's not more likely to bite people. A smaller animal running can trigger that deep instinct to hunt and kill. I do hope you'll be able to fix your fence to keep him from getting out, because I believe that is the most vital step to make sure it doesn't happen again.

It has taken me forever to get back and read all these comments being busy moving and all. I appreciate the feedback, and even though my neighbors have been giving me constant pressure to put my dog to sleep, I decided not to. Your stories and advice really help me feel as if I made the right decision. I know my dog is not dangerous, I just felt very guilty. And someone is coming to fix our fence tomomrow! Thanks

I'm so very glad you've decided on the course you have. It would be a tragic and unnecessary waste to put him to sleep for following his instincts. I realize it's painful for your neighbors and they lost a beloved pet, but I think it's over the top to be pressuring you to have your pup put down. Honestly I also feel they shouldn't have been letting their cat run around unsupervised outside either, there are a lot of dangers of letting a cat wander the same as letting a dog wander.

It has to be a truly difficult situation for you, I wish you and your dog the best with all my heart :)

Sorry this happened to you, especially if you are a new neighbor. I would fix the fence so your dog can't get out of your yard. I would try to apologize to the neighbor & tell them you plan to fix the fence. I have to watch my dogs also around cats too. They only time they will chase them is if there is a stray cat on the property & it runs from them.

my siberian husky is the same way.. She hasnt ever killed an adult cat befor though.. I am sorry this is happening to you.. it is horrible, I know.
lets just prey that your naibours dont call the pound :(:(

I agree with everyone else. It's not your dog's fault, he was doing what dogs do. I've said this before, but people take dog attacks too personally and expect a dog to ignore it's prey drive instincts because to a human it's a bad thing to kill a cat. The cat shouldn't have been outside and the dog shouldn't have been able to get out, so you and your neighbor are to blame, not the dog. I don't know what kind of leash laws you have where you live, but in my town there is a leash law for dogs and cats and neither of them can have access to public streets or sidewalks without being on a leash. Of course there are still outside cats around here, but if something bad happens to them, it's no one's fault except the owner, so I would check into your local leash laws in case the neighbors still try to make a fuss about this. Whatever you do, don't tell them he's a Pit Bull cause then they will freak out even more and continue to demand he be put down or they'll call animal control.

O its okay this is a normal reaction for a dog.....but that poor cat....sorry about that though:(