My 12 year old lab killed a 5 month old kitten

[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 ...

[Animal _lover]

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

On the coast of North Carolina,Beaufort area...
Poor Feisty is wandering the house looking for her soul mate BB tonight.She stops and smells where BB had been and cries out and gets no answer unfortunately.
When I was a kid we had lots of kittens around my parents house and I had forgotten how attached they become to one another.I had forgotten how sad it was for the last one of the litter to be alone in the house with none of her brothers or sisters around to be of comfort.Then they at least had their mom.Now I am doing my best to be there for the kitty with plenty of attention and petting to try to comfort her.
I took her outside today with the little kitty harness and she enjoyed that quite a bit.Quite the little hunter as she got a dragon fly and released it unharmed.Being that we just had a hurricane roll over us there are trees down and she enjoyed climbing and then scratching .
I think the wife understands it is best for the kitty to find a new safer domain.

[sana]

That's so sad, poor little Feisty If I lived near you, I'd take her in a heart beat! RIP BB and prayers for Feisty

[Animal _lover]

That's so sad, poor little Feisty If I lived near you, I'd take her in a heart beat! RIP BB and prayers for Feisty

Well my deal is trying to get my wife to understand that it is best for the kitten to be separated from our situation and find a new home for the kitten.She is fighting me on the topic a bit.
I took the kitty outside on her leash ,with a 20' clothes line attached and she is meant to be outdoors.Climbed the tress vertically with no hesitation and came down fairly well.Chased the bugs and grass , checked out the plants and generally enjoyed herself.Then of course she comes back inside and starts looking for BB.Then for five minutes the crying happens.
Here are a few photos of how close the two were in life.
After the wife comes to her senses I will find Feisty a good home even if I have to drive her many states away.Sometimes we forget it is about the 4-legged creature not about us.

[jcsites]

That is strange. What I know is that labs are not that easy to get angry. Poor kitten! My pitbull did that to a kitten too. Quite normal for the breed.

[luvofallhorses]

That is strange. What I know is that labs are not that easy to get angry. Poor kitten! My pitbull did that to a kitten too. Quite normal for the breed.

They are dogs and it's natural for them to have prey drive regardless of breed.

[moosmom]

I'm not going to say what I feel for fear of being bashed. My only advice is to get that poor other kitten in a SAFE home NOW!!!!!

[Animal _lover]

I'm not going to say what I feel for fear of being bashed. My only advice is to get that poor other kitten in a SAFE home NOW!!!!!

Why would you be bashed for stating your opinion that has been expressed already.I know what is the correct thing for the kitty's well being.I just have to convince the wife that it is the best thing to find a good home for the kitty.
At the moment the Feisty Kitty is never in the same space as the old lab Tia.It is finally turning cooler and Tia is hanging outside and enjoying herself.This is good then the kitten can still have the house to roam and continue her searching for her missing sister.I am sure she is grieving in her own way as well for the loss of her constant companion.When Tia is inside the kitten is locked into the downstairs area so no chance of a meeting occurring.
Our other lab Ginny loves the kitten.She will clean her,let her play with her tail,play the hide and seek routine under the beds and is protective of her outside as we do have the problem with the neighbors and feral cats.That is how we ended up with BB & Feisty to begin with actually.Ginny puts herself between the curious cats and Feisty and of course I am there with the leash that is attached to a kitty harness as well.Today she ,Feisty, sprinted up this Oak tree about 20' until I figured that was high enough and she backed down rather well.She will do well outside.
Tomorrow Feisty goes to the VET to get spayed first thing in the morning and then it will take a week or so of healing for the kitty I have been told and hopefully by then my wife will see the light about the safest thing for the kitty.
I will never understand why Tia did what she did to poor BB as BB had rubbed against Tia since day one of her arrival into our house.I guess there are things that we are never meant to understand,but just to learn from them.A senseless death of an innocent lovable kitten.
Here is Ginny, the younger lab and Feisty sitting in the sun at the front of the house.
I am not even letting Ginny nor Chrissy get that close to Feisty anymore either.

[buttercup132]

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.

Are you kidding me...you got up and physically hit your dog for doing what it was bred to do?!?!
You do realize you have a breed that was BRED to HUNT small animals right?
Not to mention your dog is 12, dogs get agitated very easily when they are older and being 12 chances are her vision is not so great.

I was so mad I almost put the dog down,

Again this is absolutely ridiculous, I understand that your upset the kitten got killed but the dog was doing what come natural to it. If you want a dog that gets along with other animals dont get a dog that was bred to hunt.
Thats like expecting a Border Collie not the herd, it's just absurd.

The dog has changed her life through her unwarranted action in the death of an innocent kitten

How so?

BUT IT KILLED A LIVING THING!!!!!

Guess what 97% of dogs were bred for? Even pretty fancy poodles were bred for killing.

Heck dogs attack each other all the time, should they be put down?

That all being said you could have the kitten in your house still and just continue what your doing, ie: separating them.
People have dogs in the same house that would rip each others throats if possible but they are managed in a way where they never come in contact with each other.
Also does your dog have a crate?
I would highly suggest getting one if you dont so she can have a area that is her area to get away from the other animals.

[Karen]

Buttercup, Labs were not bred to kill small animals. They were bred to retrieve game, usually birds, that hunters had shot down. Poodles were also bred as retrievers.

Many terrier breeds were bred to be vermin control, so yes, terrier, dachshunds - THEY were bred to kill small animals. The retriever breeds were not.

[buttercup132]

I know they were bred for that but as others have stated the dog didnt attack the kitten it grabbed it. The dog still has prey drive to go after little animals.

[Animal _lover]

Buttercup....

I will try to understand your comments and as it was said sooner that Labs were never bred to kill anything period.They were actually first bred to retrieve fishing nets if I am not mistaken.Most of the labs I know are pets except for the few bird dogs for the few hunters I know here in the area.They are terrific with small children.
My first reactions at seeing such a horrific event that completely blind sided me was over done as I stated later on in this thread ,woulda coulda ,shoulda.I am an honest person and only human and reacted in a fit of anger,but I did not harm to the dog permanently and I did get my rational back fairly quickly.
If I ever thought that the kittens would be in any danger from any of my dogs,that all had been brought up with cats their whole lives with never a piece of fur out of place,the kittens would have been gone out the door to a rescue facility.
I have always had multiple dogs in the same house and never has one drawn blood from another ever.They have shown teeth,growled ,but never ever has one bitten the other.The only time the teeth showing or growling has occurred is when they have been given chew sticks and they get protective of their treat.Heck they all go around and clean out the others food bowls after the original dog has finished eating to make sure they do not miss a scrap of food.
I have come to the conclusion that Tia being old and grey just got irritated for some reason and reacted ( that I will not understand as the kitten had done the same thing a hundred times before) and her action would have been a minor incident on any animal larger than the poor 5 month old kitten.
My heart is hurt by the incident,but more importantly the little Feisty is slowly getting over missing her companion as I have introduced Feisty to a new environment,outside in the yard with trees and bugs and leaves.It seems to be helping as she started to play with the balls and toys we have put out through out the house which is a good sign.Today the kitty is getting spayed and then hopefully I will talk some sense into the wife and she will see it is best that Feisty go to a good home.Until that time she and Tia will never occupy the same space with out control on Feisty ( the kitty harness is a good tool ) as Tia is old and slow and Feisty is young and wicked fast.
In my home there are six different dog beds and each dog has one upstairs and one downstairs.Then there is the couch , the fake Persian rugs with padding,the beds etc..I have a fenced in area in back of the house for the buds to hang out in when needed then there are well over 100 acres of land they can go romp in as well.But I do not have a crate for the dogs to be put into when in the house nor in the car as they have their own mini van that they allow me to drive.Tia gets the front seat and Ginny and Chrissy take the back bench seat with the middle seats out and another carpet with padding in between the front and the back seats.Of course with a water bowl and treats.The air conditioning is on always in the summer and the dogs ride with me just about everywhere.Very seldom is there a time they are not cruising when I am cruising.
It was a tragic incident as to which I have never witnessed before in my many years of taking care of abandoned pets.Each of my animals ,all of them, either were a rescue or an abandoned animal.I seem to attract them for some reason.
I know there is a lesson to learn from this tragedy,but it seems to elude me at the moment as it still makes no real sense and most likely will never make any sense to me.I am just keeping the kitty and Tia separate from one another.When Tia is outside the kitty owns the house and when Tia is in the house the kitty owns the downstairs and Tia the upstairs.
Maybe Cesar Millan could explain it to me....