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Post by bronwenc on Apr 10, 2011 17:13:43 GMT
I remember thinking very recently that cats must be smarter than I gave them credit for, as they know to stay away from my back garden. I must have jinxed myself as this morning, a poor, unfortunate kitten crept over my fence and was promptly attacked by Elvis and Lucy. I managed to get the dogs off her and put them inside the house, but the cat was obviously badly injured and terrified. To cut a long and traumatic story short, I managed to find her owners who rushed her to the vet. The vet thinks that she will live but will probably lose her back leg. Obviously I feel really awful about what has happened, but I also felt compelled to go next door and tell my neighbour about it as she has recently purchased a cat. I explained that when I'm home the french windows are usually open so the dogs can roam in and out at will -- this seems perfectly reasonable to me as it's their house. My neighbour totally shocked me by telling me that there is no way she can ensure that her cat stays on their side of the fence, and that I should "let my conscience dictate whether or not it was time to start muzzling my dogs!" As I'm writing this, I'm actually gobsmacked all over again! Do people really think they have the right to tell me to muzzle my dogs in my own garden? All I can say is that she's been warned!  |
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Post by nicky on Apr 10, 2011 18:18:54 GMT
I quite agree with you, why should you have to muzzle your dogs in their own home. Cats in our area do seem to stay away but there is another greyhound next door and 3 dogs in the house at the end of our garden so that may deter them. Betty would still chase a cat if it did come into our garden but I certainly wouldn't muzzle her or make her stay indoors - she also has the doors open in the nice weather!
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Post by joethehound on Apr 10, 2011 18:34:08 GMT
don't start me on this one!
Cats drive us nuts here!........ we have an area of our garden thats gravel and when we first moved here they treated it like one massive litter tray! really bugs me that people who have cats think its totally ok for them to roam around doing whatever they want and wherever they want.......... since we got joe there is really only one cat that is still brave enough to wonder in! but there is NO way i would muzzle him in my own garden, why dosn't your neighbour keep her cats in-doors? seems perfectly fair to me.
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Post by Ian on Apr 10, 2011 19:23:16 GMT
Our garden is a cat battle ground, there's out two cats, and various neighbours cats all in there. None of them worry about Sean though, he's scared of them all!
I'm sure the neighbours cat will work out that they need to stay clear at some point.
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Post by sarah on Apr 10, 2011 19:23:14 GMT
ooohhh im seething about this now!!!what right has anyone got to tell you to keep your dog muzzled in your own garden????did she not think of this when purchasing a cat???did her conscience kick in when deciding it was a good idea to buy a cat when living next door to a greyhound when cats are known for wandering and there was a possibility it might wander into your garden??
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Post by bronwenc on Apr 10, 2011 19:31:36 GMT
When I'm walking Elvis and Lucy, they pay very little attention to cats. Elvis got beaten up by a couple in the first few months that I had him, and Lucy was keen initially but has now calmed down. However, this cat came into their territory and they just couldn't tolerate that. My concern is that my neighbour's cat might only stray into my garden once and not survive the experience!
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Post by suethejam on Apr 10, 2011 21:52:44 GMT
Well, let's look at it from a different perspective - if your pet guinea pig (for example) wandered into next door's garden and got eaten by their cat do you think they'd subsequently apologise, keep their cat indoors or muzzle it?
Our hounds deserve their own space and a few home freedoms......
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Post by bronwenc on Apr 11, 2011 7:07:14 GMT
I just thought it was interesting that the woman whose kitten was attacked dismissed my apologies and accepted that dogs chase cats, and that her cat was in the wrong place at the wrong time. My neighbour, on the other hand, strikes me as someone who would try to sue me if the same thing happened to her cat. I'm shocked as I thought I knew her quite well.  |
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Post by buglysprince on Apr 11, 2011 8:31:48 GMT
Hi I think you did all the right things, you took care of the kitten, Then spoke to your neighbour, which you didn'thave too! She should. Hve thanked you, she can now make an informd decission keep the cat in or let it out, cats soon realise which gardens are safe and those that are not. She also must have known you had dogs when she got it. I would not dream of muzzling my two in their garden.
Lesley x
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Post by richard on Apr 11, 2011 8:54:47 GMT
I suppose if you know that your cat has a good chance of being eaten if it ventures over the wrong garden fence then I suppose you would say anything to improve its odds but as Sue says the guinea pig straying or even not straying will get hunted down by a cat and eventually killed. Don't muzzle your dogs but be ready to take them to the vets to get them treated with antibiotics after any fight with a cat as cat bites and scratches are very infectious. I tried to look up the status of cats which was interesting. When I have a minute I must check if any of our insurance policies offer a free legal helpline as I think I would like to check what my amateur googling is giving me. This leaflet is reasonable: www.hollyoakvets.com/cats/cats_protection=535-cats_and_law.pdf, it explains that a cat owner cannot be held liable for damage done by their cats when it is trespassing (Even if it means that the local wildlife is being decimated). Section 5 of the Animals Act - www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1971/22 is also interesting. My reading is that a dog's owner cannot be held liable for any damage done by a dog defending its own territory unless it is specifically there as a guard dog. So no need for a muzzle in your own garden. I hope someone with proper legal knowledge can come along and confirm that. |
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Post by patricksparents on Apr 11, 2011 9:14:58 GMT
Hi Bron, Sorry to hear your troubles. Don't be hard on yourself or the dogs. You did absolutely the right things (check out the GL forum, there is a similar thread on there).
The cat ventured into your territory and the dogs did what they do - protect it. You took care of the kitten, which some people wouldn't and you've informed the neighbour. No muzzles required. Give me a ring sometime. Lots of love Eve x
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Post by prince on Apr 11, 2011 15:30:04 GMT
i`m disgusted that the ignorant woman next door didn`t use her brain before she purchased a gypsy cat that will roam everywhere and anywhere. she should think herself lucky it wasn`t run over or stolen or killed by foxes, and was only injured. its yours, lucy and elvis garden so don`t feel your in the wrong, and don`t stop letting them out just because of some mindless ignorant woman who knows nothing about animal behavour. oh and forwarn her next time you will sue her for her cat tresspassing and leaving excrament on your garden, it might make her think twice. sorry thats made me angry.
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Post by sarah on Apr 11, 2011 18:30:21 GMT
I have to agree with suethejam's point.I cant see her muzzling her cat when it starts killing off the local wildlife .  |
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Post by simon arnold on Apr 13, 2011 18:40:09 GMT
My neighbours obviously missed a trick when I had to inform them that one of our cats had kindly left one of their prize kois on my lounge carpet After apologising profusely they just laughed it off with a "cats will be cats" attitude and purchased a cover for their pond. Now we have the grey and no cats the other neighbours cat will sit on our fence just looking at Billy they know he will have it (we had to rehome our own as he tried to eat him) but no one has ever asked me to muzzle him and nor would I. |
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