The Horror of Watching My Dog Attack a Cat
My Normally Docile and Gentle Dog Morphed into a Beast on an Evening Walk
As soon as I realized the reason for my dog's sudden sprint, it was too late for me to intervene in any way. I offered a loud yell and a holler intended to distract my dog and, hopefully, give the cat a chance to flee. My dog wasn't distracted, and the cat didn't flee. And as you can probably imagine, what happened next wasn't pretty. My dog grabbed the cat by the neck and shook it like it were a rag doll. The whole episode lasted probably fifteen or twenty seconds. At the end, the cat lay motionless on the side of the riverbed pathway.
I was saddened by the loss of an innocent cat, and I was angry and shocked at the behavior of my otherwise good-natured and lovable dog. My dog has chased countless cat's over the years, and this is the first time she has actually killed one to my knowledge. There have been many instances where my dog has given chase after a cat only to stop dead in her tracks when the cat decided not to run and instead stand its ground. Both my dog and the brave cat would normally stand and eyeball each other for a few minutes until a point in time my dog decided it was probably more worthwhile to leave the cat alone and find something else to do. My dog probably reasoned - and rightly so - that a cat brave enough or dumb enough to stand its ground against a much-larger dog was probably a cat that was best left alone! What my dog has shown numerous times in the past is that she enjoys the chase more than the actual capture. And the few times she has actually cornered a cat, nothing happened.
And the funny thing is, my dog has actually been spooked and made to retreat once or twice by brave and aggressive cat's who decided to stand their ground. One time this crazy cat literally attacked my dog as we strolled past a neighborhood house; my dog still has the small scar on her snout as a memorial to that encounter. Another cat literally stalked both me and my dog after we apparently walked too close to its house. For the next five minutes or so, this cat followed my dog and I until we were far enough away from the cat's home territory, at which point the cat simply turned around and walked back home. My dog is a very curious and somewhat daring animal at times; she has been sprayed twice by skunks, and she's tangled with a few opossums! If there's some sort of mischief to be encountered, my dog will find it! But the cat mauling, that shocked me and I'm still shocked by the abruptness of the whole event.
As you can imagine, the tone of our walk after the cat incident was notably somber. I don't enjoy seeing animals killed, and I hate it when my own animal is the reason for another animals demise. Being that the cat seemed to be wild and had no tag or identification, there was nobody for me to contact or notify. My dog just carried on with her walk seemingly proud of herself for her day's accomplishment. As we were walking home, I couldn't stop thinking about how that poor cat was just enjoying its day and walking along the flood channel minding its own business and then Wham! A mere fifteen seconds later and no more cat. I know there are many people who wouldn't have batted an eye if their dog had killed a cat right in front of them; the same kinds of people who regard animals and pets as mere objects or possessions and not living, breathing beings. I'm the kind of guy who feels bad if I see a small bird that has fallen out of a tree and is injured or a squirrel who is hurt or injured in some way. I don't enjoy seeing anything hurt or killed - human or not - so it always bothers me a bit when I do see something like that.
So, what I have learned from this incident with my dog and that cat is, I will keep my dog under much tighter scrutiny when we are out and about. My dog, for the most part, is very obedient to my voice commands. She rarely strays too far away from me whenever we are out and I have her walking off-leash in an open area. But her instinct to chase cat's is definitely strong. It's an instinct that overrides any type of outside influence or command, and that is something that I will be much more aware of from this day forward.
Published by Jason Medina
I am currently a college student in Southern California. I am working on improving my writing skills, and I am happy about being given the opportunity to express myself on this site. View profile
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36 Comments
Post a CommentI'd like to add these bits, for readers that would like objectivity when it comes to my comment. I have been a dog and a cat owner, I love both animals for different reasons. I have a strong background in the veterinary field. I have also been the owner of a dog that killed a stray cat that slipped through my fence. Although I managed to separate them, I could not save the cat. It got euthanized. I did not hate my dog for it, even though it was a terrifying experience for me. And it never crossed my mind to euthanize it for doing what comes natural to a dog. They are a part of nature, and nature does not sugar-coat things for you.
I would like everyone to know a few things about dogs before they go denouncing them as monstrous and inexcusable killers. Watching your dog kill a cat is no reason to get it euthanized, thank you. It also does not make it a butcher. Dogs have something called prey instinct, a drive they can't help that makes them want to chase small, fuzzy things. A dog does not kill to spite its owner. It has nor morals because it does not understand them. Suggesting the dog get put down because it exercised its instincts makes the person that suggested this the true monster for not understanding their behavior. Quite ignorant. That being said, I agree the writer of this article must take more stringent measures to prevent the deaths of more animals, because unless prey drive is bred out or the dog is trained, a human can't do anything about it. Bottom line: learn about dogs before getting one. They are NOT MONSTERS.
Also, I wish– I really wish this– that a dog-owner who sees their own dog BUTCHERING a cat– and is still against the euthanasia towards their killer dogs as a result of that– should be bitten themselves by their own killer dogs– so that they can ‘get an idea’ of what the poor cat their dog had butchered went through at the hands and jaws of their murderous dogs!!!
I don’t care what others here think of me; I think a dog which kills a cat is NEVER-NEVER-NEVER justified. A cat kills a mouse and eats it. Heck, every animal kills another to EAT it. Why the heck do these murderous dogs kill cats anyways since they DON’T EAT THEM???
I think that not only do dogs who have killed should be euthanized, effective immediately after attacking a poor, defenseless cat– in fact these same dogs should be killed in the same cruel and murderous manner in which these dogs killed the cats. Tit for tat. Maybe that will “open up” some sensitivity towards others and others’ pets, in the hypocrite dog-owners and let them RECOGNIZE the EVIL and MURDEROUS tenancies in their own dogs.A DOG IS MAN’S BEST FRIEND??? Yeah, cause a dog is a murderer and a hypocrite JUST like the man is… Maybe, that’s why they’re man’s “best friend”.
I think ALL the people out here– calling themselves “animal-lovers” and “cat-lovers”, while possessing a dog– and speaking here against putting-down a killer dog which has BUTCHERED and cruelly killed a feline cat (and that is the word; BUTCHERED, no other word correctly conveys the cruelty of the killer-dogs’ acts)– are nothing short of HYPOCRITES!!!
These hypocrites, clearly BIASED TOWARDS THEIR OWN KILLER DOGS, are all so merciful and so-very-emotional about euthanasia done to murderous dogs– when it comes to the dogs, their own or others–
and what about addressing the cruelty and outright MURDER done by the killer-dogs???! WHAT ABOUT THE SHEER TERROR AND FEAR (not even talking about the unbearable PHYSICAL pain the cat suffers at the mouth of these murderous and dastard killer dogs!) THE CAT FEELS AND EXPERIENCES BEFORE THE KILLER DOG HAS KILLER HER/HIM?– WHAT ABOUT THAT???!!!
just put a muzzle on your dog, then it and you can still enjoy the freedom of being off leash, but then there is no danger of it killing anything.
You don't seem to be serious about this. You say you're going to watch your dog more when you release him. Why do you still insist on not using a leash? You really need to avoid this from happening again by keeping a leash on him at all times. Like you said, there are many cats walking around. I'm sure you'll use the leash when you get sued by a cat owner.
Two nights ago I awoke to what I thought was a cat fight - I got up in the hope to scare the cats off. As I went outside it was not a cat fight I saw but instead two dogs mauling my cat on my driveway (not the dogs own section where it should have been at 2am) to a point my baby had to be put down. We have lost 3 cats to these dogs (2 others have gone missing) since we moved in 1 1/2 years ago and have approached the council and SPCA and nothing has been done. We have two dogs ourselves and love them to bits - but I personally feel that if a dog/dogs are prone to attacking and killing smaller animals they should not be allowed to be kept. And as for the owners of the dogs that are killing the nieghbourhood cats - they have been approached and think that it is just a big joke! Take responsibility for your animals!
Your dog should be declared dangerous as it caused injury or death to another person or animal, and appropriate measures be taken so that it does not do the same thing again, this time to a small child.
The author should also be held accountable for the animal cruelty they are now responsible for.
amazing how the cat lovers all want you to muzzle your dog or leash them, but let their cats run wild all over the place killing millions of birds and other small animals a day.
Cats are preadators and this one had it coming.