You could put carpet gripper on the top of your fence, but then you might get sued by a burglar!

I have owned cats and I have had to accept that if they got run over (one did), poisoned, shredded by a dog/fox etc then that is the price I pay for having a cat and allowing it free range.

So you either control your cats from entering other people's property (whether that is because you would prefer them not to be shredded by dogs or even that you would prefer them not to defecate in other people's gardens)

or you accept that "nothing in life is risk free" including free range cats.

The laws that apply to dogs do not apply to cats, it would be interesting if they did, IMHO.

Do I want or like to see another animal attacked? No I do not.

Am I going to spend my valuable time worrying about birds, cats, entering my property jic my dogs kill them?

No I am not.

I'd be pretty upset if mine did it as well---but I don't encourage then to chase anything. I wasn't best pleased when Etta caught a thrush! I discourage interest in the chinchilla which lives in the rodent room

However I would also feel that in fencing to keep my dogs in I had done what I could and no way would I stop them from going in the garden or muzzle them. I certainly don't check for cats or anything else before they go out.

Eight does seem a lot!

rune

Now I'm not trying to be rude / cause arguments etc as this is just a discussion. And I know its very different when we are in this situation. But just for arguments sake....

But keeping a cat inside all day and night, because of a dog next door killing 8...how is that fair?

It has been mentioned to lead a dog / supervise in the garden is silly by some...

You may as well say, why not keep the dog in day and night?

Its not fair to keep a cat in day and night, just like it isn't a dog. I think there needs to be a reasonable agreement reached here. I know some people do keep their cats in all day, but IMO thats no life. Its like a dog never having a walk.

Again - not trying to be rude, but can you see the point i'm trying to make?

Not really. Keeping a cat inside to keep the cat safe makes more sense to me than keeping the dog inside to keep the cat safe.
Others have suggested cat-proofing the fencing or keeping the dog in a kennel and run. Why can the cat owner not cat-proof their own fencing (so the cats can roam in the garden for exercise/stimulation) or in a cat run?

Like SB said - if the cat owner wants to let their cat freeroam then the law allows it (I don't think anyone on this thread has brought the indoor/outdoor cat debate into it in anything more than a vague mention of the risks of outdoor cats) but they have to accept the potential consequences. If they know there is a dog next door that will kill any cats that wander into the garden, they need to accept that their cat may end up the next victim - if they can't accept that then they should take responsibility and prevent the cats from getting there.

I dislike the concept of letting cats freeroam but it's not my decision at the end of the day. But if the cat owner then tried to put restrictions on when my dogs were allowed loose in my own garden, or insist that I finance cat-proof fencing when I don't even own a cat, that is not acceptable. IMO a reasonable agreement would be - I keep my dogs in my garden, you keep your cats out of it, simple.

And this is EXACTLY the point that MANY of us are trying to make!

I have a dog, when it is off my property is either a) on a lead or b) under control.

It does not enter onto other people's property.

Cats DO go onto othe rpeople's property.

They are rarely on leads, confined or under close control (for those who allow their cats free range).

If I have a free range cat it is just that, able to go where and when it likes.

If I had a free range dog, that would be called a stray, and I would be called an irresponsible owner.

Now, if I can manage to keep my dogs from entering the cat owner's garden, I expect the same courtesy in return.

If you cannot, or will not control your cats, then you will have to expect that there will be consquences.

Just as if you cannot, or will not control your dog, there will also be some.

There is no "legal right to roam" for cats (as some people think) and cat owners have a duty of care for their animals just as much as dog onwers do for theirs.

I do not think it is fair to expect me to patrol my garden before I let my dog out, I am certainly not going to do that at night in my PJs just before bed time.

If my dogs cannot have "total freedom" in their own garden, then it is a pretty sad state of affairs.

I am not responsible for anybody else's animals, be they cats, birds, horses, iguanas etc

My dogs do not defecate, urinate, copulate, sleep, sunbathe in other people's gardens, I do not want other people's cats doing the same in mine.

Is that too much too ask?

Well no, I would never suggest keeping a dog inside, I was just trying to get the opinion from both sides.

I have said previously, speak with the owner/neighbor explain and see if they can do something their end to stop the cats. Whether it be (as suggested, fencing systems). And yes this is 100% the cat owners responsibility to care for their cat.

If the cat owner then does nothing, completely agreed - they know a dog that will kill cats is next door, and if they continue to let it out...well they can't really care for that cat.

The only thing I was uncomfortable with through the thread was how people don't seem to care. They just seem to be blaming the cat.

I'm trying to be fair now, hah, in saying, yes you look after your dog, and you do a brilliant job, the cat isn't your responsibility.
But if the cat owner doesn't give a rats ass, surely you would try and watch out for the cat ever so slightly? I know I would as I care for all animals (not saying people don't on here!!)

Again, it is a really hard situation to be in. But I just wouldn't like the thought of that blood bath in my garden

Aaah I can't keep up, hah.

Well I've said my little bit now, so I think this will be my last

I think its very much difference in opinion - to which there is nothing wrong with.

In all honesty, yes I would give my garden a quick check if I knew my dog would kill one if got the chance. Luckily I have a small garden, and a doggy which likes to chase and not kill.

But yes, I would also speak with the cat owner, explained whats happened, and advise they do something about their cats coming into the garden because of the dog.

Good luck with it all OP! x

Which makes it a whole lot easier! Would you be willing to physically walk to the end of a very large garden, checking every corner, every bush, tree stump, behind the shed, etc. for a loose cat if you did have a dog that would chase to kill?
My garden runs straight back off the house and is currently very empty, so yes, I do a cursory glance out of the patio door before I even open the door, but I'm not going to inspect the long grass incase there's a cat tunneling under it, or peer behind the pile of soil/bricks at the very end of the garden. I don't want a bloodbath in my garden either, I do like cats (would own them if it wasn't for the mutts and for OH who isn't a cat-person) so wouldn't wish death on them, but I'm not going to patrol my garden every time I want to let my dogs out. It's not that I don't care, but I bought our house with a big part of that decision based on the large garden that my two could run around in - being dogs that are often confined to a lead out in public, it's essential they have somewhere to stretch their legs. So I'm not going to start sticking them on a longline or in a kennel because Jane Doe's cat wants to catnap at the end of my garden or Joe Blogg's kittens like playing chase up and down the apple tree, I'm going to treat my private land as just that - my land, and if someone decides to let their cat stray onto it, I will not feel responsible for that decision.
Maybe that makes me callous but to keep up a strict regime of checking the whole garden each and every time I wanted to let the dogs out would make the enjoyment of owning dogs and pleasure of having a large garden for them into quite a chore, and not one I would want to maintain each and every day of their lives, multiple times a day, just to cater to the whims of the local cat owners who decide to let their cats free roam.

I dont think this is a fair or possible option!!


In the summer my doors are open all day if its nice, my son plays in the garden and so do the dogs, I dont supervise them 24/7 whilst out there (yes, even when my son is out there with them- shock horror!), I also let my dogs into the garden at other times, I dont check for cats and am not about to start to, its my garden and is secure, other peoples cats are not my responsibility.

If these 8 cats are owned by one neighbour then they should be responsible and make their garden cat proof so the cats cant get out....that is being a responsible owner, something that some cat owners dont seem to be.

How far should we be expected to go to look after someone elses pet though? As I say, when I had Rupert I did a quick check of the garden before letting him out but it was just grass, there wasn't really anywhere for a cat to hide. I certainly wouldn't have gone tramping around at 3am in my pjs looking under bushes and peering up trees!

Nor am I able or willing to shell out a fortune to cat proof my own garden when I don't own a cat. My precautions were enough to ensure my dog couldn't get out of the garden, anything beyond that is up to the cat owners I'm afraid.