I'm not !! I'm trying to LIGHTEN the mood ffs !!

I give up ...

Yes I do actually dislike myself very much sometimes.

And I totally agree with you about humans having a far bigger negative effect on wildlife.

However, we were talking about cats ... who are responsible for the murder of millions of song birds every year ... in common with many human beings I will add, although in the case of human beings it is not always intentional.

I really WAS only joking when I WOT'd your "spurded" ! I thought I was being witty, but for some people at least it obviously failed the humour test

I think spurded is a lovely word, and I shall use it whenever I can from now on

I did not say your post was irrelevant, I said the quoting of YS post within one of yours was not relevant to your post. I am happy that you are comforting the OP because like you I also belive it was a tragic accident. I have highlighted a couple of the areas which led me to believe you are not keen on cats. If this is a misrepresentation I apologise. But my dogs do not chase and kill cats so it is not a dog thing. My cats also do not kill birds. I have only had a couple of incidents where any wildlife has been killed and that has been very soon after they have been rehomed from being strays. Once they realise they have a constant of food they are far too lazy to bother hunting.

I like you don't think for one minute that the dog should be pts anymore than I think the owner should be prosecuted but you do have to remember in all this because the dog had "escaped and was out of control" their beloved pet was killed in a horrible manor in front of their eyes and this must be absolutely devastating for them and they must feel helpless.

All I ask is for people to remember that cats are much loved pets and have their own value. Not all of them kill songbirds the same as not all dogs want to kill cats.

P.S. I really respect the fact that you took the trouble to find the owners of the cat you knocked down. I cannot imagine how I would feel if one of mine never came home. My eldest is 16 and thats a long time to own a pet whatever species it is.

Good answer, thank you for it. I'm not keen on cats, it's quite true - mainly for the bird killing reasons, but also because, if I were to be truthful, I really don't understand them! There you are, pussy on your lap, purring away, you're stroking him, and suddenly its WW3 and your thighs are being raked with talons and the cat's back is arched and he's spitting at you!! What's all that about !! I don't understand them. However, my daughter's half Bengal half tabby is absolutely gorgeous and sweet and never goes out so she has no opportunity to kill birds, so she is always very welcome in my house, but yes, you are right, I am not keen on cats like I am on dogs and horses. Now those are animals that you can understand ... they play with a straight hand, and you know where you stand!

I do feel desperately sorry for the poor people who own the cat, but I was righteously angry that they should be so nasty as to want to sue the owners of the dog. Their cat likely killed hundreds of birds in its lifetime, and although its end was horrible poor thing, the dog was only following his instinct, just as the cat was when he killed those birds. Some cat owners annoy me in that they won't or can't follow the reasoning in this argument and get furious with you when their cat comes into your garden to crap, and your dog chases it out and back into their's (admittedly knocking a few plant pots over on the way, but that's another story ).

As to the old tom that I ran over, it was tragic. The dear old boy who owned this very ancient looking creature was a retired school teacher who lived on his own, and this cat was his life. He cried when I told him, it was awful, he was crying, I was crying and apologising, and he was obviously poor, he lived in some squalor. I had a litter of GSP puppies at the time, and the next day I drove down to his cottage with one of them and asked him if he would like to have a puppy when they were old enough to go. He was so sweet but explained that he really didn't like dogs, that the cat had been his life and he would never be able to replace him. We had a cup of tea ... with hindsight, what a stupid thing to do, but he really was quite old so I think I was quite safe ... he was such an interesting man. With the selfishness of youth, I never went back to see him, he must have been terribly lonely, I really wish I had taken the trouble to visit him now and then.

And up until my first dog 8 years ago their appeal was a mystery to me But now I have my own I see what the fuss is about. I agree some cats are guilty of killing many birds but sadly there is no way you can control this as for many cats staying in is downright cruel. It's like never taking your dog for a walk but thats just my opinion. I am really glad that my 6 are far too lazy as I really don't want to be presented with wildlife. I do provide mine with litter trays and they have their own garden but one of mine really likes the well dug borders of the chap over the road! I have told him to let me know of any plants they destroy and I will happily replace them and if I do see one of my cats pooing in someone elses garden I take the responsibility much the same as the dogs and go and pick it up.

The appeal of cats for me is that they choose to come home to me they don't have to and I love their attitude that they are doing me the favour by coming home All of mine are rescues and I think sometimes it is forgotten that they too come with behavioural problems from previous mistreatment. It has taken me years of hard work to rehabilitate some of mine. I have been through the trauma of operations and all sorts with them.

But animals they are the same as dogs and I have to admit to taking more than a few deep breaths last year when next doors dog killed my rabbit!!

Rest assured though the song bird population is very safe with my lazy moggies

Hi Zoe, hope everything is going alright with your neighbours taking legal action. You sound like a wonderfully caring dog owner, and tbh they just sound like they are after the money....you were apologetic, and they seem to have thrown it all back at you. If it was my cat, I would personally just want to try and forget what happened, instead of dragging it out longer by taking legal action.

You have also made sure (altering the gate) that it won't happen again...I'm sure that if it was ever taken to court that is all you would be told to do anyway.

Hope it all goes ok hun x

Hi i have empathy with you,

this has happened to me, my greyhound killed my next door neighbours cat when it came into our back garden.

It was horrible and i was mortified, i had to take the dead cat round to her and explain what had happened. She was obviously very upset.

My husband wanted to get rid of my dog. Its not the dogs fault its instinct and my grey was is an ex racer so its even more pronounced. Also how can you keep cats out of your garden ? impossible.

I do check my garden before i let my dogs out and it was suggested by some that i muzzle her before i let her out, which i am not prepared to do frankly. Although i know your situation was a bit different as your dog got out accidentally

Im glad to see you have had a sympathetic response from most of the posters on here because when i stupidly posted a thread when it happened to me i was hauled over the coals by some on here.

I think because it happened on my property there was no comeback with regards to prosecution.

Anyway i left it for a few days after and took some flowers and a card saying how sorry i was. I can't bring her cat back but i felt i had done all could in the circumstances

Hope it goes ok with the neighbour x

Sorry to hear about all this Zoe , as a cat and dog owner i can feel for both parties , but as some one has already said time for u to get ur case together regards Danny, get a independent trainer to temprement test him , also if it does go to court (which it may not ) ask the trainer if he/she can come to court , if it does go to court the most they could do i would have thought is make u muzzle Danny in public