I LIKE THAT!!!

One thing that stands out rather scarily on a forum promoting responsible dog ownership is how little control some
must have over their dogs for them to be attacking cats on the street or for them not being able to stop them attacking them on their property, now that is interesting if you want to play devils advocate here and turn the tables for a different perspective! As even with working terriers here we'd never have such an incident as much as I know they'd gladly like to destroy strange cats, that said despite being used for vermin despatch my dogs don't tear about the countryside killing whatever they choose to. As I'm a responsible dog owner and I have control of my dogs. Before Ill educatedly banging on about a species you know nothing about and how irresponsible their owners are, maybe look at how responsible you are for the species you do own and profess to be responsible for. I have neighbours with poultry, aviary birds, small furries etc and none have any problems with my cats as a)my cats just wouldn't bother with anything involving people they don't know and b)neighbours keep their pets safe from all potential predators due to being responsible and also by not being pendatic over cats coming and going as life is too short to be so pathetic frankly, I don't complain when passers by have make dogs cockin their legs up my property (something with m own dogs is a no no) or when neighbour who keeps doves' birds fly into my garden and poo as with another neighbours racing pigeons. I'd recccomend a nice walk in the countryside to clear peoples agitations but there may be some fox or bird poo so distresss may be induced. Oh look cat owners can be as equally picky and belittling as some other posts on this thread. Well done OP .

Wasn't a case of "allowing" him to put his head in the bushes. In fact he was actually taught that stopping to sniff wasn't allowed unless he was released to do so and was usually very good at sticking to that. But I guess he saw the cat and it was too much temptation.

For what it's worth I do not hate cats and would never purposely hurt one without damn good reason. I also put in a lot of work with Rupert to try to stop his predatory behaviour but I think it was a losing battle from the start.

I know this is a serious debate and all but that typo made me nearly spit my tea all over the screen

Yes, did you even read my post? My 9 week old whippet was attacked in my garden by a cat last week. And yes it does hinder my life, again I refer you to my original post.

I don't see how people can possibly defend what their cats do by comparing them to birds, foxes etc. Cats ARE NOT wild animals, they belong to people who should have full responsibility over them. They are pets with owners who are capable of controlling them and observing their behaviour. Snarky posts about banning bees and such are just ludicrous

Much as I sympathise with you on the annoyance next door's cat is causing, I think there's a big difference from a 'swipe' (which I presume from your previous post did no damage so was more a get away swipe) and an 'attack'.

One other point you made was in relation to who would be to blame if the cat was killed by your dogs while in your garden. I believe, in law, neither you nor your dogs would be held responsible.

I don't think arguing semantics changes anything, the fact is it happened and whether it was a 'warning swipe' or not the potential to injure is still there.

I don't particularly like cats but as long as they don't impact on myself or my animals I am content. Unfortunately they do, and I blame the owner not the animal. Pet owners have a duty of care to ensure that their pet is not causing annoyance or harm to other people, regardless of whether it's a dog or a cat or a pet rock.

I also don't think it's fair to dictate to other people what exactly counts as a 'hindrance'. Would you tell a disabled person that having a cat that defecates all over their beautifully maintained garden does not hinder their life in any way? It's not up to you to make assumptions about how much your cat affects other people, it's up to you to ensure that it doesn't.

I don't have a cat .

Have read of my post - I picked up on your posts as one said 'swipe' the other 'attack'.

As said, I sympathise with your situation, but exaggerating the episode lessens the point you are trying to make rather than strengthening it.

A lot of non-dog people do not like dogs (for similar reasons in many cases) and, as can be seen from the posts on the thread, a lot of non-cat owning people do not like cats. Both have their reasons.

Personally, I can't see how a cat owner can ever hope to stop an outdoor cat from exploring the neighbourhood. It's in the nature of cats to be far more independent than dogs and no matter how many complaints there are about what they do, they will still do it.

As this is accepted in Law, there's no other alternative than to accept it, or be in a permanent state of annoyance. Personally, I choose to accept it as life is far too short to be continually aggrieved

Oh please, a swipe is not an "attack". If dog gets too close to a strange cat it probably is going to get swiped. Lesson learned for the dog and it will probably be more cautious next time. Again, its a cat not a flipping crocodile.

Have you ever owned cats? how do you suggest owners "control" them, apart from confining them indoors?

I'm obviously a bit of an odd ball, I have dogs and I have cats, one of my cats never ventures further than our garden and the other one likes to wander. The one that wanders never seems to come to any harm, really isn't likely to be making much of a nuisance of himself. He comes home to use his litter tray, has other neighbourhood cats as friends, they hang out in a little possee chasing each other about in the bushes and I don't mind if he brings his mates home either. He seems to be well known and liked in the area, people are always talking to him and know his name. Perhaps my neighbours are as weird as me, and thank heavens for that.