my neighbours dog came into my garden and killed my cat what can i do about this?

Question

it jumped up and grapped my cat from window ledge then killed it.

Answer 1

:( I'm sorry. Does your neighbor know their dog killed you cat, and are you 100% sure it was their dog? By that I mean, did you see it happen? I would talk to your neighbor, first off, and see how they feel. If you make a big deal about it and get the police involved chances are they will euthanize the dog for being aggressive (do you really want to be that mean?) Otherwise, maybe you could ask your neighbor to replace the cat (I know it's not the same, but it's more than nothing).

Cats that are allowed out usually wind up in trouble at some point in their life, and you're better off keeping them in (both my cats were outdoor cats at one point). If you were allowing your cat out, you should have made sure the perimeter of your yard was secure.

Answer 2

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. You don't say whereabouts in the world you are but in the UK cats are treated almost as 'wild' creatures whereas dogs are supposed to be under the control of their owners at all times. You are meant to try and keep your cats from doing damage elsewhere but it is virtually impossible with such free ranging creatures. What has the dog owner said? Has he/she done you the courtesy of knocking on your door with an apology and a bunch of flowers? Have these dogs harmed any other cats in your neighbourhood? My own cat is deaf so he isn't permitted to be free ranging but it is not actually illegal for a cat to be trotting about the neighbourhood so your cat was not in the wrong. My sister had a similar problem when a neighbour's uncontrolled bull terrier charged through her open back door right into the house and attacked one of her cats in the living room, dragging the poor mite out into the street with her entire family in pursuit. The reaction of the police in her case was scandalous. This dog could just as easily have attacked one of the children as it did the cat but they could not have been less bothered if they tried. They didn't even speak to the family who owned the wretched dog and the poor little cat was never the same after that although she survived the attack.

Answer 3

If it happened in your neighbour's garden then I'd say c'est la vie. But it happened in yours and your neighbour should have kept their dog under control.

What happens now depends on:
- whether your neighbour already knows what happened
- if not whether your neighbour will trust your account of what happened
- how well you get on with your neighbour now
- how well you want to get on with your neighbour in the future.

Some minor shock value might be to your advantage - call your neighbour round and show them the cat's corpse.

What do you want to happen? A profound apology, a new cat or the dog put down? If you're leaning to the latter then (obviously) your neighbour is likely to be somewhat resistant, and of course the dog was only doing what dogs do. Perhaps put the ball in your neighbour's court and ask "what are they going to do about this?".

Answer 4

First of all, I'd like to give you my condolences for the loss of your kitty.

Perhaps the first step would be to speak to your neighbor about the incident and although you cannot replace a lost life, perhaps he can assist you in some way to get another cat for you to take the other ones place. You could also work some kind of arrangement for your neighbor to keep his dog secured so this will not happen again. At the minimum, an apology by your neighbor is appropriate.

If your neighbor is unwilling to assist you, then I can only suggest that you take him to small claims court. This can be settled in that manner.

Again, I'm sorry for your loss. And please, don't blame the dog, he is doing what is in his nature. It is the neighbor who is responsible to restrict what his dog does and control those urges.

Answer 5

I'm so sorry for the loss of your baby.

Are there leash laws where you live? If there are, make a complaint with the animal control agency in your area or the police. I would check and see if there is some sort of case you could open against your neighbors. At the very least, maybe this would teach them to be responsible owners and keep their dog confined to his own yard.

Answer 6

definately call animal control. I absolutly love dogs and understand it was part of the dogs nature to do this but you cannot take a risk the dog will do it again. Next time it could be a child and it is best to report the dog just to be safe. I am really sorry about your cat and forgive those nasty people who laugh about it or make rude comments.

Answer 7

Well nothing as you are both at fault. You should not be letting your cat roam free, and your neighbour had no business doing the same thing. A very hard and sad lesson to learn. Cats have been domesticated and shouldn't be allowed out for just this reason.

Answer 8

It may be a fruitless endeavor, but you need to convince your neighbor to secure his pet a little better. If your neighbor's reasonable, discuss it with him, and urge him to suppliment his fence or keep his dog inside unless on a leash/lead. If he's not, let animal control discuss it with him (our local animal control is worthless, so good luck there). That's all I can think of to help you out. For the record, I'm a dog lover and I'm not too fond of cats, but I think it's atrocious that an owner not properly control his dog.

Answer 9

The dog should have been on a chain ! So sorry for your lose.
If you have a leash law I would report the owner to the police dept . Then I would ask the owner to replace the cat ,not that they really could .
Again so sorry .

Answer 10

it too late for the cat
but you can notified the council and get your neighbour to take dog to obedience lesson.
fail to do so could lead to dog been put down.