I actually got just a teensy weensy bit choked up.
Yay, Kitty!
I love cats but I’m very cynical about them. They are generally just looking out for number one. But I doubt you are correct here. I’ve never seen a cat be so aggressive to a dog just over territory, when unthreatened. Hiss, sure. Scratch and bite if threatened directly, definitely. But that cat took it to a whole new level in terms of breaking cover and running at a dog while not under attack. I do find it a bit surprising but I find it hard to come to any conclusion but that it had become motherly towards the kid and so went for the dog.
That’s not a footpath, it’s a sidewalk. That’s what they are designed for, to protect pedestrians and children from street traffic. Yes, it’s normal, especially in front of the kid’s home with a parent nearby. When I was that age, we didn’t have sidewalks and I rode at the edge of the pavement even without a parent nearby, in a cul-de-sac street.
“Sidewalk” and “footpath” mean the same thing. And, depending on where you live, so does “pavement.”
Regardless, it’s absolutely normal for a kid on a bike to be where he was, on the driveway in front of his house.
And they are cynical about us.
Not here, and not according to Wikipedia. A foot path is typically bare ground or gravel; a sidewalk is asphalt or cement and usually has a curb.
Apparently someone from WI or AR wrote the Wikipedia article.
It appears to be a regional difference, like “Freeway” and “Parkway” or “Tollway”, whatever my Ex from New England called a freeway.
That’s not what the Wikipedia article says:
And it also says this:
(Bolding mine) Nor have I, but in my experience it’s not at all uncommon for domestic pussycats to charge and frighten off much larger non-aggressive and/or unsuspecting canine trespassers. I think Tara’s one-step-further reaction was to this dog’s extremely violent behavior per se (a menace to one and all), and had nothing to do with the object of the dog’s wrath.
For what it’s worth, I should add that I feel “pretty sure” about this, but by no means certain. The truth is, I wouldn’t mind being wrong.
In any case, I hope Tara got a can of tuna and a complimentary litterbox cleaning that evening.
At 4:51:09-11, you can see the cat return to the boy’s side after chasing away the dog. After mom gets up to check the dog and the boy runs for the house, you can see the cat pause and watch the boy for a moment before joining mom.
Hell, she probably got a salmon filet, and her own room in the house.
I saw a short statement from the father of the boy, saying Tara gets whatever she wants now.
“Two bales of catnip will do, and a pool in the backyard to keep the salmon fresh. Oh, someone needs to turn my mattress. Gratias servus.”
Here’s what I think I’m seeing: Tara chases the dog to a satisfactory distance, then hastily (and wisely) retreats toward the car. We next see her moving to a safe spot on the far side of the tire which is most distant from the dog, and closer as well to home and the safety of the Large Biped Who Belongs In Her Territory. Then she follows LB in retreating to the house.
I’ve had 2 dog-aggressive cats. One of them actually lived with a dog and liked her just fine as long as she was inside. When he saw her outside, he’d go nutz. I’ve seen him go after dogs and he always stopped once they were out of his yard. I’d agree with your assessment TreacherousCretin but Tara hit the dog and it started running away. She then looked at her LB and went after the dog again.
Dog-aggressive cats might be suicidal, but they are not stupid.
Also, I’ve not heard any reports of her being dog-aggressive in the past. Tara is obviously an inside/outside cat, so if she had a history of doing this sort of stuff, I’m pretty sure it would have come out. This can’t be the first dog that has set foot in her yard.
So, yeah, GO TARA!!! Good kitteh!
As I said in an earlier post my 14 year old cat had never shown aggression for any reason. She always chose to retreat rather than fight. The neighbors golden retriever was attacked by a pit bull in the alley behind my property and my cat attacked the pit just exactly the way this cat attacked the dog. She was certainly defending.
A footpath might be paved, and a sidewalk might not be. However, the surface that the boy was initially riding his bicycle on, as seen in the video, is not called a footpath in the US. * Anywhere* in the US, by anyone I have ever had contact with, any state I’ve ever been in. It is called a sidewalk.
AndKen001, a New Zealander, is subject to U.S. usage? Why not answer his question – like I did – instead of holding his words to inapplicable definitions?
Why does this matter?
That’s the best explanation Shakes. The mother is very closeby as evidenced by her quick arrival on the scene. So this isn’t a situation of a mother letting her 3yr old play beside the street and glancing out the kitchen window from time to time.