A man walked by with his pet pit bull and started to chat with my neighbor. While this was going on, my cat, Thomas, walked out into the front yard and sat down on a bench. My house and my neighbor’s house are connected by a wall, so Tom and the dog got close. After a brief stare down, Tom arched his back and hissed at the dog, who in turn backed up and lied down. Tom then walked up to the dog and clawed his eye. As the guy and the dog started to leave, Tom ran ahead of them and hid behind a tree. As they walked by the tree he jumped and attacked the dog with both claws.
I’m guessing the only reason he’s alive is because the owner held his dog back.
All this I got from my neighbor’s account of what happened. The dog’s owner came back today and asked me to pay for the insurance deductible on the dog’s surgery.
I’ve seen my cat get into scuffles with other cats, but nothing ever like this. Why on earth is he ambushing strange dogs? If there were no witnesses I would have never believed the guy.
I have two questions:
I’m going to pay the $150 deductible as I feel really bad for the guy. Would you pay if it was your cat?
What should I do about Tom? How can I stop this from happening again? I know people are going to suggest keeping him indoors, but he has been an outdoor cat for 10 years now. It would be extremely difficult to convert him. Like I said, he has been going outside for ten years now without hurting any of the dogs that walk by. This is a huge surprise.
I just hope that he will soon grow too old to attempt any more of his ninja tactics.
Yes, if my cat injured another animal I’d absolutely pay. You are responsible for the damage your pet does to another individual or their property, period. If your outdoors cat injured another person’s pet (with witnesses even!), I think you’re obligated to pay.
I would suggest that you try to convert your cat to an indoor cat. There’s lots of reasons why, it’s safer for the cat, and for the wildlife in the area, or so I’ve heard.
And yes, of course you’re obligated to pay if your pet hurt another pet.
Actually there was a Judge Judy episode where, at least in whatever state they were in, a lawsuit of damage by a cat was dismissed. In this case a cat went after a pet bird and killed it. Cats are not responsible for acting like a cat and the owner cannot be expected to train the cat. I’ll see if the cite is out there somewhere.
The above is just info, I would still pay the 150 personally.
That’s not always true. We had a male indoor/outdoor cat that was neutered as a kitten, and he got into fights all the time. He usually lost, though.
There was one time where he was standing behind a horse, and the horse kicked him. My mom saw the whole thing, the horse broke the cat’s hip. My mom thought the women who owned horse should pay for the surgery, but the old lady refused. Mom didn’t have much of an argument because the cat got hurt all the time, but she wouldn’t make him an indoor cat. It was an ongoing argument.
But anyway, you should pay the money. If he’s an older cat and hasn’t been fixed, making him an indoor cat may not work out well. Even if you do fix him, he’s already gone through puberty and could still spray. His temperment may change though, so if he’s not fixed - get him fixed. Even if he doesn’t become an indoor cat, he’ll still mellow out.
Before we started keeping Ricky indoors, he attacked a small dog. We were standing near the front porch, talking with the dog’s owner, and Rick went off on the poor thing. No damage done though.
Most outdoor cats that I’ve seen seem to avoid animals and people. If your cat is becoming aggressive, maybe now’s a good time to introduce him to the benefits of indoor living. Soft chairs, laps, windowsills, sunny spots on the floor, TV, etc.
I’m not an indoor cat Nazi or anything, I swear. In fact, I think it’s perfectly fine to let cats outside if they are safe and not being destructive.
The problem is that your cat is attacking other animals. How many times has this happened that you haven’t found out about?
I mean, yes, he may just be a pwecious widdle kitty when he’s around you, but obviously your cat is a danger to the other animals in your neighborhood (he attacked a PITBULL for god’s sake). If you are a responsible pet owner, you are obligated to bring him inside before he hurts another animal (or person!). Look what he did to a PITBULL, imagine what he may have done to a much smaller dog.
If you had a dog that was running around the neighborhood attacking other animals and causing them to need surgery, there’d be no question about what you need to do here.
And yes, you are absolutely responsible for vet bills and you are darn lucky the owner of the pit is a responsible pet owner and has insurance for his dog, otherwise you’d be out a ton of money.
The stones it takes to keep after something like a pit bull must be amazing.
If that was my cat, I’d be vacillating between relief he wasn’t devoured, anger at having to deal with it, and pride that I had the toughest cat on the block.
Aggressive animals in uncontrolled environments aren’t pets, they’re threats. I nth the suggestion to bring him indoors. Consider some of the potential scenarios.
The next dog owner decides to let his pet off leash in response to an attack and leaves a mangled, or perhaps dead, Tom on your doorstep.
A kid is out walking their dog and Tom attacks, the child is injured seperating the animals.
The next owner calls animal control and Tom goes to the pound.
The next owner decides to protect his/her animal by kicking Tom through your front window.
Basically, nothing good comes from having a known aggressive animal in uncontrolled circumstances. Nothing good for you, nothing good for others, nothing good for him. As far as wake-up calls go, this one is pretty gentle. Any of the above situations could have happened already, and the dog’s owner could have been uninsured and be presenting you with a four-figure vet bill and/or a lawsuit to recover damages.
My old TroubleCat was a jealous sort, and would try to attack any (non-family) dog I showed affection to. Only reason he lived to 15 was because he only attacked the rottweilers though the chain-link fence.
He’s very nonchalant about the whole situation and yes he is neutered.
The owner tells me it is illegal to have a pit bull without insurance. I’m guessing this is not the scenario lawmakers had in mind when they passed this law.
That is exactly how I feel. Except I also can’t help but feel like I’m harboring a known criminal.
I’ve decided it would be best to at least try and make [del]Chuck Norris[/del] Tom an indoor cat. Anyone know of any good way to do this?
Good for you! And good for Chu, er, Tom. I’m terribly afraid he wouldn’t always come out on top. The vet must have used a crane to neuter that cat!
As for the “how” of keeping him inside - just do it. If you keep windows open make sure the screens are very sturdy and secured. If they are nylon screens he is likely to go right through them. Watch when entering and leaving the house because he may decide to make a run for the border. If you can figure out an “air lock” sort of arrangement - two doors between Tom and the Great Outdoors - all to the better.
He may moan and complain for a while. Try some catnip.
