My sister has just had a phone call from her shaken friend who has just spent the past 2 hours trying to stop a dog attacking a cat. A cat was chased into her garden & under the shed by a JRT, which followed the cat under the shed and was attacking it. She tried poking the dog out with a broom handle and also tried spraying it with a hose pipe, but the dog remained under the shed, attacking the cat for nearly 2 hours. My sisters friend is quite upset by it, as she could hear the poor cat screaming but could not stop the dog and to add insult her step-dad said 'it's only a cat' The dog came out when the cat was dead.
The cat was in a mess and as they are unable to find out who owns it, they buried the cat in thier garden.
The owner of the dog has been informed, I don't think they had a chance to say much as my sisters friend was very upset and shouted at the dog owner for allowing the dog loose (apparently it had escaped through an open front door).
Poor cat, suffering a 2 hour assault :(
RIP cat x

the poor thing :( i'd maybe suggest that your friend puts up a flyer incase the owner is looking so if they get in touch she can let them know.

> i'd maybe suggest that your friend puts up a flyer incase the owner is looking so if they get in touch she can let them know.

Thats'a good idea, thanks.
I know it would be awful to find out that your cat had come to a horrible end like that, but I've had a cat go missing and would much rather know what happened to him.

What an awful thing to have to witness and be powerless to do much to  help,please send a big hug via your sister to her friend from me, it sounds like she did everything she could to save the cat and in her shoes I too would be devastated.
I agree with Astarte I think putting up flyers is a good idea  and/or maybe putting them through doors in the area may help to find the cat owner.
As for the dog owners....well I hope they learn a lesson and make sure the dog cant escape again to do it to any other animal.

That poor little cat....
I know it was buried but it may have been chipped. Mine all are.
At least the owner would know. Sorry I am not crticising or any thing your friend must be so upset. Just a thought.

> are you sure it was not chipped

I wondered about that too,and I know youre not critisising  just offering suggestions to help, but if the cat was in a mess maybe it might not have been found anyway.
Poor poor little thing :(

Poor cat, must be awful not being able to help it.
Nothing against Terriers as I own them and know what there like, but I hope the JRT's owners are told!

> I know it was buried but it may have been chipped.

I know you're not criticising :)

The cat was in a mess, I wont go into detail about how badly injured it was, but it if hadn't been seen prior to being killed it would be very hard to tell that it was a white cat :( I doubt it even crossed thier mind about a chip though.

Hopefully with some flyers/asking around the cats owners can be found.

This needs reporting to the DW as well...

Poor cat and i do hope that the owners can be traced, even go door knocking as well, may find someone who knows the owner. If not door knocking then leaflet dropping into neighbours doors..

How awful for your sisters friend, she must have felt so helpless, must have been such an awful sickening thing to see!

I know it would be awful to find out that your cat had come to a horrible end like that, but I've had a cat go missing and would much rather know what happened to him.

It will be horrible for them to find out what happened, though if the owners are found I'd be tempted to tell them it happened much quicker than it really did.  Either way it's still better that they know, the not knowing whats happened and hoping they might come back is heart breaking.

It might also be worth letting local vets know what has happened as people will often call around vets to see if there has been an animal handed in when a pet goes missing. 

Another good reason to keep your cat indoors.

> It might also be worth letting local vets know what has happened as people will often call around vets to see if there has been an animal handed in when a pet goes missing. 

I'm going to call the vet myself tomorrow, but I don't know if it will do any good. All I know is the cat was white, I know the area it happened, but not the road name :(

I had the story muddled, it wasn't my sisters friend that buried the cat, it was the the owner of the JRT, she (the JRT owner) came around (don't know if she was trying to help stop the attack or came around when it was finished), she took the cat up to the woods and buried it there That seems very odd to me.

It's all a bit complicated now, by the seem of things :(

I'll call my sisters friend 'T', for ease of telling the story. T lives with her mum, T's mum is good friends with the JRT owner. T was upset with the dog owner about the incident and shouted at her. T's mum was mad with T for shouting at her friend and does not want T involved and does not want to get involved herself. So the poor cat is buried in the woods and I don't think anybody is trying to find out who the owner is :( :(

Somebody, somewhere tonight is going to be wondering why thier cat didn't come home, the cat wont be back for breakfast in the morning and the owners will start worrying, and if they're anything like I was when my cat went missing, they'll spend the next few months searching for miles, knocking on doors looking for thier cat and maybee, in a few years time, they'll stop running to the door every time they hear a noise to see if it's thier cat back home :( :(

What can I do????? I know T's sirname and I know she uses the same vet as me, but I don't know her address..

Tell the vet T's surname and the name of an animal she has registered with them, and they'll be able to find her address easily.

Oh!!!!! Apparently the JRT was covered in scratches from the cat, so maybe if I 'phone the vets, they may have had a dog in that looks like it's been in a fight with a cat? I know they can't tell me anything, but they may be able to look to see if they have any missing white cats registered close to where the JRT lives?

If you tell the vet what's happened, then if anyone contacts them about a missing cat they'll be able to tell them. Neither you nor your sister nor T would need to be involved at all.

Very upsetting, how horrible the poor friend.

> If you tell the vet what's happened, then if anyone contacts them about a missing cat they'll be able to tell them. Neither you nor your sister nor T would need to be involved at all.

Thanks JG, yes I'll phone the vet tommorow.

crikey if any lose dog came after my cat in an aggressive way the dog in question would get killed by my dogs for trying!

How dreadful... must say if I had been there would of grabbed the little buggers tail- leg anything and got him out. That's the trouble with terriers but being witness to it for 2 hours must of been a nightmare.

That is absolutely awful but thankfully a rareity. I feel so sorry for the cats owners a)to have their cat killed in such a way and b)to not be able to say goodbye.

Very suspect that the JRT owners buried the cat - trying to hide the evidence no doubt. The owners have a right to know though. I'd be heartbroken

> Another good reason to keep your cat indoors.

I dont agree with that. These things are rare and if anyone is to blame it is the dog and the dog owners not the poor innocent cat who doesnt deserve to have its freedom taken away 'just in case'

Fred's Mum, there are also foxes, diseases carried by other cats, cars - which are the biggest killer of young cats.... I don't think it's fair to keep a cat in when it has been used to being free-roaming, but if it is used to being indoor I don't see a problem, as long as it gets plenty play and interaction. And many people who keep cats this way also build outdoor runs for them in their garden so they can go outside - and it is also possible to get harnesses for cats (and ferrets :-D ) and take them out on a lead, as you would with a dog.

I always find things like this interesting, ok it wasn't a nice way for the cat to go but surely the owners of the cat are just as at fault for letting it wander about as the dog owners for letting it escape and chase the cat. I'm sorry but why is it accepted that it's ok for cats to go where they like. That cat has probably killed scores of songbirds- doing what comes naturally as it is natural for a terrier to chase a cat!

So the dog attacks and kills a cat because the owner isn't able to control it, and the cat owner is equally to blame?  You cannot be serious?

If the argument that it's natural for cats to roam is used, then it must be accepted that they are being put into danger. It's as natural for dogs to roam as it is for cats; nowadays it's considered responsible not to let your dog roam - but it's natural for a predator to kill.

> Fred's Mum, there are also foxes, diseases carried by other cats, cars - which are the biggest killer of young cats

Totally agree with you. I was making a comment withy reference to the OP - that a cat was killed by a dog chasing it. I wouldnt keep my cat in just because of the risk of a dog (that should have been under control in the first place!) killing it.
Its a whole other debate - one which we've already had, on whether cats should be free roaming due or not, taking into consideration other factors not just the OP's

:-)

I'm saying that, removing the emotional element of it... owners, if allowing their animal to roam must accept that it will encounter danger.. I'm not saying it is responsible that owner's let their dogs run wild but if this dog escaped accidentally then the dog was only doing what comes naturally.

No, what you actually said was "surely the owners of the cat are just as at fault for letting it wander".

If you own an animal then you are responsible for it - ergo a portion of the blame/responsibility (yes even though it was a tragic accident) must lay with the owner of the cat.  It's a risk you run unfortunately.  If I let my dog wander and he gets hit by a car, who's fault is it?  The driver of the car or me?  Had the cat survived and required vet treatment then both parties should, in my opinion go halfers on the bill.  The dog owner should not have buried the cat though, just smells of "covering ones tracks" doesn't it. 

It is legal for a cat to roam, it is illegal for a dog to roam as far as I am aware

Poor cat. This is a very sad story,  put an add in the paper saying a white cat sadly died when it was attacked by a dog. Adding, your thoughts are with the owner of the cat whoever they may be.

Agree, if you own a cat and allow it to free roam than you should be aware that you are putting your cat at risk of a whole array of dangers.  To list a few - getting hit by a car, getting attacked by another animal (cat, dog), getting attacked by a human annoyed that your cat is on their property, etc.

It in no way excuses what happened to this particular cat.   I cannot imagine the horror the cat went through and it's really surprising that in two hours the Jack Russell could not be stopped.   As much as I adore dogs, if I saw that happening my first reaction would be to do anything to stop the dog and if I injured the dog in the process, so be it.   I guess it's stupid to even think that at some point the police could have been called and put an end to it.  

One of my dogs surprised a cat in my garden a few weeks ago, but luckily the cat made a quick escape up a tree.   I would be horrified if one of them injured a cat.

The Jack Russell's owner sounds like a real %@@!! heartless person.   To put the cat's owner through the torture of not knowing what happened to it is disgusting.

I think if my terrier were  to catch a cat in our garden he may well attack and kill it. I would be horrified if he did and it is certainly not something I would ever wish him to do but the possibility that this may happen is high.

What an awful way for a cat to go!
I can't imagine how the owner of the dog must be feeling knowing what has happened.
I feel for the owners of the cat of course, but at the moment they do not know what has happened.
Their animal was the victim where as the dog was the animal that caused the cat to die so the owner of the dog must be feeling awful about it(if they care at all that is). In the end it was them who made the mistake and the dog got loose and got to the cat.

Maybe if the body of the cat was in a real state the owner thought better bury it, who would like to hand something very mutilated back to the owner?
She must have been in shock too and may have just done what she thought to be the best thing without thinking too much.
I know it is not the right thing to do but I have to say I would probably rather hear my pet has been buried and be shown where than get very mutilated possibly few days old body back.
I understand for some people it is very important to bury their pet in their garden etc but to me personally as long as my pet was properly buried(deep enough) in the woods I would be fine with that.
If my dog did something like this, I would have probably taken the cats body to be cremated so I can give the ashes to the owner if ever found.
But not all people ever realize pets can be cremated so what options is there?
Bin it, bury it or freeze it?
Is there anything else the owner could have done to the body? They can't keep it bagged away for very long time either.
If they got the dog warden or some body like this to take the body, wouldn't it be cremated with other animals/road victims so nothing to even show to the owners.

Edited to add, I think advert to local paper might be a good idea as if the owners are looking for the cat they will probably screen the found/lost pages in the local paper.
It would be huge shock to read white cat found and what has happened but at least then they would know.
Also it might be worth looking under the shed as it is possible the can was wearing a collar and it came off...

> Maybe if the body of the cat was in a real state the owner thought better bury it, who would like to hand something very mutilated back to the owner?

That's a good point, she may have buried it as there aren't really any better options, you can't keep a dead body hanging around untill the owners are found and maybee the woods were a better option than her own garden (from what I can gather the houses there back onto the woods so she didn't have to go out of her way to get there), but personally I would have taken it to the vets, the vets may have even recongnised it and at least they could dispose of the body.

I know some poeple don't beleive that cats should be roaming, but there is nothing to say that this cat was permitted to roam, it hadn't been seen around before and could just have easliy escaped from it's house just as the dog that killed it did. I don't think the dogs owners or the cats owners can be blamed, it's just one of those things. I do wonder why on earth nobody could get the dog from under the shed, they got the dead cat out from under the shed? I think they panicked, which doesn't make you think very logically.

The vet has been told about the cat and my sisters friend has been asking around re. the cats owners, but no luck there yet.

Our local paper lets you puy ' found ' ads in for free . You could try that .

There is NO way I would let a animal try to kill another for over 2 hours.    I would've taken an axe to the shed to get to the dog and then a size 6 up the dog's derriere.   

How awful for the poor cat, and for those that witnessed it, but of course it's perfectly natural behaviour for the terrier, they're bred to keep foxes at bay underground sometimes for hours while their handlers dig to them.

Christine I'm guessing if you took an axe to the shed you'd probably end up killing the dog too :-o

I may be naive, but surely it would not take a terrier 2 hours to kill at cat? THey have been bred for centuries to kills vermin, yes i know its smaller prey, but i though dachunds were badger dogs, so in theory a terrier shouldn't take long to despatch a cat.

> THey have been bred for centuries to kills vermin, yes i know its smaller prey, but i though dachunds were badger dogs, so in theory a terrier shouldn't take long to despatch a cat.

I have no idea why it took so long, but I would think that as a cat is far more agile than a dog, it was scrambling around in the small confines under the shed, enough to avoid the dog being able to get a good hold on it long enough for a clean kill :(

ETA. The agility of a cat is quite amazing. Years ago my cat was caught by 2 loose lurchers, they tore her up pretty badly but she got away from them. The vet recomended her to be PTS, but we opted to try to save her, it was touch & go for a while but she made it and lived another happy, healty 12 years.

My dogs will chase but they won't catch, thankfully.  I had to extricate Jack from the fence a few weeks ago when he'd gone after a particularly smart cat (it jumped through the second highest bar instead of right over and he tried to follow).  It was a very tragic and horrible way for the cat to go though.  I would like to think that if my dogs ever did catch a cat on my property that I'd be able to get in quick though to prevent any serious injuries - I've got a bucket and a hose out in the garden anyway that would be put to good use.

> Christine I'm guessing if you took an axe to the shed you'd probably end up killing the dog too

Thats ok, it was just a JRT!   ;-)