Please help me.

[Revates]

Lat night one or both of my dogs killed one of the neighbours cats. I have no idea what to do. I called my father and he suggested that I put the cat into a garbage bag and just throw it in the rubbish. But if my pet was killed I would be devastated and very angry if one of my neighbours did that to me. I want to go find which neighbours cat it was to tell them.
But I'm worried because:

1. They obviously will be pretty upset and I don't want my dogs put down.
2. I've had letters in the mail in the  past threatening to bait the dogs.
3. It's going to be hard to face them when I find them.

So what do I do. Should I go door knocking and ask about if they own a cat with a description, do I take a picture? Is this the right course of action? Do I offer to bury it?

[MissFleece]

It sounds like your dogs are out of control and NEED to be handled (assuming the letters were for other behavior besides barking). Either get them the proper training they need, find them a home that CAN get the training they need, or do the responsible thing and put them down. They can't continue to be like this.

 

As for the situation at hand, find out whose cat it was, offer monetary compensation for their loss, and hope they don't sue you. If the cat was on YOUR property, you're gold. Just call animal services and report it. If the animal was not on your property, well....things get a little more complicated for you. 

[Revates]

It sounds like your dogs are out of control and NEED to be handled (assuming the letters were for other behavior besides barking). Either get them the proper training they need, find them a home that CAN get the training they need, or do the responsible thing and put them down. They can't continue to be like this.

 

As for the situation at hand, find out whose cat it was, offer monetary compensation for their loss, and hope they don't sue you. If the cat was on YOUR property, you're gold. Just call animal services and report it. If the animal was not on your property, well....things get a little more complicated for you. 

Yes the letters were in relation to barking and I think it was only the one that was the culprit the other one is the most docile dog I've ever owned.  So that is definitely an option.

Okay would the best way to find them going door knocking with a description (I don't think a picture is suitable)? And yes the cat was on my property. So should I call the RSPCA first?


 

[MissFleece]

Yes the letters were in relation to barking and I think it was only the one that was the culprit the other one is the most docile dog I've ever owned.  So that is definitely an option.
Okay would the best way to find them going door knocking with a description (I don't think a picture is suitable)? And yes the cat was on my property. So should I call the RSPCA first?

Reading more on proper responses to this issue, if your dog was fenced in/in your yard, then offer an apology and nothing more. No report necessary, apparently (You have to report when dogs bite humans, so I was confused.) 

The cat was roaming free, and therefore the owners knew the risk and are ultimately responsible for their cat's death. 

So yes, go find the cat's owner, apologize, and then be sure to monitor your dogs carefully afterwards.

Beware of neighbors giving your dogs any food or drink of any kind. 

[Revates]

Reading more on proper responses to this issue, if your dog was fenced in/in your yard, then offer an apology and nothing more. No report necessary, apparently (You have to report when dogs bite humans, so I was confused.) 

The cat was roaming free, and therefore the owners knew the risk and are ultimately responsible for their cat's death. 

So yes, go find the cat's owner, apologize, and then be sure to monitor your dogs carefully afterwards.

Beware of neighbors giving your dogs any food or drink of any kind. 

Okay I will do so immediately. Thank you so much, you are a godsend. I'll just keep them inside for awhile.

[Vae]

Yeah, make sure you tell them.

I'd be heartbroken if someone's pet killed mine,
but I'd also be absolutely pissed (and probably more than a bit vengeful) if the owner just tried to sweep it under the rug while I was torn up over my mysteriously missing cat.

[MissFleece]

Yeah, make sure you tell them.

I'd be heartbroken if someone's pet killed mine,
but I'd also be absolutely pissed (and probably more than a bit vengeful) if the owner just tried to sweep it under the rug while I was torn up over my mysteriously missing cat.

It sounds like they might try to be vengeful anyway, if his neighbors are already threatening to bait his dogs. 

[Vae]

It sounds like they might try to be vengeful anyway, if his neighbors are already threatening to bait his dogs. 

I'm sure it would make things a lot worse, though.

Although it makes me question what would make the neighbors even threaten to bait the dogs in the first place.
Although some people are just assholes.

[Revates]

Okay update: I found whose cat it was. And it's an elderly lady down the street she was absolutely devastated. I will be burying it for her today and have offered to buy her a new cat to which she declined. Should I insist or send her something as a gift and a card to say sorry?

Also it's only a couple of neighbours that I don't get along with, there have been disputes in the past about their kids teasing the dogs. So we erected a fence to separate the back yard from the front yard to stop them barking at the kids at the front fence and since then they walk along the side fence running down it dragging sticks across it.  So naturally I suspect they wrote the letter about baiting the dogs and was worried it was their cat. Other dog owners have had problems as well and some also received a letter.

Also thank you a lot for the advice.

[Ginpanther]

Okay update: I found whose cat it was. And it's an elderly lady down the street she was absolutely devastated. I will be burying it for her today and have offered to buy her a new cat to which she declined. Should I insist or send her something as a gift and a card to say sorry?

Do not insist/force anything such as gifts or cash, simply respect her wishes and grief. A card would be acceptable if you express yourself well with a hand-written note of apology and condolence inside it, but that is the absolute limit of what you should do if she's already declined your offer of compensation.

My thoughts on the matter as a whole aside, that you're asking these questions shows you are one of the rare folks in the world who actually care and try to make amends when things go wrong for somebody else. Don't lose that quality.

[Clove Darkwave]

I came in here expecting the worst and was pleasantly surprised, good on you OP.

[Skylar Husky]

Most places have a leash law. And the leash law really extends to your own backyard. So long as your dogs are in their backyard, it is well secured, they cannot get out and you make sure of it, You have fulfilled your obligation to control your dogs.

It is regrettable that your dogs killed a neighbor's cat, but ultimately it is the neighbor's responsibility to control her cat.

 

At the very least hand write a note of apology and then I would suggest letting the matter drop.  It would be thoughtful and it reflect you as a person, someone who is thoughtful and has come here to ask for advice because you feel bad about it. 

 

As for the rest, If other neighbors are getting pissed about the barking so much that there is a letter threatening to bait the dogs, it would be a very good idea to do what you can to discourage the barking.

My dog is awful about that with my neighbor. She has wonderful plants and tends them. My dog will be out there barking almost fretfully at her through the chain fence. If she has the hose in her hand she squirts him, which makes it worse. My dog thinks she is playing. When I talk to her it is few and far in between, and mostly nice words of greeting. Her English skills are not great and my Mandarin skills are practically non existent. Often I have to go out and intervene, get my dog's attention with his favorite ball and then play fetch a few times, then coax him into the house with offering of a dentastix chew. 

 

[Sidewalk Surfboard]

Most places have a leash law. And the leash law really extends to your own backyard. So long as your dogs are in their backyard, it is well secured, they cannot get out and you make sure of it, You have fulfilled your obligation to control your dogs.

It is regrettable that your dogs killed a neighbor's cat, but ultimately it is the neighbor's responsibility to control her cat.

 

At the very least hand write a note of apology and then I would suggest letting the matter drop.  It would be thoughtful and it reflect you as a person, someone who is thoughtful and has come here to ask for advice because you feel bad about it. 

 

As for the rest, If other neighbors are getting pissed about the barking so much that there is a letter threatening to bait the dogs, it would be a very good idea to do what you can to discourage the barking.

My dog is awful about that with my neighbor. She has wonderful plants and tends them. My dog will be out there barking almost fretfully at her through the chain fence. If she has the hose in her hand she squirts him, which makes it worse. My dog thinks she is playing. When I talk to her it is few and far in between, and mostly nice words of greeting. Her English skills are not great and my Mandarin skills are practically non existent. Often I have to go out and intervene, get my dog's attention with his favorite ball and then play fetch a few times, then coax him into the house with offering of a dentastix chew. 

 

You have to step in and actually do something about it. Actually teach your dog not to bark instead of just distracting him. Rewarding him for the behavior isn't gonna help anything.

[Gamedog]

The dogs have done nothing wrong, they operate on instinct not morals

The solution is for your neighbours to not irresponsibly let their cats roam.

[Kaedal]

The dogs have done nothing wrong, they operate on instinct not morals

The solution is for your neighbours to not irresponsibly let their cats roam.

Well, that's a bit problematic, since a cat's instinct is to roam.

[Gamedog]

Well, that's a bit problematic, since a cat's instinct is to roam.

 i have four cats and none of them roam. Theyre all indoors cats and theyre all happy that way.  Oldest two are gonna be 16 or 17 this year. Much better than the average 3 years an outdoor cat gets

Edited October 13, 2015 by Gamedog

[Revates]

Well if anyone wanted an update on the matter. I'll be trying further steps to control my dogs behavior so this issue doesn't continue to escalate. And as for the lady I buried her cat for her and gave her some flowers and wrote her a letter.

Also I can't blame the owner I know it can be hard to control pets at times and unfortunately the cat ventured into my yard. I honestly just hope she is alright since I know a lot of elderly people get pets to comfort them.

[Gamedog]

You will not be able to erase instinct from your dogs. You can manage it with a shitload of training but you should always expect a dog to be a dog

Cant train the tracking and baying out of a coonhound any easier than you can the desire to chase and kill small animals out of any other dog

Dogs kill. They do it in different ways but they all kill.

Even the smallest breeds were bred to kill. 

[Misomie]

You already did a pretty good job in trying to patch things up. Maybe you could offer to buy a little memorial rock for her cat. The whole thing is just awful.

For the barking, it sounds more like barking at "intruders" try giving the pups treats whenever they see people and react quietly. It should curb the barking. You can even have friends mimic the kids with the sticks and train the pups to ignore that trigger. You can also teach a "that's enough" cue so the dogs don't continuosly bark.

In the meantime, install security cameras and make sure your yard is clear so the crazy neighbors don't try anything. It's a shame it was a poor old lady's cat but I'd imagine dealing with them would have been disastrous. 

[Kinare]

It's a very kind thing you did to try to find the owner and let them know. Out in the country we never had that luxury and my cats were never allowed inside, so I lost many cats and never knew why for the lot of them. I hope if my cats ever got out where I currently live (unlikely because I have two doors, but you never know) that the neighbors would let me know what happened. I can very much imagine how upset she must have been, but at least she gets some closure and can maybe eventually move on to get another kitty.

I wish more people understood how important it is to keep their cats indoors so they can actually have a good long life. So many dangers outside. 3: