My Son's Dog Got Ahold Of.....

[cluckychick]

My son's dog got ahold of the feral cat that was staying in our barn, that had three kittens. I tried to get him away from her as he was tossing her around with no success so I ran in the house to wake my two sons who came running out, by then he was done and came running up like he'd done something good wagging his tail. I was soooooo p.o.'d. We didn't find the momma cat so I think she's still alive as we heard her meowing in the brush. We dug and dug and found one kitten in the pile. She was in the process of moving them to a new location, but we cannot find the other two and I know she has got to be terribly injured. Doogie the dog has never done anything like this before. The kitten has got to be 3-4 weeks old I believe. I hope we find those other two and find momma to be ok. Please send us some good vibes and some for the lone kitty that's now in the house. Hopefully momma will make herself known to us.

Thank You

 

[Run-A-Muck Ranch]

Hopefully your mamma cat and the kittens are ok...Hope you find them all....

 

[Davaroo]

Thanks for sharing that with us. As I read through it, some things popped into my mind:

A dog is a dog is a dog. They aren't to be trusted.
If I had a dollar for each time someone said,
" - - - - - - - the dog has never done anything like this before..." I'd be in high cotton.

I find it notable that a feral cat has appropriated a spot in the barn, so is not a pet, yet it is a momma kitty, poor dear, little 'pooky boo', etc.,
Meanwhile, you have distanced yourself from your "sons dog," for it's heinous act.
"...by then he was done and came running up like he'd done something good, wagging his tail.... I was soooooo p.o.'d."
Some interesting psychology, there. I wonder if the barn mice will lament at this dramatic turn of events?

I'm a pragmatist, so not inclined to be emotive over such goings on. Forgive me, that. Chances are good the female put up a good fight.
It's a dog and a cat. They do what they do.

 

[spoonie]

Yep, dogs will be dogs. You have to realize not only is it doing what it is supposed to by instinct, it's also attempting to protect your property from strange animals that aren't part of your pack. The dog really doesn't know it did anything wrong, and being ticked at it isn't going to make that behavior go away.

For the cat; it's VERY unlikely that the cat will be well in time to save its kittens if it was hurt at all. Cats tend to freak out and hide after traumatic events, and this cat will be no different. It's not going to do too much good to wait on it to turn up, since even when it does, since you still have the dog, it's hopefully learned a hard but necessary lesson. If you have any chance of finding the kittens, go for it. You can rescue them and raise them up as house/barn cats rather than ferals, and give them a much happier life. For the adult, you can try putting out some food and water where you think it is, though it probably won't help. The best thing to do is to try and find it too, to see how badly injured it was and either get it fixed up or put it out of its misery. Cats will hide low to the ground and in smaller spaces than you think they can get. You can get down near the ground and look for any small area it might have gone into. Woodpiles are a great hiding place for all sorts of animals, and I bet the cat didn't go very far.

I hope you find it. I had a similar thing happen and I ached over it for a long time, because I felt responsible for not having better control over my dog. However, it made me do my best to train my dog to not behave that way anymore. He's a better pooch for it. Lesson learned.