Cat saves boy

dodderangler

Heard on the radio that the dog is being tested.
Assuming it's because of the strange behaviour to snap like that.
Because it was in California I wonder if a coyote had done the same would the cat have reacted the way it did

NipNip

Nody wrote: »

It's unlikely it's the dog who decided out of the blue to go attack someone and much more likely the owner's who failed to socialize/control/vet check the dog (and I highly doubt this is the first incident with the dog either). I.e. the dog is not the real guilty party here; it's the owners who were responsible for it's health that are the guilty party for failing to actually act like owners (only hope is they get sued for it to prevent them from ever getting a new pet to repeat it).

The dog is guilty.

Flippyfloppy

I wonder if there was no video of the attack what the general consensus would have been? If it was reported the boy was out playing and got attacked by a dog, (minus the cat) would there have been cries of 'the child must have provoked the dog!!!'

Zapperzy

Myrddin wrote: »

Possible alright, though territorial-ism towards other cats is one thing, but against a dog that's four times the size? Not something you'd see every day.

I do wonder sometimes do cats and dogs have an awareness of what size they are in comparison to another animal they are attacking/chasing etc. There was another video circulating of a cat charging at a huge crocodile/alligator, plenty of videos as well of kittens charging at rottweilers and the likes. I don't really think they stop and think hold on that dog/snake/croc/horse is twice/ten times my size I better not take it on!

Dtp1979

Maybe the cat had kittens and it wasn't as heroic as it seemed. I've seen my own mothers cat attack a Rottweiler once when she had kittens. She literally jumped off the 8ft shed roof onto the dogs back and came out the better of it

Myrddin

Zapperzy wrote: »

I do wonder sometimes do cats and dogs have an awareness of what size they are in comparison to another animal they are attacking/chasing etc. There was another video circulating of a cat charging at a huge crocodile/alligator, plenty of videos as well of kittens charging at rottweilers and the likes. I don't really think they stop and think hold on that dog/snake/croc/horse is twice/ten times my size I better not take it on!

I'd say they are aware of it...but I'd say it's some kind of defensive/survival mechanism that kicks in. The kittens charging at dogs example, there isn't a hope in hell they'd survive unless the charging action freaks out the attacker, so kinda like a last ditched calling of bluff maybe.

Zapperzy

Zapperzy wrote: »

I do wonder sometimes do cats and dogs have an awareness of what size they are in comparison to another animal they are attacking/chasing etc. There was another video circulating of a cat charging at a huge crocodile/alligator, plenty of videos as well of kittens charging at rottweilers and the likes. I don't really think they stop and think hold on that dog/snake/croc/horse is twice/ten times my size I better not take it on!

Jack Russells definitely don't know what size they are :P Anyone I know with both cats and dogs knows the cat is the boss of the 2 of them.

Maybe it's just me that feels sorry for the dog, find it really hard to believe there's no reason for what happened. The way he snuck up and calculated what he was doing really isn't dog-like behaviour.

TireeTerror

Its comical the amount of wild random assumptions being made on this thread. Why do people so strongly support one side or the other in these situations? Whether you like cats or dogs, this video simply showed an evil dog who saw some prey and attacked and mutilated a small defenceless child. Fortunately for the child a far superior animal was around to save the day. The actions of that cat merit a reward, I would like to see it given a statue in honour of its selfless bravery.
<snip>

Flippyfloppy

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Jack Russells definitely don't know what size they are :P Anyone I know with both cats and dogs knows the cat is the boss of the 2 of them.

Maybe it's just me that feels sorry for the dog, find it really hard to believe there's no reason for what happened. The way he snuck up and calculated what he was doing really isn't dog-like behaviour.

I get what you're saying, really I do, but at the end of the day, it is a dog, therefore it is dog like behaviour.

Plenty of dogs attack children & adults worldwide. I don't recall any ever being on video, or ending in a daring rescue by a cat for that matter.

But for the first time there is irrefutable evidence that dogs can attack unprovoked. Obviously the history/health of this dog is unknown at present.

But could this just be an eye opener for dog owners to exercise control over their dogs, and think twice about 'trusting' dogs with kids.

What if your large breed trusted family pet did contract rabies or a brain rumour unbeknownst to you? Is it worth the risk?

Pumpkinseeds

The number of posters wanting to attribute the cats behaviour to something other than defending her humans is really puzzling. Do people really hate cats so much that they can't just let it be what it is She chased off a dog that was attacking her humans and people want to take away from that by suggesting she was defending territory or kittens, I really don't understand that at all.

bumper234

seamus wrote: »

"If not a lot worse", what like torture it for information?

Always found it bizarre this idea of getting revenge on an animal. It's an animal. There is no purpose to be served by doing anything but humanely euthanising it.

There's no point in getting angry. It's an animal.

They are probably doing blood tests anyway but you would hold the animalsfor obs in order to confirm or rule out any diagnoses. You can't fnck around with rabies.

I could be wrong but it doesn't look like the child was actually bitten, but dragged to the ground by his shorts, so hopefully he has no lasting injuries from this incident.

Definitely bitten and required stitches to some nasty

http://news.sky.com/story/1261856/family-cat-saves-boy-from-vicious-dog-attack

Lirange

bumper234 wrote: »

Definitely bitten and required stitches to some nasty

http://news.sky.com/story/1261856/family-cat-saves-boy-from-vicious-dog-attack

Cat's name is Tara.

An Irish cat clearly. :pac:

Greenmachine

gctest50 wrote: »

He could carry rabies for weeks, have no symptoms and be not much harm, once the rabies reaches the head it won't be long before its in the saliva.

First sign of possible rabies is an animal going for you that normally wouldn't

Would have thought that if rabies was already effecting a dogs behavior it would be in his head and detectable but hey I ain't a vet.

K-9

Flippyfloppy wrote: »

What if your large breed trusted family pet did contract rabies or a brain rumour unbeknownst to you? Is it worth the risk?

Yes. The chances of my lab getting rabies is virtually non existent, I can't live life fearing freak occurrences.

Zapperzy

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Jack Russells definitely don't know what size they are :P Anyone I know with both cats and dogs knows the cat is the boss of the 2 of them.

As the owner of a terrier and two cats I agree with both statements :P my terrier if given an opportunity would take on a pack of lions with me running after him Fenton style :P The older cat is definitely boss over the other two, comical to see the dog running down the hall with a cat in pursuit nipping at his ankles :P

It's hard to make a judgement on what's going on in the video or why the two animals reacted the way they did but taking it at face value it's nice to see a family pet's loyalty to its humans There may well be more to it than what's shown or told.

I hope the cat at least got a bowl of the finest salmon for her troubles :P

loveisdivine

It always creeps me out how some people get so worked up about getting revenge on animals that attack humans. It's really quite weird and frankly quite stupid. It says a lot about the human psyche that we feel we need "justice" against an animal.

Dr Bob

The cat was probably saying "Begone canine ..this one's soul is mine!!" when he went for the dog.

seamus

Flippyfloppy wrote: »

What if your large breed trusted family pet did contract rabies or a brain rumour unbeknownst to you? Is it worth the risk?

Rabies doesn't exist in Ireland. Worrying about your pet contracting rabies is about as pointless as worrying about catching ebola.

To address the rest of your post - overall I agree, and I hope that some owners will realise from this video that you can't leave your animals to roam unsupervised, especially where there are children playing.

But look how close the child's mother was; supervising your own animal around your own children is about watching out for signs that the animal is stressed or unhappy more than simply being there. If the animal is closer to the child than you are, then they can attack before you can get there (even if it's just a warning nip). So controlling their interaction is far more than physically restraining or separating them.

Calibos

Unsocialised dog. What looks like semi communal front paved area without boundary wall/fence which the dog obviously viewed its entirety as part of his territory with a car/minivan in the middle. Combine that with the kid possibly ringing the bell or beeping the horn on his bike. (No audio on the video so we don't know)

This isn't making excuses for the dog just pointing out that it wasn't just out of the blue and wasn't prey drive or anything like that IMHO. The dog should indeed be euthanized after such a serious attack.

Some of the comments in this thread!! No wonder this forum has to be heavily moderated. Torture the dog before euthanazia?? Dogs are 'Gay'?? Good grief. Are yiz 12 year old lads??

Youtube is full of moggy's running off black bears from their yards, swatting alligators who's mouth they'd fit in, back into the water, attacking the owner after the owner reprimanded their child in front of the cat etc etc

I even have my own 'Cat Beserker' story. The 'Crumlin Cat' as we call it in our family when we tell the story. Was driving through Crumlin and stopped in traffic when we saw two large dogs (Lab and Red Setter IIRC) going hell for leather chasing a cat down the street and around a corner. Seconds later the two dogs sprinted and scrambled back around the corner yelping at the top of their lungs with the single cat in hot purrrsuit.

NipNip

The dog followed a scent. It doesn't cock its ears. It sniffs the ground until it finds the child.

There was no indication as to what that dog was about to do.

As for dogs v cats? My JR was petrified of a neighbouring Tom cat who would stray into the garden. More than once, she came squealing in the back door, with the cat high-tailing it after her. Other days, when the dog was brave (ie the cat was a safe distance away on top of a 6 foot wall), she would courageously bark up at the cat on the wall. Until the cat would make a move, then d dog would scarper up the garden again.

tayto lover

This has changed the way i think about cats from now on.
Never knew they would defend you and just thought they were users.

Dtp1979

Ye cats also have a terrible habit of making a dog look stupid sometimes

Aru

THe dog will be held before being pts as there is a ten day window involved if he has rabies.So if he hasnt shown more clinical signs and died in the next 10 days rabies is an unlikely culprit for his behaviour.After 10 days he will be pts and his brain tested for early clinical signs.testing saliva etc is not as reliable as waiting for signs and then the brain tissue testing.

This monitoring is important as if the dog is rabies positive all humans who came into contact with it over the last few weeks will have to be tested and have rabies prevention treatments! These prophylactic treatment is both extremely expensive and uncomfortable (old treatment was 8 injections into your abdomen(stomach),newer treatments are half a dozen injections into the muscle but it costs several thousand dollars) even if vaccinated you will need your titres checked if exposed to clinical rabies and may need the prophalaxis injections as anyway if the titres are low. Vaccines buy you time but they might not save you so its always tested.

Rabies has a scary 100 percent kill rate in humans if you are infected and not given prophactic treatments.

I for one am very very glad we do not have this disease in this country!

I also doubt that dog is clinical for rabies...they are usually furiously aggressive and acing erratic.they way that dog hunted that child down was very calculated and controlled.

gizmo555

Nody wrote: »

It's unlikely it's the dog who decided out of the blue to go attack someone and much more likely the owner's who failed to socialize/control/vet check the dog (and I highly doubt this is the first incident with the dog either).

The owner "explained" that the dog didn't like children or bikes . . .

Sala

Amazing!! I reckon my own cat wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire, but I'm glad some are loyal.:o There may very well be something "wrong" with that dog, but why was it wandering around the streets? Did it escape, or did the owners not care?

Some of the comments on the net are crazy. I saw one "pro-dog" comment on a news article questioning why the mother wasn't watching her child - from the speed she appeared she was probably sitting on the step, no one sticks to their child's side like glue in case a mental unattended dog pops out from behind a car. Anyway, fair play to the cat!

I have no hero cat stories, although I did have one playful kitten who marched up and down the road, until all the local dogs were chasing her, and the ran in and sat under the next door neighbours Boxer dog. Not very altruistic, but she gave us a great laugh when 7 dogs skidded and ran away from the very protective massive Boxer

Flippyfloppy

Flippyfloppy wrote: »

I get what you're saying, really I do, but at the end of the day, it is a dog, therefore it is dog like behaviour.

Plenty of dogs attack children & adults worldwide. I don't recall any ever being on video, or ending in a daring rescue by a cat for that matter.

But for the first time there is irrefutable evidence that dogs can attack unprovoked. Obviously the history/health of this dog is unknown at present.

But could this just be an eye opener for dog owners to exercise control over their dogs, and think twice about 'trusting' dogs with kids.

What if your large breed trusted family pet did contract rabies or a brain rumour unbeknownst to you? Is it worth the risk?

I agree with you more than most people here would. As cute as those "Look how nice pitbulls are really" videos are, anyone who puts a couple of week old kid lying next to an animal should be investigated.

My point though was that I've seen dogs react, I've seen them flip, but I've never seen a dog sneak up and attack a person like that. Obviously something went wrong with socialising or whatever, and if there was a case for euthanising this would be it, I just feel bad.

Zapperzy wrote: »

As the owner of a terrier and two cats I agree with both statements :P my terrier if given an opportunity would take on a pack of lions with me running after him Fenton style :P The older cat is definitely boss over the other two, comical to see the dog running down the hall with a cat in pursuit nipping at his ankles :P

I'm not generally a fan of cats and I love Jack Russells and that's why if I ever have kids I want a car around to **** with the Jack Russell. :P

mosi

My Dad told me recently how when he was at the nursing home he visits with his greyhound, Robin, he saw a cat in the grounds. Robin made a lunge toward the cat, which wasn't within lunging reach. However, the cat decided to charge toward Robin and swipe him, leaving him with a nasty scratch across his face.
I think that people really underestimate cats. When I was a kid, we had cats and some were really attached to humans. I remember one that used to always be down at the gate when I would come home from school...she also use to come out for walks with the dog. Her sister was a lot lazier and would spend all her time on the sofa. I remember one time when she thought it would be fun to roll around while meowing at the dog to come over to her. He did and she swiped him. She then repeated the rolling and meowing procedure a couple of times, and the dog kept falling for it, only to get a swipe!
I've been fortunate enough to observe various big cats in the wild, and the behaviours and movements are so similar to what we see in domestic cats.
Anyway, regarding the incident in question, who knows what caused the reaction in either animal. Concerning the dog, as was pointed out already, we don't have an audio to hear if any particular sounds disturbed the dog. If the dog had a major issue with children and bicycles - as the owner has apparently said - then it should never have had the opportunity to escape. I wonder was the dog kept in the front garden frequently, and developed a problem with children and bikes passing by...hence when it escaped it reacted? On the other hand, the dog may simply never have been socialised. Either way, the dog should not have been in a position to escape.
I'm not trying to be an apologist for the dog here but I believe that every biting incident that comes to the attention of the authorities needs to be investigated thoroughly...not only to consider whether the dog in question should be PTS, but also to inform future preventative measures.

dodderangler

gizmo555 wrote: »

The owner "explained" that the dog didn't like children or bikes . . .

And imagine a child being on a bike? Almost unheard of.
If the dog doesn't like children then why the fcuk was it walking about the neighbourhood?
This is what I said in other post. Stupid fcukin owners. Some people I wouldn't trust with a goldfish never mind a dog

Pumpkinseeds

We've got a fairly hefty cat, he's about 8kgs now, down from close to 9kg:eek: and he has always been not aggressive with large dogs, but he won't tolerate one near the house and has been known to face them off. We always have to bring his carrier behind the desk at the vets as he will lash out at big dogs if there are any in the reception area.

He knows he's a big lad and struts about the place with a swagger. We've 4 cats and they are all very loyal and affectionate. Anyone who thinks that cats are cold distant animals has never really known a cat. With cats you get back what you put into the relationship, just like with people.

Ri_Nollaig

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

The number of posters wanting to attribute the cats behaviour to something other than defending her humans is really puzzling. Do people really hate cats so much that they can't just let it be what it is She chased off a dog that was attacking her humans and people want to take away from that by suggesting she was defending territory or kittens, I really don't understand that at all.

I really don't understand it either...

dodderangler wrote: »

I hate cats but that's a good intelligent cat right there.

It seems you can say "I hate cats" and be met with
"I know right!"
"high-five!"

While if you say "I hate dogs" you are seen as some kinda baby killing monster.

I have both a cat and a dog and love both [and some goldfish ], I just don't understand this "hatred" towards cats for some reason?

And for the record the dog should definitely have been put down without question, was it the dogs fault? No, it was probably crappy owners who probably never socialised it correctly and just had it locked up in their garden the whole time.