I was in the kitchen with #3 cat, Max, at 11.30 and it was obvious he wanted to go out but even tho' he was staring thro' the flap *something* was stopping him and I didn't have to wait long to find out what. A dog had somehow got into my garden and had gone after a cat by the sound of things

Max was safe indoors but #1 cat, Bola, had just gone out and #3 cat Fudge and Stripey Tail had been out a while so cue panic stations. I grabbed my trusty wind up torch and rushed out to see what was going on but the dog had gone by then, tho' how it had got in baffled me as my front gate was shut and even tho' there's still no fence up serperating my and my ex neighbours garden, his front gate was also shut

If you're wondering why there's no fence, these are council properties and my ex neighbour took the fence down then promptly got himself sectioned before being persuaded to give up the tenancy and the council no longer accept responsibility for garden fencing. I would have been happy to split the cost with my ex neighbour and will be with new tenants, but I'm damned if I'm going to fork out £400/whatever for a new fence by myself when it wasn't my fault the old one was taken down.

I found Fudge on my shed roof and she needed no encouragement to come in this time, but no sign of Bola. I stayed up later than usual waiting for him to come in and when he didn't, went out looking for him. Still no sign then right out of the blue he crept downstairs, he must have come in while I was out and had been hiding under my bed as I'd had a quick look around the house and not seen him.

The cats are all safe and well, but it coud easily have been very different for at least one of them, but just what the hell a dog was doing out unattended at that time of night I don't know

Ian

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RIP Black Tom and Beckett, not just cats, they were my cats and the best ever.

I hate to say this but this incident could happen again. Next time your cats may not be so lucky. I know £400 is a lot but if it makes your cats save from dogs getting into your garden isn`t that a small price to pay?

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Black with white around his private area



Black Tortoiseshell




R.I.P Patch my well behaved boy dog
R.I.P. Abby and Rebel my beautifull litter sister cats

It's coming to that, I'll probably get someone in to give me a quote, tho' I'll be going for the cheapest option. I'm not working, registered disabled with a progressive neuroligical disorder, and while I'm not destitute I begrudge having to spend money fixing something I didn't break.

I've half expected this to happen during the day, but not at that time of night. There's also the fact a fence won't stop my lot climbing it to get into the other garden, and presumably the dog got in from there. What was it doing out alone at that time?

Ian

__________________
RIP Black Tom and Beckett, not just cats, they were my cats and the best ever.

quite rite !!!

Escaping from their own garden. Did you see the dog or know who`s it likely to be?

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Black with white around his private area



Black Tortoiseshell




R.I.P Patch my well behaved boy dog
R.I.P. Abby and Rebel my beautifull litter sister cats

No, I didn't see it at all and there's probably as many dogs as cats round here, it's a large housing estate so there's a lot of both. The fence has been down a while now, hopefully it was just a one off incident,

Ian

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RIP Black Tom and Beckett, not just cats, they were my cats and the best ever.

I hope your right Ian. It is a lot to pay out just for a fence when your cats can roam into other gardens as well

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Black with white around his private area



Black Tortoiseshell




R.I.P Patch my well behaved boy dog
R.I.P. Abby and Rebel my beautifull litter sister cats

It's much too late to even try and stop then roaming now as they've all had years of doing so. I'd rather they went that way than towards the front of my house and onto the road, which they do from time to time, as while it's not busy with traffic 24/7, there's enough about to be a possible danger. On the plus side they're all street wise, which while no guarantee of safety, it helps.

Ian

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RIP Black Tom and Beckett, not just cats, they were my cats and the best ever.

I would actually approach the council again. Did you mean they're not taking any responsibility in your case given that your neighbour removed the fence, or in general? They must have some surely if they own the actual properties? We've got rented out properties and the fences are definitely our responsibility.

I really do sympathise with you here considering I had a similar problem where it transpired a neighbour's cleaner ( I was unsure who owned the dog at first ) was constantly allowing her dog to chase after my cats within the boundaries of our property ( not youngsters ) whenever she arrived for work! I lost count of the number of times I went out to find them hiding under shrubs and this dog in tow. What amazed me was the number of times she permitted this to happen. Thankfully it's stopped now that I've spoken to them. It was very frightening for the cats though!

@Ianthi,

Garden fencing is now the tenants responsibilty, according to the council building inspector they no longer have the funds to do it.

Interesting update, could be just coincidence, but then again............

I was in the back garden and couldn't help overhearing my neighbour talking to her mother and saying their shed had been broken into last night with all sorts of non valuable stuff taken. The coincidence being a thieving scum now lives on the next road after recently being let out of prison and shed break-ins are about his limit of his *abilities*

I can't say as I know him that well but those that do describe him as being as thick as pig sh#t, so breaking in somewhere at that time and being stupid enough to take a dog with him wouldn't be out of character. He could easily reach the shed, especially as he'd be approaching it via a now empty house and even tho' it wasn't that late, there'd be no lights on nearby.

Ian

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RIP Black Tom and Beckett, not just cats, they were my cats and the best ever.