Forget guard dogs.. guard cats are in.. http://www.cbc.ca/newsblogs/yourcommunity/2014/05/hero-cat-saves-4-year-old-boy-from-vicious-dog-attack.html Seriously though, that's one of the most amazing things I've seen...
I know right? I try to picture my cat doing that, a big fat blob darting out to save me... no I think he'd rather sleep another 5 hours -_- Although you never know. A cat seeing its owner getting attacked by a dog is a rare thing. Maybe most cats do have that protective instinct for humans but the circumstances are just too rare for us to see it.
Well, I'm a cat lover (and a dog lover too) and that startled me. That cat didn't just 'save' the boy, it attacked that dog like a cannonball and knocked it sideways—and then followed through by chasing it away. It just goes to show you shouldn't ever pre-judge an animal's behavour based on what kind of animal it is. Very hard to excuse that dog, though. The kid was nowhere near 'its' property, if it actually lived next door. That was a vicious and totally unprovoked attack, no mistake. The article was right. It could have been a lot lot worse.
Man and the way that dog stalked the kid from behind the car, quietly snuck up behind him and then BAM. Scary. You'd think the cat would just go claws first but cannonball is pretty accurate. The cat knew he had to actually shoulder charge the dog hard enough to get him off the kid, then use the claws. What get's me most is that the cat stopped chasing and went back to make sure the kid was alright.
Well, we can't be sure it just wasn't stopping the forward attack as the dog ran. But it is indisputable the cat attacked an aggressive dog that was not a threat to the cat, but rather, either in the cat's territory or attacking the cat's family. I'd like to think it was the latter.
Cats can be extremely territorial, as anybody knows who has ever attempted to introduce a new cat into an existing cat's home. So I think it's important not to anthropomorphise this too much. But hey. That cat meant business—whatever its business was. I know my little meek, mild pussycat used to growl when somebody knocked on my door. She was all sweetness and light when I let them in, but there was that little warning growl when the knock came ...especially if it was at night and I acted surprised because I wasn't expecting a visitor. While I don't think she would have removed their face if they'd actually been up to no good, it was interesting to know that she saw them as a potential threat.
My cat must be abnormal then. He went outside once and a bunch of kids, he'd never seen before, went up to him. He just sat there and let them pet him. Also a technician came over to fix the thermostat and he jumped onto the dining room table (near the thermostat), lied down and watched him contently. We like to call him pooch cause he acts like a dog most of the time. I've never heard him hiss once--minus the one time I came up behind him and scared him on purpose. His face was priceless. Cats are strange creatures..
When my daughter was a baby, one of my neighbours came to me completely distraught. Her husband worked in a meat packing plant. He'd been hosing down one of the conveyers and nearly killed a little feral kitten that was part of a litter. Luckily the burns were minimal, so he brought the little one home as his missus was a cat person. Unfortunately after several days of their Ginger Tom trying to kill the kitten, they knew they'd need to find a new home. I was pet-less at the time and thought it would be good for my daughter to have an animal around. Several months after, the kitten was full grown. Strange cat.... didn't much act like a cat at all. Used to come with us to the park, shopping... best cat I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, if I'm honest. (And my present cat is a fairly cool example of the species.) He wasn't nervous or fearful, got along with dogs but hated other cats and was seriously devoted to my daughter. One afternoon, I'd just stepped out of the living room to get my daughter a drink when I heard her yelling. As I turned round I saw the cat bounce my daughter repeatedly. I was about to gulder at the cat when I realised he was aware of something I was not. He the did the lassie thing and showed me. My daughter had been playing with a sorting block, the kind were you post the appropriate shapes through the appropriate holes. From inside I heard a faint buzzing. A bee was trapped inside and getting more pissed about his temporary incarceration by the second. The cat had been trying to get my daughter away from the bee. To say he was protective of her is putting it mildly. So, yeah... I can see that the cat was protecting the child. I'd always thought of cats as completely self-centred, mercenary beasties; my own experience made me think otherwise.
Amazing event! Aside of this occurrence, I have heard, Lose Angels and California are two dangerous cities of dogs' attack and the most victims are children and postmen that go to deliver letters to the personal mailboxes. it is because, the unresponsive and unconsidered owners don't enclose their aggressive dogs seriously. The least danger of a dog is that, it rip off the trouser of the passers-by. So I believe, the danger of the household dogs is not less than the wolves because, those stupid dogs suppose they are defending of their owner's bound.
What does "gulder" mean? It's not in my dictionaries, and online searches keep thinking I mean "guilder." Is this an Irish thing?
Ah... sorry, @minstrel—it's a colloquialism. Probably Scots/Irish. To gulder... it's essentially a yell of disapproval.
It's listed in several places as Ulster Scots ...which I can believe. I've never heard the word before, and I live in Scotland. It's a good word. I'll file it away in my head for further reference.
@jannert That makes sense, given my upbringing. It's one of those words that is so common in my native dialect, that I generally I wouldn't think twice about it but, that said, on this occasion, being writers and all, I did wonder if someone might query it.
Oh... and apologies to the OP for the brief derailment but I just had to post this, the word in its element. Excerpt from Hoose o Strae by Philip Robinson “Nae point oniehoo gulderin intae this saft quait moontain o deid empie ears” See? It makes perfect sense, in context. Not.
I've never had either a cat or a dog but I've never really believed that cats are cold animals. I've seen reports like this one before. Speaking of cats acting warm and fuzzy and protective, check out this one - Cat adopts DUCKLINGS http://www.wimp.com/catadopts/
Ah, the wonders of animal behaviour. Many of the secrets that the animal world holds are unbelievable, and yet people frown when I say I want to study ecology...
Anyone who's owned a cat and a dog will not think this strange. My cat is the boss, even though my dog is bity, boisterous and still very young and energetic. He chases my dog in this way regularly, and if he was serious about hurting him (they just play now) I'm sure he could. The cat is old, blind in one eye, and he still controls the dog with one flick of the paw. Kitties are cool
@jazzabel. They are truly the princes of dogs, imo. Never understood why some people get so freaked out just 'cos they are skinny. The most unlikely friendship to develop between two of my critters actually had an unforseen benefit. Buckshot, my greyhound, and Rattie, (no point naming a rat, I always end up calling them Rattie, regardless.) Rattie was part of a university experiment and, at the end of the trial, she needed a home. My mate immediately thought of me. My hound was an ex racer/hunter and I'd seen her kill both rats and rabbits when I took her for walks, (She'd insist on carrying them home and then I'd cook them for her.) and so I wasn't completely enthused by the idea. They loved each other at once and it became obvious Buckshot would never have done anything to hurt her wee mate. I always felt a bit bad when I used to take Buck out for her last walk of the night. Rattie would start pacing, knowing we were going out and so one night I brought her with us, down to the green. Buck was just sniffing, getting round to her final pee of the evening when Rattie started struggling, wanting me to set her down. It was dark as pitch and I was afraid she might run off. Next night, I made Rattie a harness and tried her out with it. Success. Over time it got to the point where I realised Rattie was going nowhere without Buck and as Buck came to heel whenever I called, problem sorted. Rattie would just follow in her wake. Buckshot hated wild rats, I mean, absolutely despised them and yet she seemed genuinely unaware that Rattie was one.
@obsidian_cicatrix : That's such a wonderful story! You are lucky to have them both Greys are really gentle, Wolfie had a small stuffed toy (a bee), first time I brought him home, he must have seen it on the shelf, he went straight to it, picked it up and asked me (with his eyes) if he can have it. Well of course he could and since then, he took care of it like it was a pet. Never ripped it or anything! I think they only chase if something is running, if it's not, they don't treat it as prey.
Maybe I'm misreading your post. I think you may have the wrong impression from the news accounts about the level of danger. 25 cities with most dog attacks on postal workers LA was second after Houston for dogs biting postal workers last year, but 61 reports in a city of millions? It's not like roving bands of vicious dogs make the city dangerous. Of course dog owners are not always responsible and the dog in the video was a dangerous dog.
Yup... that's about the height of it. Reminds me of Predator... they would always go after the armed, rather than the unarmed. No sport in it otherwise. In the case of a hound, run from it and you are the prey even if you hadn't been, right up until the point when you took to your heels. Good case for holding your ground if ever there was.
My dogs definitely recognize 'prey'. It doesn't have to run. Prey includes cats, squirrels, rabbits, deer, birds and moles. Other dogs are in a different category. Those they met their first year of life are 'family', even when we haven't seen the other dog for years. Dogs not in the family are viciously barked at but it's not the same as prey which are chased. People are not barked at unless they ring the doorbell. Then they are barked at until I calm the dogs down. When we were kids we had a poodle. She barked at anyone in a uniform and boys. I kid you not, she knew the difference between male and female people. But if she recognized the person, the uniform didn't matter, that person was OK.
