Attacking My Cats

by Alison
(Des Moines, IA )

Abused by Cats

I have had my jack russell for 4 years and this past year she has starting attacking my male cats. There is no reason why she does this as they could be walking by and she will attack them. It is so bad that she gets the worst damage to her face and eyes after the attack. I have tried to separate them physically and it does not work. Any advice??

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May 08, 2008
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Attacking my cats
by: Harborview-Mary

I'm so sorry this is happening. Your dog looks the worse for this action. How old is your cat? Is your cat ill or failing from any medical reason? On any meds?

Unfortunately, this is why I never, never, never guarantee anyone purchasing a puppy from me that the dog will never attack their cat. Some people tell me that they feel if the dog and cat grow up together they will be fine. NO... Or the other argument is "my cat has been around dogs and is a very gentle cat". NO... Or, my other jack russell puppy never bothered our cat. NO. The breed is a hunting breed, extremely quarry orientated. They can reside with cats for years with no problem then in a split second, everything changes. Usually the cat is mauled or worse killed. This is the nature of the breed and it cannot be held against them. This is something the breeder you purchased your jack from should have explained to you. I wish people selling this breed and any other breed give the great points of their breeds but also and maybe even more importantly, the not so great points of their breeds. This helps the buyer make a well educated decision to bring that particular breed into their home.

You definitely have your work cut out for you. You must keep them apart as they will probably never be friends again. Now please don't send your dog outside forever as this is not the answer and again the dog was just doing what is in his DNA. I know how you feel about both your pets, but you have to be the one to make sure neither of them is harmed further. I have found that jacks also tend to weed out the sick, ailing and old animals. I had two rescue jacks that grew up with a Portuguese water dog I owned. The porti and jacks were always together, playing, loving pals. The porti got ill, losing bladder control, and on medication. It wasn't shortly after the meds and her condition was worsening that one day I let them all outside and both jacks looked at each other like they had this all planned out and took after my Porti. One pulled her down by her front shoulder and the other went for her throat. They killed her before i could cross the yard and stop them.

You need to be extremely careful with the situation you have now. Never, Never leave them alone unattended by you. Good luck with this situation. I hear about this a lot.

Attn Breeders: TELL YOUR BUYERS ABOUT THIS POSSIBILITY AND CONSEQUENCES. NO BODY SHOULD BE UNINFORMED ABOUT THEIR CHOICE OF BREED'S GOOD AND BAD POINTS.

P.S. I hope your little jack is healing.

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