This ginger tabby-and-white domestic cat living on the Surf coast, Victoria, Australia, is quite fearless in the defence of her/his territory. We don’t know his gender so I’ll refer to him as male as he is called ‘Sam’ although it could be short for Samantha. He has been described as a psycho, canine-hating feline terrorising the suburb where he lives but that’s unfair although I sympathise with the dog owners.
He is probably defending his home range like his wild cat ancestors. It is purely instinctive. As an ailurophile (I like dogs too) I can’t help but be impressed by Sam’s fearlessness in attacking dogs larger than him. He has turned the tables.
He has been criticised extensively as has his owner but do dogs get the same level of criticism when they attack and sometimes kill cats? They do not. It is considered almost normal for dogs to chase and injure cats but turn it around and there is hell to pay. This is speciesism. I feel I have to defend the domestic cat. I am compelled to admire Sam for his courage. I would describe it as defensive cat aggression i.e. defending territory or perhaps taking proactive steps to defend against a potential attack from the dogs.
It is reported that Sam has attacked 10 dogs and is the subject of at least 10 complaints. His owner faces a AUS$81 fine for letting him wander the neighbourhood. One dog owner said that her dog’s eye had been scratched by Sam.
Most of the dogs were on a lead when Sam attacked them. One woman said that her Staffy was scared of Sam and would not go near the home since he was attacked by Sam.
The environment and general manager of the Surf Coast Shire said they were investigating. He said that the council had received one complaint.
Note: there is probably more to this story but I am unable to access the info. The info that I have comes from the Daily Maine online.
Well, I don’t know how common this is. I have seen my own cats go after dogs for an obviously acceptable reason: to protect a child under attack or keep a menacing pit bull at a safe distance. I’m reminded of a woman I saw practically in a panic about walking past a tiny cat on the local promenade where I’ve been caring for them. All the cat did was hunch up and stand there (obviously in fear herself of the large dog who obviously wasn’t afraid at all) and I thought the woman was pathetic, paralyzed with fear. I had to step up and walk her past the tiny cat. I believe if she had a gun she might have used it. People really shouldn’t live so far into a bubble that they are afraid of things they don’t need to be. I think if you’re unable to walk a dog, you shouldn’t do it. If I see her again I think I’ll say “boo” to see if she throws the leash up in the air and runs for her life.
I just love your way of thinking! Thank you.
Australians hate cats. They blame feral cats for killing wildlife but not the people who didn’t spay or neuter. Their feral cat problem is 100% their own making. To date they have killed 1 to 2 million cats and they plan to kill more. The government is pay $10 for every scalp (as they put it). Humans are the problem not the cats.
https://pictures-of-cats.org/will-australia-use-inhumane-methods-when-culling-2-million-feral-cats.html
Agreed. It is blind, arrogant human behavior.
I agree with you about those problems in Australia, but my comment would be in support of, in relation to, or following yours, not the other way around. I think you meant to comment on the original post.
I agree with you about those problems in Australia, but my comment would be in support of, in relation to, or following yours, not the other way around. I think you meant to comment on the original post.
Hi Albert. I hope you are well despite this damned pandemic. Keep safe and thanks for visiting.