Saved two strays but lost my little buddy.

[dodge man]

We have never owned a dog but have had several cats. One thing I’ve found is that often dogs and cats don’t mix. Some dogs will leave them alone, other dogs just like to chase them and some want to kill them. They otherwise aren’t vicious or mean but when it comes to cats……..

 

[riptides]

We have never owned a dog but have had several cats. One thing I’ve found is that often dogs and cats don’t mix. Some dogs will leave them alone, other dogs just like to chase them and some want to kill them. They otherwise aren’t vicious or mean but when it comes to cats……..

Our German Sheppard try's to play with the cat on occasion. The cat stands its ground and usually swats at her, closing the attempt.

The cats brother (RIP) would run up a tree if the dog made a run at him.

I think the animals acclimate themselves to the owners and how they behave when threats are about.

A skunk crossed my path one night with the GS, "not my dog", lucky there was a six foot chain link fence between the dog and skunk. The dog went into attack mode before I even knew what was going on. I called it off and all ended well. Now, IF she sees a skunk, no bother.

 

[tradosaurus]

Accidents happen, but some situations are an accident waiting to happen. Did the dogs have collars, licenses, and owner identifications on them? These would be indicators that the owner cares for the dogs vs. letting them roam free and unattended.

"Failure to confine a canine" is a legal charge that carries some consequence. Hopefully, the owners understand that they did something wrong and will correct it to avoid future issues.

I think the OP should at least talk to the owner of the dogs and inform him about the dogs killing his cat.
I know some in my area would have taken the dogs to the "train station".

 

[drssg]

We have never owned a dog but have had several cats. One thing I’ve found is that often dogs and cats don’t mix. Some dogs will leave them alone, other dogs just like to chase them and some want to kill them. They otherwise aren’t vicious or mean but when it comes to cats……..

That has been my experience. If a dog has never seen a cat, some of them need to be introduced in a controlled way to understand that it's not another wild critter to hunt.

I have one dog in particular that absolutely loves every person he meets on sight, but he also enjoys hunting moles, and he will kill a squirrel, if he can catch it. I don't know whether he has ever seen a cat, but I wouldn't be too surprised if he went after it.

Our dogs wear gps/zap collars when they run free, but we have still had rare occasions where they left the property. In some cases, you can literally turn your head for a couple of seconds, and they are gone.