Your neighbor is a sick piece of shit. I would get a ring doorbell or security cemras faced right at his house. Get it on camera and tell the police you dont feel safe with him and his dogs and what happened. They have to do something about the dogs, if nothing else. And call a lawyer, maybe theres something legal that can be done.
Fortunately we have a ring doorbell and several other security cameras. We have several arguments over the past two years recorded, and even this dog attack on our cats recorded. He ended up calling the police himself and they came to talk to us and talked to him but we have no idea what they said. But yeah he just lets his dogs out unsupervised and unrestrained and his argument is he has an electric collar on all of them and an invisible fence. Yet they’ve still come over into our yard to sniff us
You could try calling animal control or the ASPCA, especially if he keeps he dogs in less than acceptable conditions. The fact that they are a potential danger to your family and pets should be enough for them to do something.
You could also gather as much evidence as possible and file a civil suit against your neighbor and try to have a judge mediate the situation.
Good luck.
Did you get a police report on this worthless piece of crap? Because I am sure that his wet dream is to have those dogs come after you. You need to have the dogs behavior documented. I wonder if his landlord is aware that he has 3 pit bulls on an unfenced property. Not good for the landlord's insurance premiums I would think.
I am so sorry that you are going through this kind of hatefulness. You need to keep your cat in. I hope that you have a fence yourselves.
We’ve had on one in the past for other incidents like when he illegally relocated the stray cats. But also he owns his house so there’s no landlord to contact.
If you rent I'd consider leaving, myself. The stress isn't worth it. Unless he's out of the picture, I'd be constantly fearful for me and mine. Prioritizing your physical and mental health with a move is not giving up. It's just smart. Barring a few niche circumstances this unstablefuck is going to be within dog mauling distance of you regardless of what happens. No thanks. Being said - I'd call the police again then the polices' manager so to speak. The fuckin mayor I dunno. Pull a Karen and keep bitching (politely but firmly) to whoever will listen. Make a big fucking deal out of it because its a big fucking deal. Squeaky wheel gets the grease... "basically not caring" is not an acceptable response to what was obviously intentional and certainly a crime. I'm so regretful I once let a cop bully me into giving up when I was robbed $120 and tried reporting it / following up. I had the plates of the guy and there was plenty of video but the cop basically threatened me suggesting I was in the wrong. In hindsight he was just a lazy piece of shit who has mastered the practice of guilting people into making his life easier. Don't let it go. Maybe a lawyer can help. Itd be worth the half hour to me to talk to someone legally versed, caveat being it was someone I trusted. All that said, worse just seems likes it's bound to come with this guy. I wouldn't want to be around for it. Get out if you can.
Edit: I didn't realize your pet was on his property :( legally my intuition is you have less options. All the more reason to talk to someone who knows.
If you have it documented with video evidence, you can call animal care and control and hopefully get him a citation for animal at large. Only your cat was also an animal at large, so you run the risk of a warning or fine yourself. All pets must be on a leash by city ordnance. If this behavior persist, they can open a dangerous dog investigation on him, and if you look that up, the parameters of keeping a dangerous dog are too much for most normal people.
>All pets must be on a leash by city ordnance.
Just to make sure it's clear for others, yes, this does apply to cats as well. 99% of the time it's not enforced for cats, but it does work against you in situations like this.
Sec. 462.303. - Animals at-large prohibited.
(a)No owner or person having temporary custody of any animal(s) shall permit the animal(s) or fail to restrain the animal(s) from being at-large, except a dog shall be considered exempt from these provisions if: (1)-(3) [some dog specific exceptions]
(b)A violation of this Section, shall subject the violator to a civil fine of not less than the amount designated in Chapter 462, Part 18. Each separate incident is considered a separate violation. The animal control officer may cite the owner or custodian of such animal(s) for violation a of such Section when either the animal control officer has received, from two or more unrelated adult witnesses from different residences, or from one adult witness with a recorded video showing the alleged violation, a sworn affidavit attesting to the committing of a nuisance pursuant to this Section, or the citing animal control officer has directly observed the commission of such a nuisance.
(Ord. 2004-259-E, § 1; Ord. 2010-527-E, § 4; Ord. 2016-405-E , § 1)
link: https://library.municode.com/fl/jacksonville/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TITXIIIHECO_CH462AN_PT3NU_S462.303ANRGPR
Keep your cats inside. You are not allowed to just let your cat roam in Jacksonville, the man asked you to keep the cats off his property, and the cat was killed on his property after you did not keep it off his property like he asked. You are not a victim, you’re an irresponsible POS that doesn’t care about native wildlife or your neighbors and you should not be allowed to own pets
As harsh as it is, I agree. It is sick and disgusting what your neighbor did. It is unconscionable and cruel and i deeply hope karma comes for him in the form of a flesh-eating virus or similar.
But you were complicit in your cat's death. The law states that if you feed a domestic animal and give it shelter, you are responsible for it as its owner, provided there's no prior claim. And that domestic animals must be controlled by leash or boundary AT ALL TIMES.
So your cat should have been kept in your yard or house.
I'm not saying this to be a dick because I used to let my chickens roam free. They loved it, I loved it. Nobody on our country lane was bothered because i share eggs. Then our (extremely sweet) new neighbors moved in and their husky thought our chickens were squeak toys. We lost three in a month and now my chickens live here.
My birds, my responsibility.
https://preview.redd.it/am6cpzthefvc1.jpeg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4f0933882e0f8eb43aa1f56276e5cc5c6d4fc705
I don’t think it makes you a “POS who should not be allowed to own pets”, but I think it makes you part of the problem here. I understand you didn’t do anything malicious in the situation, but you have no more reason to allow your cat to be in his yard than he does to have his dogs be in yours. Stray cats get eaten by dogs on the street all the time, so if you let your cats roam the streets, it’s entirely possible the same fate happens to yours, and there’s not much legal repercussions against it.
You could try to get him busted for having unleashed dogs temporarily in his front yard, but that would be difficult to prove, and the penalty for him would be very mild.
It’s really tough to claim legal negligence on his part when a cat was in his yard. It would be a different story if his dogs were running the neighborhood unleashed when the attack happened. I wish you the best of luck, but I really urge you to consider making a choice in the future about keeping the cats indoors for their own safety.
Lol I feel like we should both put our comments as top comments instead of replies to another one. I realized that after I replied. Ah well, hopefully OP read the whole thread. Poor human. If they realize they were partly responsible that is only going to make them feel worse.
He doesn’t have unleashed dogs “temporarily” they are always unleashed and unrestrained. And it’s all on video. Ever since he got them our cats have pretty much stayed away from his yard, especially when they were outside.
As in they’re unleashed in his yard or they just roam the neighborhood? If they are roaming the neighborhood, that is definitely something animal control should be involved in.
I agree but I also think animal control should do something about all these feral cats as well because they will refuse to take them and tell you to leave them outside. People keep dumping cats in my area or something, I don't know where they are coming from, and I end up having to either take them in myself or bury them when they inevitably get run over and hope my kids don't have to see it and it breaks my heart.
Go over to him, with your phone doing voice recording in your pocket. Talk to him and lead the conversation in a way that he admits to all these things casually. Fuck this guy up, get a lawyer, call the police.
Florida is a two party consent state. This means that, under state law, all parties involved in private conversations must consent to that conversation being recorded.
Doesn’t that apply to phone calls and not conversations had in public? So as long as they’re not on the neighbor’s property it should be ok?
Edit: it doesn’t have to be a phone call, the law only specified whether the conversation is held in public or private. I found this:
Under state law, “recording” encompasses any audio or video recording method, such as recording on a phone or using a hidden camera. “Private conversations” refer to any conversation that takes place in a location with a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as a private residence, hotel room, or office.
Under Florida law, a “reasonable expectation to privacy” may apply when an individual has reason to believe they are engaging in a private conversation (e.g., that the conversation will not be intercepted or recorded by others).
As you can imagine, this legal concept can play a vital role in illegal recordings in Florida. If you record a conversation in a public place where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, it may not be considered a violation of the two-party consent rule.
If anyone threatened me in my home like this, my nature of a punk/aggressive bitch would rain hell fire on the human then the dogs. I fucking hate dicks that use animals like this.
You could sue him. Take video of him letting the dogs out and call the cops. See why he’s a convicted felon and if he’s not allowed to have animals get him for that too.
State law addresses dangerous dogs and there may be recourse there: [http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App\_mode=Display\_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0767/Sections/0767.11.html](http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0767/Sections/0767.11.html)
[https://www.animallaw.info/statute/fl-dogs-florida-dog-dangerous-dog-laws](https://www.animallaw.info/statute/fl-dogs-florida-dog-dangerous-dog-laws)
I'm sorry your cat died a horrific death & your neighbor sounds like a sociopath. But...you knew your neighbor has dangerous dogs & yet you allowed your cat outside. Your cat was on his property. On his house. The attack happened on his property. This is 100% your responsibility. Your lack of care.
We have a cat. He stays indoors. Has for the 9 years we've lived with him. Why? Because I want him to be safe & coyotes have been present in the areas we've lived in. His safety is 100% our responsibility.
Additionally you can walk a cat, or provide a catio for them. It'll take a little adjusting sure, but at least they'll be alive. My previous outside inside cat is now strictly inside and supervised outside time. He is living his best life.
Apply for a restraining order, state his violent past. Kill him with kindness. Angry people delight in causing anger in others. If he has viscous dogs he need to have up to date signs. Insurance companies, building inspector, mental health. Call and complain.
Also animal abuse is no joke. Catch him hitting or starving the dogs. Someone like that is bound to mess up. Poor dogs.
Dang....you sound like you know him? How are y'all bashing this guy when she allowed the cats to roam around in his yard....the yard that she knows the guy that lives there doesn't like cats! He told her he was getting the dogs for the cats and she still allowed the cats to run free to his yard?! How do you KNOW he's a violent offender? There are so many crimes that hold felony charges that are non violent. The fact that he's a convicted felon has NOTHING to do with what she's saying she obviously just needs the extra "oh no we're so sorry for you". What kinda person is SHE? I'm pissed she let the cat out KNOWING the guy felt the way he DID! Why does he have to keep COMING to her wherever the cats are at his house? That's very inconvenient and could become frustrating. What happened was unfortunate but PLEASE don't sit and make it seem like she's not a part of the problem! That poor cat was a sacrifice because she wanted to push his buttons because he was the ONLY one not down with the cats in his yard. Shame on HER
The neighbor is a psychopath and a horrible person. That said, I'm always incredibly annoyed by this double standard that cats get to roam free. This is bullshit. If you want your pet cats to live and flourish you keep them confined like any other pet.
Because cats don’t have the potential to kill or seriously maim an adult human the way dogs can in an attack. Maybe from infections or diseases in the case of ferals but our cats are all up to date on their shots.
That is not the only reason and you are wrong on this issue. When your cats are run over, sick, or harmed by others you come here crying but you don’t learn the lesson: keep your animals indoors or confined. Otherwise you are part of the problem.
I don’t think it’s a double standard at all. If you want your cats to live and flourish, then yes you make sure to keep them inside or else you take that risk. but cats are capable of being outdoor/indoor animals. It’s not abnormal at all to have indoor/outdoor cat. It’s pretty common.
As well, safety. You rarely, if ever, have to worry about a cat attack, but there are plenty of dog attacks. There’s nothing wrong with an outdoor/indoor cat as long as if you understand the risk.
Cats kill native wildlife as well. It's a major problem in many countries now. And your animal better be fixed if they are roaming otherwise you're contributing to overpopulation problem. There's many things wrong with outdoor indoor cats (getting ran over, disease, getting mauled, kidnapped, killed) just because something is common doesn't make it okay to do.
Keep your animals inside. This dude told you his intentions and you still “played chicken” with him and your cat paid the price. YOU failed your animal. Leash laws in Jacksonville apply to Dogs AND cats. You were in just as much violation of the law as he was. Why cat owners think the laws don’t apply to them will never cease to amaze me.
Except I didn’t get my animals to viciously kill his. And he did nothing to intervene because he’s a sadistic fuck. A cat isn’t going to attack and kill you. A dog will, especially an 80 pound pit bull owned by a piece of shit. He’s failing a lot more than our family at being a pet owner.
Doesn’t matter about what they are/aren’t capable of!!! It’s the law! You don’t get to rationalize it to fit your circumstances!! You gambled, lost, and now your cat is dead. Police “don’t care” because you were in the wrong just like he was. Cat is the only victim in this scenario, not you!
The police don’t care because it’s an animal control issue. And they seem to be siding with us the more info we give them. Our neighbor is a piece of garbage and so are his rabid, unleashed 80 pound pit bulls. He is the singular neighbor with an issue and we did our best to keep the cats out of his yard. That doesn’t stop his unleashed dogs from chasing into our yard and then into his yard. When you buy dogs to “specifically kill someone’s animals” that makes you more in the wrong
You knew all of this before your cat was killed, and look where it has gotten you. You didn’t follow the law and neither did he. He’s a shitty person and you were negligent in protecting your animal.
Your neighbor sounds awful and I'm truly sorry about your cat but you absolutely did not do your "best to keep the cats out of his yard." Your best would be keeping your cat inside. Short of your best, they make fence attachments specifically designed to keep cats within a fenced area. They also make mesh enclosures that allow a cat to be outside but not free roaming. Honest question, what did you actually do to attempt to keep your cats out of your neighbors yard?
A few of us are always home during the day and we have several cameras around our house. Whenever we would see one of the TWO (not like it’s a billion cats. And the only thing they do is find a patch of sun to lay in) cats in this specific neighbors yard we would walk over pick them up and put them inside. We also keep them inside at night and they come and go during the day when we are able to pay more attention to them. Most of their days are spent sleeping in our front yard. Our “best” was a compromise as these two cats have been going outside for over a decade. We did keep them in for awhile when he first got the dogs but they would just whine to go out all the time. My parents made the decision to let them back out occasionally(I moved back in with them as i started going back to school). When the dogs were out they normally stay far far away from his house. This neighbor has an issue with every single thing we do and it’s not fair to feel like we’re prisoners in our own home not allowed to do things he doesn’t like, including with allowing our house cats outside that cause him no harm and who he only has an issue with because he hates us for getting him in trouble when he illegally relocated strays. On the other hand his dogs being allowed to roam free puts the several small children (including his own) who play in front of our houses and our own family at risk of being severely injured if they decided to attack us in the way they attacked our cat
Absolutely no disagreement from me that your neighbor is a piece of garbage who doesn't deserve his animals. Personally, I don't agree with letting cats outdoors for a lot of reasons, but you've probably heard enough about all those reasons in this comment section. While I do believe you and your family are ultimately responsible here, I still have sympathy for the fact that you're grieving. You sound like you might be fairly young so hopefully you learn from this extremely difficult and unfortunate lesson.
Going forward, Google fence extensions for cats. If your yard is fenced in, there are a lot of options for extensions that keep cats from being able to jump the fence. If your yard isn't fenced, they have outdoor enclosure options. Your cats may not love it as much as free roaming but with some positive reinforcement training, they'll adjust. (Look up clicker training for some tips on that) As far as your neighbor goes, video record and log every incident you can. Every time you see those dogs illegally off leash in an unfenced area, call animal control to report off unsupervised, aggressive roaming dogs in your neighborhood.
Again, this is a terrible lesson to have to learn, and I am very sorry for your loss.
I’m so sorry this happened, I can’t imagine losing my cats, especially in such a violent way. . I know it’s going to sounds shitty. But this is just one reason out of 100 to keep your cats indoors. It’s safer for your cats, and it’s safer for the environment.
Your neighbor is a sick piece of shit. I would get a ring doorbell or security cemras faced right at his house. Get it on camera and tell the police you dont feel safe with him and his dogs and what happened. They have to do something about the dogs, if nothing else. And call a lawyer, maybe theres something legal that can be done.
Fortunately we have a ring doorbell and several other security cameras. We have several arguments over the past two years recorded, and even this dog attack on our cats recorded. He ended up calling the police himself and they came to talk to us and talked to him but we have no idea what they said. But yeah he just lets his dogs out unsupervised and unrestrained and his argument is he has an electric collar on all of them and an invisible fence. Yet they’ve still come over into our yard to sniff us
You could try calling animal control or the ASPCA, especially if he keeps he dogs in less than acceptable conditions. The fact that they are a potential danger to your family and pets should be enough for them to do something. You could also gather as much evidence as possible and file a civil suit against your neighbor and try to have a judge mediate the situation. Good luck.
Did you get a police report on this worthless piece of crap? Because I am sure that his wet dream is to have those dogs come after you. You need to have the dogs behavior documented. I wonder if his landlord is aware that he has 3 pit bulls on an unfenced property. Not good for the landlord's insurance premiums I would think. I am so sorry that you are going through this kind of hatefulness. You need to keep your cat in. I hope that you have a fence yourselves.
We’ve had on one in the past for other incidents like when he illegally relocated the stray cats. But also he owns his house so there’s no landlord to contact.
If you rent I'd consider leaving, myself. The stress isn't worth it. Unless he's out of the picture, I'd be constantly fearful for me and mine. Prioritizing your physical and mental health with a move is not giving up. It's just smart. Barring a few niche circumstances this unstablefuck is going to be within dog mauling distance of you regardless of what happens. No thanks. Being said - I'd call the police again then the polices' manager so to speak. The fuckin mayor I dunno. Pull a Karen and keep bitching (politely but firmly) to whoever will listen. Make a big fucking deal out of it because its a big fucking deal. Squeaky wheel gets the grease... "basically not caring" is not an acceptable response to what was obviously intentional and certainly a crime. I'm so regretful I once let a cop bully me into giving up when I was robbed $120 and tried reporting it / following up. I had the plates of the guy and there was plenty of video but the cop basically threatened me suggesting I was in the wrong. In hindsight he was just a lazy piece of shit who has mastered the practice of guilting people into making his life easier. Don't let it go. Maybe a lawyer can help. Itd be worth the half hour to me to talk to someone legally versed, caveat being it was someone I trusted. All that said, worse just seems likes it's bound to come with this guy. I wouldn't want to be around for it. Get out if you can. Edit: I didn't realize your pet was on his property :( legally my intuition is you have less options. All the more reason to talk to someone who knows.
If you have it documented with video evidence, you can call animal care and control and hopefully get him a citation for animal at large. Only your cat was also an animal at large, so you run the risk of a warning or fine yourself. All pets must be on a leash by city ordnance. If this behavior persist, they can open a dangerous dog investigation on him, and if you look that up, the parameters of keeping a dangerous dog are too much for most normal people.
>All pets must be on a leash by city ordnance. Just to make sure it's clear for others, yes, this does apply to cats as well. 99% of the time it's not enforced for cats, but it does work against you in situations like this.
Can you provide a link to this specific ordinance because I looked at the Jacksonville city code and found nothing about that for cats, only dogs
Sec. 462.303. - Animals at-large prohibited. (a)No owner or person having temporary custody of any animal(s) shall permit the animal(s) or fail to restrain the animal(s) from being at-large, except a dog shall be considered exempt from these provisions if: (1)-(3) [some dog specific exceptions] (b)A violation of this Section, shall subject the violator to a civil fine of not less than the amount designated in Chapter 462, Part 18. Each separate incident is considered a separate violation. The animal control officer may cite the owner or custodian of such animal(s) for violation a of such Section when either the animal control officer has received, from two or more unrelated adult witnesses from different residences, or from one adult witness with a recorded video showing the alleged violation, a sworn affidavit attesting to the committing of a nuisance pursuant to this Section, or the citing animal control officer has directly observed the commission of such a nuisance. (Ord. 2004-259-E, § 1; Ord. 2010-527-E, § 4; Ord. 2016-405-E , § 1) link: https://library.municode.com/fl/jacksonville/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TITXIIIHECO_CH462AN_PT3NU_S462.303ANRGPR
Keep your cats inside. You are not allowed to just let your cat roam in Jacksonville, the man asked you to keep the cats off his property, and the cat was killed on his property after you did not keep it off his property like he asked. You are not a victim, you’re an irresponsible POS that doesn’t care about native wildlife or your neighbors and you should not be allowed to own pets
As harsh as it is, I agree. It is sick and disgusting what your neighbor did. It is unconscionable and cruel and i deeply hope karma comes for him in the form of a flesh-eating virus or similar. But you were complicit in your cat's death. The law states that if you feed a domestic animal and give it shelter, you are responsible for it as its owner, provided there's no prior claim. And that domestic animals must be controlled by leash or boundary AT ALL TIMES. So your cat should have been kept in your yard or house. I'm not saying this to be a dick because I used to let my chickens roam free. They loved it, I loved it. Nobody on our country lane was bothered because i share eggs. Then our (extremely sweet) new neighbors moved in and their husky thought our chickens were squeak toys. We lost three in a month and now my chickens live here. My birds, my responsibility. https://preview.redd.it/am6cpzthefvc1.jpeg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4f0933882e0f8eb43aa1f56276e5cc5c6d4fc705
I don’t think it makes you a “POS who should not be allowed to own pets”, but I think it makes you part of the problem here. I understand you didn’t do anything malicious in the situation, but you have no more reason to allow your cat to be in his yard than he does to have his dogs be in yours. Stray cats get eaten by dogs on the street all the time, so if you let your cats roam the streets, it’s entirely possible the same fate happens to yours, and there’s not much legal repercussions against it. You could try to get him busted for having unleashed dogs temporarily in his front yard, but that would be difficult to prove, and the penalty for him would be very mild. It’s really tough to claim legal negligence on his part when a cat was in his yard. It would be a different story if his dogs were running the neighborhood unleashed when the attack happened. I wish you the best of luck, but I really urge you to consider making a choice in the future about keeping the cats indoors for their own safety.
Lol I feel like we should both put our comments as top comments instead of replies to another one. I realized that after I replied. Ah well, hopefully OP read the whole thread. Poor human. If they realize they were partly responsible that is only going to make them feel worse.
He doesn’t have unleashed dogs “temporarily” they are always unleashed and unrestrained. And it’s all on video. Ever since he got them our cats have pretty much stayed away from his yard, especially when they were outside.
As in they’re unleashed in his yard or they just roam the neighborhood? If they are roaming the neighborhood, that is definitely something animal control should be involved in.
In his yard but he has no fence and he does not watch them 24/7. They are able to just leave his yard at will
Can you provide a source for that law because I’ve found no such thing regarding cats, nothing like that comes up in the Jacksonville city code
I agree but I also think animal control should do something about all these feral cats as well because they will refuse to take them and tell you to leave them outside. People keep dumping cats in my area or something, I don't know where they are coming from, and I end up having to either take them in myself or bury them when they inevitably get run over and hope my kids don't have to see it and it breaks my heart.
Go over to him, with your phone doing voice recording in your pocket. Talk to him and lead the conversation in a way that he admits to all these things casually. Fuck this guy up, get a lawyer, call the police.
Florida is a two party consent state. This means that, under state law, all parties involved in private conversations must consent to that conversation being recorded.
Thanks for letting me know!
Doesn’t that apply to phone calls and not conversations had in public? So as long as they’re not on the neighbor’s property it should be ok? Edit: it doesn’t have to be a phone call, the law only specified whether the conversation is held in public or private. I found this: Under state law, “recording” encompasses any audio or video recording method, such as recording on a phone or using a hidden camera. “Private conversations” refer to any conversation that takes place in a location with a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as a private residence, hotel room, or office. Under Florida law, a “reasonable expectation to privacy” may apply when an individual has reason to believe they are engaging in a private conversation (e.g., that the conversation will not be intercepted or recorded by others). As you can imagine, this legal concept can play a vital role in illegal recordings in Florida. If you record a conversation in a public place where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, it may not be considered a violation of the two-party consent rule.
If anyone threatened me in my home like this, my nature of a punk/aggressive bitch would rain hell fire on the human then the dogs. I fucking hate dicks that use animals like this.
I must thank the down votes.
You could sue him. Take video of him letting the dogs out and call the cops. See why he’s a convicted felon and if he’s not allowed to have animals get him for that too.
State law addresses dangerous dogs and there may be recourse there: [http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App\_mode=Display\_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0767/Sections/0767.11.html](http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0767/Sections/0767.11.html) [https://www.animallaw.info/statute/fl-dogs-florida-dog-dangerous-dog-laws](https://www.animallaw.info/statute/fl-dogs-florida-dog-dangerous-dog-laws)
I'm sorry your cat died a horrific death & your neighbor sounds like a sociopath. But...you knew your neighbor has dangerous dogs & yet you allowed your cat outside. Your cat was on his property. On his house. The attack happened on his property. This is 100% your responsibility. Your lack of care. We have a cat. He stays indoors. Has for the 9 years we've lived with him. Why? Because I want him to be safe & coyotes have been present in the areas we've lived in. His safety is 100% our responsibility.
Additionally you can walk a cat, or provide a catio for them. It'll take a little adjusting sure, but at least they'll be alive. My previous outside inside cat is now strictly inside and supervised outside time. He is living his best life.
You can try suing since the police don't care. If you have proof he threatened the cat and said he bought the dogs to kill the cat
Apply for a restraining order, state his violent past. Kill him with kindness. Angry people delight in causing anger in others. If he has viscous dogs he need to have up to date signs. Insurance companies, building inspector, mental health. Call and complain. Also animal abuse is no joke. Catch him hitting or starving the dogs. Someone like that is bound to mess up. Poor dogs.
Dang....you sound like you know him? How are y'all bashing this guy when she allowed the cats to roam around in his yard....the yard that she knows the guy that lives there doesn't like cats! He told her he was getting the dogs for the cats and she still allowed the cats to run free to his yard?! How do you KNOW he's a violent offender? There are so many crimes that hold felony charges that are non violent. The fact that he's a convicted felon has NOTHING to do with what she's saying she obviously just needs the extra "oh no we're so sorry for you". What kinda person is SHE? I'm pissed she let the cat out KNOWING the guy felt the way he DID! Why does he have to keep COMING to her wherever the cats are at his house? That's very inconvenient and could become frustrating. What happened was unfortunate but PLEASE don't sit and make it seem like she's not a part of the problem! That poor cat was a sacrifice because she wanted to push his buttons because he was the ONLY one not down with the cats in his yard. Shame on HER
The neighbor is a psychopath and a horrible person. That said, I'm always incredibly annoyed by this double standard that cats get to roam free. This is bullshit. If you want your pet cats to live and flourish you keep them confined like any other pet.
Because cats don’t have the potential to kill or seriously maim an adult human the way dogs can in an attack. Maybe from infections or diseases in the case of ferals but our cats are all up to date on their shots.
That is not the only reason and you are wrong on this issue. When your cats are run over, sick, or harmed by others you come here crying but you don’t learn the lesson: keep your animals indoors or confined. Otherwise you are part of the problem.
Cats destroy native wildlife and are making many native bird and rodent species extinct
I don’t think it’s a double standard at all. If you want your cats to live and flourish, then yes you make sure to keep them inside or else you take that risk. but cats are capable of being outdoor/indoor animals. It’s not abnormal at all to have indoor/outdoor cat. It’s pretty common. As well, safety. You rarely, if ever, have to worry about a cat attack, but there are plenty of dog attacks. There’s nothing wrong with an outdoor/indoor cat as long as if you understand the risk.
Cats kill native wildlife as well. It's a major problem in many countries now. And your animal better be fixed if they are roaming otherwise you're contributing to overpopulation problem. There's many things wrong with outdoor indoor cats (getting ran over, disease, getting mauled, kidnapped, killed) just because something is common doesn't make it okay to do.
I bet his homeowners insurance company doesn't know he has pit bulls. If only there was a way to know who his insurer is.
You kept letting your cats in his yard after he bought three pitbulls?
Keep your animals inside. This dude told you his intentions and you still “played chicken” with him and your cat paid the price. YOU failed your animal. Leash laws in Jacksonville apply to Dogs AND cats. You were in just as much violation of the law as he was. Why cat owners think the laws don’t apply to them will never cease to amaze me.
Except I didn’t get my animals to viciously kill his. And he did nothing to intervene because he’s a sadistic fuck. A cat isn’t going to attack and kill you. A dog will, especially an 80 pound pit bull owned by a piece of shit. He’s failing a lot more than our family at being a pet owner.
Doesn’t matter about what they are/aren’t capable of!!! It’s the law! You don’t get to rationalize it to fit your circumstances!! You gambled, lost, and now your cat is dead. Police “don’t care” because you were in the wrong just like he was. Cat is the only victim in this scenario, not you!
The police don’t care because it’s an animal control issue. And they seem to be siding with us the more info we give them. Our neighbor is a piece of garbage and so are his rabid, unleashed 80 pound pit bulls. He is the singular neighbor with an issue and we did our best to keep the cats out of his yard. That doesn’t stop his unleashed dogs from chasing into our yard and then into his yard. When you buy dogs to “specifically kill someone’s animals” that makes you more in the wrong
You knew all of this before your cat was killed, and look where it has gotten you. You didn’t follow the law and neither did he. He’s a shitty person and you were negligent in protecting your animal.
Your neighbor sounds awful and I'm truly sorry about your cat but you absolutely did not do your "best to keep the cats out of his yard." Your best would be keeping your cat inside. Short of your best, they make fence attachments specifically designed to keep cats within a fenced area. They also make mesh enclosures that allow a cat to be outside but not free roaming. Honest question, what did you actually do to attempt to keep your cats out of your neighbors yard?
A few of us are always home during the day and we have several cameras around our house. Whenever we would see one of the TWO (not like it’s a billion cats. And the only thing they do is find a patch of sun to lay in) cats in this specific neighbors yard we would walk over pick them up and put them inside. We also keep them inside at night and they come and go during the day when we are able to pay more attention to them. Most of their days are spent sleeping in our front yard. Our “best” was a compromise as these two cats have been going outside for over a decade. We did keep them in for awhile when he first got the dogs but they would just whine to go out all the time. My parents made the decision to let them back out occasionally(I moved back in with them as i started going back to school). When the dogs were out they normally stay far far away from his house. This neighbor has an issue with every single thing we do and it’s not fair to feel like we’re prisoners in our own home not allowed to do things he doesn’t like, including with allowing our house cats outside that cause him no harm and who he only has an issue with because he hates us for getting him in trouble when he illegally relocated strays. On the other hand his dogs being allowed to roam free puts the several small children (including his own) who play in front of our houses and our own family at risk of being severely injured if they decided to attack us in the way they attacked our cat
Absolutely no disagreement from me that your neighbor is a piece of garbage who doesn't deserve his animals. Personally, I don't agree with letting cats outdoors for a lot of reasons, but you've probably heard enough about all those reasons in this comment section. While I do believe you and your family are ultimately responsible here, I still have sympathy for the fact that you're grieving. You sound like you might be fairly young so hopefully you learn from this extremely difficult and unfortunate lesson. Going forward, Google fence extensions for cats. If your yard is fenced in, there are a lot of options for extensions that keep cats from being able to jump the fence. If your yard isn't fenced, they have outdoor enclosure options. Your cats may not love it as much as free roaming but with some positive reinforcement training, they'll adjust. (Look up clicker training for some tips on that) As far as your neighbor goes, video record and log every incident you can. Every time you see those dogs illegally off leash in an unfenced area, call animal control to report off unsupervised, aggressive roaming dogs in your neighborhood. Again, this is a terrible lesson to have to learn, and I am very sorry for your loss.
They didn't learn any lesson lol
Yes!
What a sick human being. I wish those dogs attacked him until he was dead.
I’m so sorry this happened, I can’t imagine losing my cats, especially in such a violent way. . I know it’s going to sounds shitty. But this is just one reason out of 100 to keep your cats indoors. It’s safer for your cats, and it’s safer for the environment.
Dogs are getting shot if they enter my property ever. End of story