Freaked out by a cat today

[bobosensei]

Every morning I take my dogs for a long walk, more or less the same route in the neighborhood.  Where we are people have cats that usually are outside in warm weather.  This morning I saw a white cat that I've never seen before.  The cats usually aren't afraid of dogs, some will run if we get too close, but most just stay where they are and look.  But this cat was coming straight to us.  Of course the dogs got excited and were pulling and making noise so I expected the cat to run or at least stop, but it didn't.  I was zigzagging around to keep the dogs away and the cat was following up getting pretty close with its back arched the whole time like it was looking for a fight.  I picked up some rocks but was afraid to throw them and agitate the cat.  I was worried because my big dog could kill a cat, and has been in lots of fights with stray dogs that come up with an attitude problem.  Not sure if the cat might have rabies or just be ferral.  It wasn't very big as far as cats go.  When we got to the house that has a big dog that barks at everything the cat became interested in it instead so it stopped following us.

[gacpa]

I would be scared too.  Something seems off.

[movingforward]

That is strange behavior for a cat.  When I first starting reading I thought maybe the cat just liked dogs.  I have met some cats that grew up with dogs around so they are comfortable and friendly with them but something definitely seems off about this particular cat.  Feral cats don't generally go up to dogs or people.  I am assuming the cat had no collar/tags on?

[musicjenny]

One of my cats will wait for the neighbor to walk her dog and follow along but yours doesn't seem like that.

[movingforward]

When my cat was in foster care he lived with a dog.  Now he loves sitting in the window watching all the dogs being walked.  I keep think I should get a dog.  You know, because my CAT wants one

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Sheldon adores the dog, and his back is arched as he weaves under the dog's head.  It depends on whether the fur is standing up or flat.  There are other cues when a cat gets upset and is itching for a fight.  The ears go back and the tail twitches quickly.


m.humanesociety.org/animals/cats/tips/cat_communication.html

[bobosensei]

Aug 18, 2015 9:48:55 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Sheldon adores the dog, and his back is arched as he weaves under the dog's head.  It depends on whether the fur is standing up or flat.  There are other cues when a cat gets upset and is itching for a fight.  The ears go back and the tail twitches quickly.


m.humanesociety.org/animals/cats/tips/cat_communication.html

Thanks for that link.  I was just focused on how it was arching its back and coming after us over and over.  Its mouth was open, but it wasn't hissing.  Maybe it was just trying to play.  I called the vet to find out if the dogs could get rabies if it bit them, they said sure it's possible but not likely.  So I won't be as worried if we see it again.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Aug 18, 2015 10:08:29 GMT -5 bobosensei said:

Aug 18, 2015 9:48:55 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Sheldon adores the dog, and his back is arched as he weaves under the dog's head.  It depends on whether the fur is standing up or flat.  There are other cues when a cat gets upset and is itching for a fight.  The ears go back and the tail twitches quickly.


m.humanesociety.org/animals/cats/tips/cat_communication.html

Thanks for that link.  I was just focused on how it was arching its back and coming after us over and over.  Its mouth was open, but it wasn't hissing.  Maybe it was just trying to play.  I called the vet to find out if the dogs could get rabies if it bit them, they said sure it's possible but not likely.  So I won't be as worried if we see it again.

If a cat has no fear of dogs, he was probably trying to play.  The brat adores the dog and tries to play with him all the time, doing what the cat did to your dog.  The mutt just ignores him, but not all dogs will.  I don't let Sheldon out, so his exposure to dogs is limited, but I could see him trying to play with any dog, regardless of attitude.

[Deleted]

No, it wasn't a feral cat if it came close to you and your doggies. Feral cats stay far away from humans, and if you try to get close to them....you won't, they'll just keep moving away. Closest I have ever gotten to one is about 25 yards, outside a grocery store. I grabbed a can of cat food (I own 2 cats) and tried to get close to it, but it wouldn't come. So I left the food and went on my way..

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

At our Petco Adoption Center (located behind glass walls inside a Petco store), one of our "office" cats ... a 20lb fluffy white male named Cotton routinely flings himself against the glass at dogs walking by on leashes. The bigger the dog, the better. I've seen him do the same thing to the standard poodles that sometimes are inside the adoption center (they belong to a staffer) ~ he thinks big dogs are awesome to play with and chase.

Based on You Tube videos I've seen, cats seem to routinely chase off bears, too!

[weltschmerz]

Sushi loves dogs and tries to play with them all the time. He'll arch his back and bounce at them sideways.

"Wanna play King of the Castle? I'll kick your ass!"

[Tiny]

The cat might just have been aggressive and 'being territorial'.

I'm not sure if the sideways fluff and bounce and hiss always indicates wanting to 'play'... well, if getting body slammed by a cat and then getting power smacked in the face/nose and eyes with a paws full of extended claws is 'playing' then yeah... maybe it is...

Some cats are like that - two of my cats would just stay out of the way of my brother's dog when she came to visit. The Smooch, however felt it was his duty to remove the dog from the house. She was a medium sized lab/sheppard mix that routinely aggressively chased and confronted neighborhood cats, possums, raccoons, and sometimes other dogs. Thankfully, the dog was a polite houseguest and did not eat the Smooch - even though I discovered that she had been cornered and backed up to the back door by a Fluffed, Sideways, Arched, Growling Smooch. 8 pounds of cat against 70 pounds of dog. I'm am forever grateful the dog did not attack my cat. I grabbed the angry Smooch and put him in time out in the bathroom.

The next time the dog came to visit Smooch wasn't as subtle - he came out of nowhere and body slammed the dog as she came into the house... again thankfully no one was hurt. After that, I'd put Smooch in the bathroom before the dog came into the house. My other two cats - just stayed out of the dogs way and all was fine. I did catch a polite "sniffing of noses" exchange between the dog and the Queen of All That She Surveys. The dog pretty much ignored the other cats and the other cats ignored the dog.

Smooch also hated the mailcarrier --he wait in the window and GROWL as they came up the front porch - the cat would then run to the front door, all fluffed and arched and yowl-y until the mail got put in the slot and the mailcarrier departed... he would then return to the window and finish his growling.
I never realized he did this until I was home sick from work for two days... he did it both days like clockwork.

Just saying some cats are more aggressive than others. So, the behavior of the White Cat might not have indicated "rabies" or "wanting to play" either - it just might have been one of those "this is my territory and I don't LIKE you..." kind of cats.

[bobosensei]

Saw the cat again today.  It was creeping behind us for a while then disappeared.  On the way back home, the dogs startled it when walking by.  I couldn't see the cat because it was in the woods.  I don't see how it couldn't have known we were coming with as much noise as my little dog makes, but it ran super fast, jumped up to high ground, and watched us walk away.  He was holding his foot up so I wonder if he got hurt after I saw him last time.  There are loose dogs around regularly, and at least one has been in a fight with my dogs and the other two seem pretty disagreeable so it wouldn't surprise me if they went after it.

But I feel comfortable that the cat doesn't have rabies now, and I think he will stay a good distance away.