Hi everyone, so my parents are White Swiss Shepherd breeders. We went away on holiday for a month and had the kennels looked after by someone who’d just finished their studies. At our place, the cats roam free and the dogs are kept in their runs. While we were away, the person called us to say that one of our dogs had eaten one of our cats and that she’d found the guts and a bit of a tail... We’ve been back for a few days now and we have no proof that what she’s telling us is true, especially since the dog who supposedly ate it has never been nasty to the cats, except maybe chasing them once or twice for a bit of fun... he isn’t aggressive and was being fed every day... So I find the whole story a bit weird and I’m struggling to believe it.
So, is it actually possible for a dog to eat a cat?
Translated from French
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Hi everyone, my dog is 13 and has cancer. He’s just eaten a kitten; it’s the first time he’s ever done anything like this. I’ve always had cats and kittens, so I really don’t understand why. I have another female dog and two cats—a neutered male and a female who just had a litter on the 8th of May. Can you please tell me why this happened and what I should do?
Hi Misa,
Yes, it’s definitely possible. That said, it’s not easy to reach that conclusion based on what you’ve explained.
From what I understand, the dogs live alongside the cats. Unless each species stays in its own space with little to no interaction with the other, there is a form of interspecies socialisation. This helps ensure that a different species is no longer seen as prey or a potential threat.
The fact that a dog might have eaten a cat is more likely down to predatory behaviour rather than aggression. Consumption is not part of aggressive behaviour. So, a dog doesn’t need to be aggressive by nature to watch, stalk, chase, catch, kill, and eat a prey animal.
When it comes to Shepherds, we know they have quite strong predatory motor patterns. But like all other breeds, they don’t necessarily have the full range of behaviours linked to every stage of the hunt. The sequences Shepherds usually display include watching, stalking, and chasing. Catching, killing, and eating are motor patterns they generally don’t possess.
That’s what makes them such great working dogs. They’re both effective for the owner and usually not a danger to other animals.
