[Laken1111]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for information, i've only been a dog owner for about 2 years... I have my male Pittie for just about 2 years and now i've gotten my female. Shes about 7 months old and shes a nosie lil girl and my sister cat had kittens... lets just say that my girl went into the room to see what the noise was and they got into a fight... my sis cat is in the hospital and i've been hand feeding the 4 kittens for about 3 days now... today i went to make them go to the bathroom and i brought them in their box back to the table so i could go get their bottle my lil girl jumped onto the table and grab 2 of the kittens i got them outta her mouth i really dont think she was trying to hurt them but 1 died right away and the other is fighting right now i think hes in shock... my mom is really upset and says that once she tastes blood its done... I put her outside and i havent even gone anywhere near her there wasn't really any blood just 1 wound on each of the kittens... and i usually don't go anywhere without my dogs they are my baby's so her being out side is a big deal for her... my mom wants me to get rid of her... i dont think that she ment to hurt them i think she thought they might be toys or maybe she got a lil jealous?? i just wanna hear some feed back on what i should and if theres anything i can do to ensure this doesnt happen again or to make her know they aren't toys??? like i said im a newer owner and never dealt with anything like this with my male dog.

[PNWPBR]

Wow. Tell your mom to do some research please. Just because some news reporter said "when it tastes blood, its over." doesnt make it a FACT.

[PitRottMommy]

That's quite the reality, research that is. You MUST do some research. Let's remember that there are very few, if ANY, accounts of Pitbulls licking their own wounds, tasting their own blood and then taking their leg off.

Moreso, read up on BARF diets. RAW foods are given...this means chicken, beef, pork...and none of these dogs have gone ape sh*t afterwards just because of the blood.

Really, what some people come up with. Damn media!



Sami

[buddysmom]

Yes the "once they taste blood" thing is complete BS ...

But that doesn't change the fact that you did not have the sense or responsibility to keep the dog physically seperate from the kittens ... not once but TWICE.

Adult cats and adult dogs often live together just fine without physical seperation. With an immature dog (of any breed) and helpless kittens though, it is a recipe for diisaster.

An aside, you said "now I have my female" so I am assuming you are planning to breed in the future? Great.

[Shon]

Originally Posted by buddysmom An aside, you said "now I have my female" so I am assuming you are planning to breed in the future? Great.

What if he\she is not planning to breed and what if they are? Wouldn't it be better to teach based upon facts of information rather than to ridicule based on assumption? After all, the thread title is "Need Info(rmation)."

[buddysmom]

You're right Shon. My anti-breeding bias is showing. For all who don't already know, I strongly disapprove of most breeding. Probably well over 99 percent of breedings are NOT done responsibly and do not benefit the particular breed.

But it wasn't the topic of the thread. I apologize.

Keep the dogs away from the kittens. Mom should be assured that when the dog is more mature and the kittens are older (and mom cat not nursing) that things should be OK but until then you DO have to keep them apart at all times, not because the dog "tasted blood" but because the dog is immature and the mom/kittens are very fragile. I hope the ones who survived are going to be OK ... good luck.

[PitRottMommy]

I thought about this overnight and I'm back again.

There are places on the internet for Pitbull lovers WITH VETERINARY RECOMMENDATION BECAUSE THEY WILL CARE FOR PITBULLS! Alot of these veterinarians will board your pet. I can't help shaking the feeling that you just haven't tried hard enough, Laken. If this were a problem I was having, damn if every veterinarian and their dog (no pun intended) wouldn't be hearing from me. And I mean every last one of them. My phonebook would have marks through every person I had called.


I firmly believe someone would get sick enough of me...that they would just offer to shut me up by taking my pet.


Sami

P.S. Working in the veterinary field AND in a state that does NOT like Pitbulls...I feel like APBT-owners around here have it pretty hard when it comes to boarding there pets and there are LOTS of places that don't discriminate. Have you tried Banfield? They're usually inside of Petsmart and they are ALL OVER the country. Being a corporate business, they're not really allowed to discriminate state-to-state about which breeds they will and won't see. Their overall view is the same.

Beyond that, I'm going to make an "IMO" opinion. If your APBT injures another animal, it is YOUR responsibility to be responsible about both the dog and the cats. "I think he's in shock" is absolutely NO excuse for not taking the pet to a regular vet or emergency hospital for treatment, or at least euthanasia. (And no money is no excuse either! Don't be breeding your animal if you can't afford the offspring!!!) You will find that the members of this forum feel that it is necessary to be as humane to pets as possible...and leaving them in your house and WATCHING THEM DIE is NOT humane! </rant>

[john]

i think you have been rather lucky with your dog,it sounds like the drive is much higher or surfaced a lot earlier with your bitch,ask your mum has she seen tom and jerry ? cats and mice dont get on,dogs and cats dont always mix,be safe and keep them parted...good luck

Originally Posted by Laken1111 Hi everyone, I'm looking for information, i've only been a dog owner for about 2 years... I have my male Pittie for just about 2 years and now i've gotten my female. Shes about 7 months old and shes a nosie lil girl and my sister cat had kittens... lets just say that my girl went into the room to see what the noise was and they got into a fight... my sis cat is in the hospital and i've been hand feeding the 4 kittens for about 3 days now... today i went to make them go to the bathroom and i brought them in their box back to the table so i could go get their bottle my lil girl jumped onto the table and grab 2 of the kittens i got them outta her mouth i really dont think she was trying to hurt them but 1 died right away and the other is fighting right now i think hes in shock... my mom is really upset and says that once she tastes blood its done... I put her outside and i havent even gone anywhere near her there wasn't really any blood just 1 wound on each of the kittens... and i usually don't go anywhere without my dogs they are my baby's so her being out side is a big deal for her... my mom wants me to get rid of her... i dont think that she ment to hurt them i think she thought they might be toys or maybe she got a lil jealous?? i just wanna hear some feed back on what i should and if theres anything i can do to ensure this doesnt happen again or to make her know they aren't toys??? like i said im a newer owner and never dealt with anything like this with my male dog.

well to answer your question, the taste of blood making a dog more aggressive is a myth that has never been proven to my knowledge.

with that said, i feel the need to point out your irresponsiblity in the situation. dogs and cats together? defenseless newborn kittens left unattended with a dog in the area? i agree that alot of research needs to be done but not only on the issue of blood thirst. alot of research needs to be done by you on owning dogs and responsible ownership. without it you are bound to repeat, or worse yet make other mistakes to further tarnish the reputation of our breed. the proof is in the pudding, look at your mom's attiutude now. nobody here can keep an accident from happening at your house, only you can. proper containment is a good place to start. if you need some references to good info on bulldogs, dog training, or just general info i'm sure there are plenty of people who can provide it. please don't be afraid to ask.

now before anybody says i got off topic i don't feel i have. the topic is blood thirst and is being discussed due to the incident that the OP described. the link to my statements are easily seen......without the incident we wouldn't be talking about blood thirst. without preventing another incident, the mother is just gonna say "I TOLD YA SO" when the next preventable incident happens due to lack of knowledge.

[Patch O' Pits]

Ok first off as others have stated it is a myth about the taste of blood thing and is a bunch of crap.

However, APBTs and many other breeds for that matter may have high prey drive, So a little squeaky animal is prey or a toy.

Also at 7 months she is starting to mature and needs to be monitored more.

Honestly the dog should never have been left unattended or in a position to grab at the cat or kittens, especially after the first incident.

The cat attacking the dog to defend her kittens also could now have inprinted in the dog and made her not like cats

In either situation do NOT let her near them any more.

You took the responsiblity of getting her and I think now you have to step up and do the work and train and seperate her from the cats

Dogs and cats do not always get along. Some do some don't it is always something that should be monitored IMO

What kind of training have you done with the dogs?

If it comes to the point where your mom will not let you keep the dog you need to either do the right thing and work with a rescue to place her
or move out and take care of the dogs on your own. I'm not sure of your age, so I don't know if that is possible for you.

[Laken1111]

On my deffense I had them on a high table. My female has Never and i mean NEVER jumped onto anything... she doesnt even jump down offa things... and i literally put the box down and walked into the kitchen to grab the heated bottle... My female usually follows me everywhere...and they were in a big box... And the incident with the mother they were in a closedd door room to begin with and my lil brother didnt shut the door properly when he left... i know its still my fault and i should have been upstairs to let the dogs out right away but i had to grab my purse and phone it was a sequence of events that just so happened to work against me... The 2 of the dogs have gone to obidance training and she listens very well... she comes when i call her and sits and stays... she listens better then my male... as for breeding... No im not planning on breeding them... my female is a PB Texas red nose with duol papers... my male isn't papered... he's going in to get fixed in a week.... I dont wanna fix my female for a bit... I'm thankful to all of your opinions and i plan on keeping them very seperate... as i found out today my female knows how to open doors too... the kittens will be kept in a locked room and my dogs either outside or in my bedroom til the kitten leave... and as for boarding i'm in canada so it would be probably easier for me to find somewhere... i never really thought about board... thanks for the idea ill look into that...

[PitRottMommy]

I can't stress enough that no dog should be left alone when when we suspect we know what they will do. You wouldn't leave your dog alone and unattended if a friend was bringing over a dog that yours hadn't met before...this is NO different.

I worked with my dogs very hard when I was considering getting a cat. (And I also have a rat and sugar glider...so its very important to me that they LISTEN and OBEY!). I taught them "gentle" before I introduced any animals smaller than they were. Bryce still perks his ears when an animal runs by him...but Brogan rolls over on his back and lets my rat and SG crawl all over him. I just remind him, "easy! be gentle!" and he's careful when he bathes them. Kittens walk away from Brogan with hair looking like this ^ in the center of their head...

Either way, I'm there with them regardless of the animal. I trust, but I also know their capability.

Don't fall into the mass of irresponsible APBT owners because you THOUGHT something wouldn't happen. Think the worst, hope for the best. I hate to sound pessimistic, but fewer bad things happen that way.


Sami

[buddysmom]

Originally Posted by Laken1111 On my deffense I had them on a high table. My female has Never and i mean NEVER jumped onto anything... she doesnt even jump down offa things... and i literally put the box down and walked into the kitchen to grab the heated bottle... My female usually follows me everywhere...and they were in a big box... And the incident with the mother they were in a closedd door room to begin with and my lil brother didnt shut the door properly when he left... i know its still my fault and i should have been upstairs to let the dogs out right away but i had to grab my purse and phone it was a sequence of events that just so happened to work against me... The 2 of the dogs have gone to obidance training and she listens very well... she comes when i call her and sits and stays... she listens better then my male... as for breeding... No im not planning on breeding them... my female is a PB Texas red nose with duol papers... my male isn't papered... he's going in to get fixed in a week.... I dont wanna fix my female for a bit... I'm thankful to all of your opinions and i plan on keeping them very seperate... as i found out today my female knows how to open doors too... the kittens will be kept in a locked room and my dogs either outside or in my bedroom til the kitten leave... and as for boarding i'm in canada so it would be probably easier for me to find somewhere... i never really thought about board... thanks for the idea ill look into that...

I appreciate you explaining everything. How are the mom cat and kitten(s?) that were hurt? I hope you stick around this forum. It's a good place, diverse in opinions but lots of great knowledge and not everyone is as quick to judge as me (I am trying to do better but there's not much hope )

[PNWPBR]

Originally Posted by PitRottMommy That's quite the reality, research that is. You MUST do some research. Let's remember that there are very few, if ANY, accounts of Pitbulls licking their own wounds, tasting their own blood and then taking their leg off.

OMG this made me laugh!

[Laken1111]

No worries Buddysmom you haven't scaried me off just yet...lol Mom is very good she can't feed the 2 remanding kittens cause shes on anti-biotics and some pain meds but she hasn't rejected them either she wants to be with them so im happy she still the caring mommy she was before... i was a lil afraid to bring her back cause i didnt know how she was going to be coming home again you know if she'd freak out or what... but she's the same old cat just not quit up to her old self but shes working on it
i'm very happy... as for the kittens she had four 2 died yesterday... it was really heart breaking... and as for the vet's i called all in my city and they all go to 1 pager and the vet that answered my page told me that i would have to pay 100 before she'd look at the kitten... i asked if i could give her the money this morning because i have no money at all and neither does anyone in my family thats around my parents are going through a seperation and they both dont have money i coulda got it from my boyfriend this morning but the vet told me she didnt know me and she wouldnt come in unless i had the money... this might sound really sad but i dont have many friends that could leaned it to me the only one that could wasnt around... i asked if i could give the vet something and she said no just cash or credit card/debt. My boyfriend was on the island he was coming home early morning... still the vet wouldn't help me... so i've decided that i wont be going to any of the vets in my town...

[PitRottMommy]

This is precisely why...If you have no money to spare, you have no business letting your animal reproduce.

I'm not saying that to offend, I'm simply stating matter of fact. What would happen if momma cat wouldn't have been able to have the babies and no one had the money to a) have the babies removed or b) euthanize mom. *sigh* Would she have just suffered until death?

As owners, we must do what is humane for the animals...not just what is convenient for ourselves. I don't mean to offend, but that's the reality of the matter.



Sami

[Laken1111]

Sorry but i dont think your getting what i'm saying!!! We didnt breed the cat she got pregnant before we had the chance to get her fixed... and I'm sorry i will not kill her babies! and it is my lil sisters cat not mine... and i dont have the money on hand sorry im not rich my boyfriend was willing to pay but as i said he was on the island... hence why the mother cat was in the hospital getting looked after... the cat is an outside cat who comes in once in a while... if it were my cat i would have gotten her fixed a long time ago but like i said it was my lil sis's shes 12 and my parents are a lil busy fighting to worry about a cat... so it slipt... Im sorry but why would people breed cats??? that arent already pure breeds ummm i dont think anyone does that, hence why cats are usually free to people... dog on the other hand i could see if my dog had puppies being ready to pay for any problems money would be something i would for sure put aside... but these kittens come outta no where so to say... and i would have had money today my boyfriend was willing to help me out so i do have money just not excessible at that point in time.... 9:30 pm on a thursday what bank is open?? could have had it put into my account if they were but they werent so im sorry but I TRIED... i did everything i could you think i'd want a lil kitten i was hand feed for 4 days to suffer WHAT KIND OF PERSON WOULD DO THAT!! I do admitt that i wasn't think of my dogs capiblities that i was in fact thinking of their personallities... I feel bad enough as it is and you wanna tell me that i shouldn't breed I WASN'T TRYING TO BREED!!! I am very thankful for all your opinions and I am thinking more on the fact that my dogs are APBT and that i have to be very careful with them they aren't babies but dog and dog that could do a lot of harm if not properly supervised. A lesson i wish i didnt need to learn the hard way...

[PitRottMommy]

Laken, I am not trying to upset you. So please do not take it that way.

What I am saying is...if the cat is not fixed...don't let her outside where she CAN get pregnant. And I no where suggested KILLING her kittens. My original suggestion was that you take the injured kittens to the veterinarian. Someone around the city at some point should have offered care credit or something of the like that might have been able to have spotted you the money. My overall question which did involve euthanasia was about her INJURED kittens which, if they were injured enough for it to be FATAL, you allowed to suffer until death. You ask what bank is open on Thursday...but if you have a debit card (which 90% of banks GIVE you when you open an account) you can easily withdraw money at a gas station. Lots of people put forth the effort to help kittens by bottle feeding. Lots of them. Because the world is filled with soft-hearted people who WILL spend the time to care for them. Moreso, if you read up...you will find that I was not the person who stated anything about you breeding your dog. Again, none of this was said to upset you...but you asked for information and, as a group, we offered our input. With all due respect, if it's not something you can handle...then don't ask for someone else's input.

Sami

P.S. Just as a note, Animal Welfare in any city are always willing (read that to mean obligated) to take over the care of animals that are too sick/injured for their primary care givers to handle (financially/physically/mentally, etc). And there are places that will spay cats for $15. You just have to seek out the resources.

[Michele]

First off, welcome to the forum.... On another note, it might be your sister's cat, but these are your dogs and you need to be 110% diligent with them. So, take a deep breath and just relax now, ok? Everyone here is giving you excellent advice to make sure your dogs don't end up in the headlines in the paper, ok?

[Laken1111]

Again im in canada... and what i meant by getting money was that my boyfriend woulda had to go into a bank and put it in my account cause we dont have joint... and It only get upsetting when people think i wanted the kittens to suffer or the mother... i'm sorry but i really tried who am i supposed to ask at 9:30pm when ive asked everyone i could think of??? i tried to ask the vet to help and i would pay even more she said no.... and if you read above the Title was Needs Info as in for blood thirst I want to make sure that this doesn't happen again... I love my dogs and I dont want to have to put her down for anything like this again... So I'm trying to take what has happened here and learn from it I wanna be a between Owner the i was before this... from now on i will have a savings account with money in it for the capibilities of what my dog is possible of doing... again im young and a first time dog owner and i believe i was a good one til this happened and i know i should have thought about them in a totally different light with caution but i have to deal and live with that...