Since last summer, cats have been killed and others have disappeared in a district of Terre Rouge, in Cahors. Those responsible according to the inhabitants? Two dogs wandering around the neighborhood. Residents are exhausted and fear for the safety of their pets. Even their children.
7 cats killed, 4 others have disappeared… What’s going on at Terre Rouge? Since last summer, two dogs have been spreading terror there. According to the locals, these two animals roam in this Cadurcian district and attack the domestic cats that are on their roads. A situation that can no longer last for local residents, who fear for their pets. But also for their children: “for now, these two dogs are attacking cats, but we don’t know if they won’t end up biting a child”, regrets Cécile, a resident of the neighborhood. The latter lost her cat a few weeks ago.
“He was very fearful, I had picked him up in the street. He stayed very close to the house. Overnight, he disappeared. For several evenings, I went around the neighborhood to find him,” continues Cecile. Thanks to numerous testimonies, she finally understands that her cat was killed by two stray dogs. That day, she called the municipal police. “They confirmed to me that a cat had been brought back to them in a garbage bag. But they could not identify it because it was in a deplorable state”, laments the local resident, who understands that her animal is deceased. For this group of residents, the attacks began last summer, and since then they have continued to multiply.
“They carried my cat around in their mouths”
Johan Danielis moved to the neighborhood in September, with his partner and his one-year-old granddaughter. But also his two cats: Minus and Minouche. In November, he returns home, with his little one in the back of the vehicle. “When I arrived in front of my house, I saw the two dogs coming down the street, they carried my cat around in their mouths. I honked, I howled, the dogs ended up leaving. My cat died in thirty minutes,” says Johan sadly. The veterinarian confirms it: the poor animal died of dog bites.
Minus, Johan’s cat, was killed last November.
Three weeks ago, around midnight, Johan’s girlfriend heard a cat “being slaughtered”. In all, there are about fifteen testimonies that stand out and point to dogs as responsible for cat attacks. “My close neighbor managed to save her cat. The dogs came into my garden and attacked the animal. Other people managed to scare them away before it was too late. 1,400 euros for a veterinarian”, indicates Cécile. Within the neighborhood, insecurity reigns. “I’m afraid for my other cat. She doesn’t venture outside too much, but we know it can happen at any time. And then, I have a little girl. There are plenty of “Children here. I’m not calm, we don’t know what can happen,” says Johan.
A complaint will be filed
“One of the dogs is brown, the other white with brown spots. They look like boxers”, describes the local resident. According to him, they wander regularly in the neighborhood. “Once the police intercepted them but they were taken home. The owner was fined for straying but that’s it. It doesn’t go any further, and the dogs continue to escape from the house them. They jump the fences, force the gates to get home”, Johan annoys. The latter depicts the dogs as “very aggressive”.
A call for witnesses is circulating in the neighborhood.
A first handrail was filed on November 15. For things to change, a petition will be launched in the neighborhood. The latter will be brought to the town hall to attract the attention of the mayor of Cahors. A complaint also has to be filed. This is strongly encouraged by the Lot police: “you have to come and do it”. Even if: “the proof is difficult to provide. We must succeed in proving that these are indeed the dogs who are responsible for the death of the cats. The testimonies are not enough. These are very complicated files. We have many cases of this nature all year round. They only succeed with great difficulty. There is also colossal inflation in July and August, with the abandonment of animals that can become aggressive”. In the Terre Rouge file, the dogs are microchipped. “The owner would be ready to go to the service for any summons,” concludes the police, who ensure that this case is taken into account.
