Yet another cat attack

[trickedoutbiker]

I've seen unprovoked attacks a couple of times. One was a Sheltie that just turned on her owner. The dog was put down and I can't remember if they even did a necropsy or diagnostics on it. I believe it had some kind of a brain lesion/tumor.

The other dog that I thought attacked for no reason (although the owner thinks otherwise!) was a Springer Spaniel in one of my advanced obedience classes. I was showing the owner how to get the dog used to holding a dumbbell in her mouth. It's pretty gentle--the dog takes it in her mouth and I was just stroking her face and muzzle telling her she was a good girl but making it a little difficult to spit out if she wanted to which she did not. (This was back in the 80s, long before positive-only training.) She wasn't upset. There was no pressure on her. She looked me in the face and then jumped at my face biting right through my hand. It took a bit to get her to let go--fortunately I had her leash. It was right out of the blue. I found out later there are brain issues with Springer Spaniels called Springer Rage. Who knows whether she had a brain tumor/disease or not. All I know is she bit right through my hand for no provocation and the owner thought it was my fault.

I wonder if your uncle's dog just didn't recognize you. It happens. German Shepherds don't live very long. Maybe he had some issues with his vision.

I hope that helps fill in the puzzle of your uncle's German Shepherd Dog a bit for you.

That DEFF helps! Thanks a lot! My uncle never had a necropsy on the dog either. So who knows, maybe it did have something wrong with its brain and it just snapped for some reason. Or it is quite possible that it was losing its vision. That was one of our ideas we had as well, because when it growled at me, it just had a certain feel to it like that growl meant that it had never seen me before. It knew who I was but for some reason that day, maybe it just didn't recognize me. Like I said, maybe it didn't like my t-shirt. Maybe my hair was done different. Maybe it was the new frames for the glasses I was wearing. Who knows. I definitely didn't know that brain issues in dogs such as the "Springer Rage" could cause them to go nuts. Never even heard of that before. I just Googled the lifespan of a German Shepard and it said they live 9-13 years so 5'ish years old would be about half-aged. Maybe it WAS loosing vision or was starting to develop some sort of brain illness and the such.

So you definitely know how I felt during the unprovoked attacked though --- scared like crazy! I was pretty young too so it scared me a lot more than if it was to happen to me today ya know?

I lost a beloved aviary bird to my own dog about 20 years ago and to this day the horror and guilt I feel over it is just as raw as the day it happened.

I'm sorry for your loss. I didn't mean to bring up the losing-pets-to-other-pets topic here and bring up bad memories of things like that, so I do apologize. I was just trying to make a good point about -- you can never know what will happen with pets mixed with other pets, and thus you must take every precaution you can. In your case @Carlton, you WERE taking lots of precautions, and something still happened. That's the bad thing about it... all animals are unpredictable for the most part, and you just never know. Even with precautions, things can sometimes still go wrong. That's why you gotta have the precautions in place, to greatly reduce the chances of an accident. A person sleeping with a chameleon on their head, is not much of a precaution, and is instead, a lit-up Vegas sign that displays EAT ME.

A $10 garter snake deserves the same care and respect a $1000 "designer morph" boa constrictor does. The cham doesn't know how cheap it was...all it knows is the fear and misery it feels when it gets sick and needs attention.

Well put my friend, well put.

 

[Carlton]

A friend here had to put their springer down last year for what they called "Springer rage". It began biting people without provocation right in its own house. Apparently this is a real thing. I've also heard of people's dogs biting out of the blue only to find out the dog had an abscessed tooth with an associated middle ear infection, and was probably disoriented and in pain. I've heard stories about St. Bernards suffering from heat stroke attacking someone, and miniature Schnauzers suffering from anxiety biting kids in the face. I remember walking up to our backyard fence once while wearing sunglasses and our family's Scottie just about climbed the fence to get at me. I took off the glasses and he just collapsed in embarrassment.

 

[jajeanpierre]

A friend here had to put their springer down last year for what they called "Springer rage". It began biting people without provocation right in its own house. Apparently this is a real thing. I've also heard of people's dogs biting out of the blue only to find out the dog had an abscessed tooth with an associated middle ear infection, and was probably disoriented and in pain. I've heard stories about St. Bernards suffering from heat stroke attacking someone, and miniature Schnauzers suffering from anxiety biting kids in the face. I remember walking up to our backyard fence once while wearing sunglasses and our family's Scottie just about climbed the fence to get at me. I took off the glasses and he just collapsed in embarrassment.

There are a lot of dogs with brain problems. The worst I think are King Charles Cavalier Spaniels. There is something most of them have that gives them terrible pain and I think causes seizures. It is really awful, horribly painful for the dog (and the owner--imagine watching your beloved young dog writing and screaming in pain?) but breeders insist in breeding affected dogs.

And there is also just plain old overly dominant behavior. There are quite a few breeds that are downright dangerous. (And it's not pitbulls!) Any dog that is not socialized properly can be dangerous, which is why pitbulls are a problem. A lot of thugs like to have them, but they are not properly raised, just left outside often on a chain. Any dog kept like that is dangerous but a pitbull has the strength and tenacity to do some serious damage.

I remember handling an 8-month old male Akita puppy at a dog show for a client. As I was setting him up, I reached over and set is left front leg, he turned and softly clamped his mouth on my arm. Eight months old! I tried one more time and he again let me know his feelings by holding my arm. I free baited him in the ring and never touched him after that. When I walked out of the ring, I told the owner that he had a problem. Oh, no, he's fine. Ya, sure. Six months later the owner was taken to the hospital and needed 23 stitches to close the wounds.

I remember a Rottweiller just about ripping off the face of a judge at a dog show. Everyone was so in shock they didn't do the paperwork to have the dog barred from showing at least the following day. Lo and behold, the idiots brought the dog back in the ring the next day and this time he ripped the sleeve off the judges sports jacket. No damage to the judge fortunately.

Sorry for getting so far off on a tangent.

 

[wavingsnail]

I never let my Melleri out around when the cat is in the area for the exact opposite reasons, don't want to see my cat become lunch....

Haha!

 

[trickedoutbiker]

A friend here had to put their springer down last year for what they called "Springer rage". It began biting people without provocation right in its own house. Apparently this is a real thing. I've also heard of people's dogs biting out of the blue only to find out the dog had an abscessed tooth with an associated middle ear infection, and was probably disoriented and in pain. I've heard stories about St. Bernards suffering from heat stroke attacking someone, and miniature Schnauzers suffering from anxiety biting kids in the face. I remember walking up to our backyard fence once while wearing sunglasses and our family's Scottie just about climbed the fence to get at me. I took off the glasses and he just collapsed in embarrassment.

I remember handling an 8-month old male Akita puppy at a dog show for a client. As I was setting him up, I reached over and set is left front leg, he turned and softly clamped his mouth on my arm. Eight months old! I tried one more time and he again let me know his feelings by holding my arm. I free baited him in the ring and never touched him after that. When I walked out of the ring, I told the owner that he had a problem. Oh, no, he's fine. Ya, sure. Six months later the owner was taken to the hospital and needed 23 stitches to close the wounds.

I remember a Rottweiller just about ripping off the face of a judge at a dog show. Everyone was so in shock they didn't do the paperwork to have the dog barred from showing at least the following day. Lo and behold, the idiots brought the dog back in the ring the next day and this time he ripped the sleeve off the judges sports jacket. No damage to the judge fortunately.

Sorry for getting so far off on a tangent.

This is why I love my chameleon. The worst thing he may ever do to me is poop on my floor again, or maybe try to lick my eyeball one day hahaha.

 

[Lazereth]

 

[OldChamKeeper]

I don't think you understand how serious a cat bite or scratch is. They have a lot of really nasty bacteria in their saliva.

You do not need any type of tests. You probably need antibiotics prescribed to prevent disease. It takes a few days before infection builds up and shows outwardly. By that time, it is too late.

I honestly don't know why I waste my time on people like you who justify spending or not spending on an animal they purportedly "love" based on the original price tag, especially when you almost killed this animal because of your own negligence.

This is why I don't contribute on threads involving a Veiled or Panther. Now if she had a $1500 Parson's her cat would be in the same boat with my wife's cats.

The cats are kindly reminded every morning by the crazy cham keeper that if the Parson so much as sneezes one of them shall be taken out back and sacrificed to the Lizard Gods in the Aztec style.

It may cost $35, it's still a critter you are responsible for. Find a different vet for starters. Politely explain you have a chameleon that you need some preventive antibiotics for due to a cat bite. Some will help you, others will not. When I worked in the pet industry I used to ask a prospective customer "what do you want out of the reptile as a pet?"

That question let me help them find what they wanted, not what looked cool.

Chameleons don't like to be in your hair, that's a human opinion. They also tend to prefer some cover from predators, like a well planted area. Now on the other hand a a large bearded dragon doesn't mind being on your shoulder, it's just another rocky outcropping to them. Plus a good sized beardy tends to keep a cat away. My daughter's dragon ran down my leg once to engage one of the cats when strolled into the bedroom and the cat could only crap itself and run. So, take that for what's worth. I see you already had a ton of people come out for your topic.

 

[JaniP]

Nope...to NYC
Facts:
You have a cat.
You have fallen asleep with it out before.
No money for a vet. (or don't want to spend it)
oh well, it only cost $35$

I am sorry, but this is piss poor care / neglect, and a piss poor attitude.
I wasn't trying to be rude in my post, but what did you think would happen?

This.

If this is your attitude, we probably aren't your type of people. Take care and I hope you take pet ownership a little more seriously in the future.

 

[leedragon]

This is why I don't contribute on threads involving a Veiled or Panther. Now if she had a $1500 Parson's her cat would be in the same boat with my wife's cats.

The cats are kindly reminded every morning by the crazy cham keeper that if the Parson so much as sneezes one of them shall be taken out back and sacrificed to the Lizard Gods in the Aztec style.

It may cost $35, it's still a critter you are responsible for. Find a different vet for starters. Politely explain you have a chameleon that you need some preventive antibiotics for due to a cat bite. Some will help you, others will not. When I worked in the pet industry I used to ask a prospective customer "what do you want out of the reptile as a pet?"

That question let me help them find what they wanted, not what looked cool.

Chameleons don't like to be in your hair, that's a human opinion. They also tend to prefer some cover from predators, like a well planted area. Now on the other hand a a large bearded dragon doesn't mind being on your shoulder, it's just another rocky outcropping to them. Plus a good sized beardy tends to keep a cat away. My daughter's dragon ran down my leg once to engage one of the cats when strolled into the bedroom and the cat could only crap itself and run. So, take that for what's worth. I see you already had a ton of people come out for your topic.

can I join your cult?
also why stop at a bearded dragon? go for a full grown nile monitor lizard.

to the original poster

wtf were you thinking? I say this 100 times and folks hate me for this in every reptil forum. Chameleons are not f ing toys, not lapdogs nor cats they need to be in their enclosure or shit will happen.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

can I join your cult?

The voices in my head met and said no.

also why stop at a bearded dragon? go for a full grown nile monitor lizard.

Because a Nile is not a good pet either. My goal is not to lecture the original poster. My suggestion was serious in that a bearded dragon may suit her needs better and also be a better fit for a home with a cat. Nile's are not a good pet and I never recommend one, a 6' pissed lizard is a problem

 

[leedragon]

The voices in my head met and said no.


Because a Nile is not a good pet either. My goal is not to lecture the original poster. My suggestion was serious in that a bearded dragon may suit her needs better and also be a better fit for a home with a cat. Nile's are not a good pet and I never recommend one, a 6' pissed lizard is a problem

goddamit I start my own then.

aa I took it as what lizard would be best at fencing off a cat

 

[Virgil1972]

goddamit I start my own then.

aa I took it as what lizard would be best at fencing off a cat

I was thinking an alligator would be good fending off a cat but then I remembered a video I seen that showed a cat scaring an alligator. So the alligator looks to have a 50/50 chance with a cat.

 

[Laserbeak]

Update

Liz is doing fine, her last scab fell off today and I've been very careful when taking them out. She's growing like a weed eating crickets and still loves to get out of her cage as does her boyfriend Spike.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Thanks for the update.

 

[Periyozu]

Thats disgusting, what responsible owner would fall asleep with a chameleon in their hair and a cat on the loose!! I have 3 dogs and as soon as they showed interest in him the got told, now they dont bother HOWEVER any time I hav my cham out im glued to him and my dogs as animals can be unpredictable and as a responsibe pet owner you should be too. Cost is irrelitive, its a life!!!

 

[marley patches]

i don't have cats or dogs in my neighbor hood and I still never take my eyes off my 2 chams when they free roaming , 1st off they cost a pretty penny 2nd I become too attached to see any animals or people hurt my kids ,, yes I call my chams my kids outside

 

[JaxyGirl]

Look guys, Im sure I'm going against the CF opinion as usual...but, I'm sure that what happened to @Laserbeak Cham was an accident. She didn't hold up her chameleon to the Cat Gods as a sacrifice for her cat to eat. She didn't intentionally put the Cham in harms way. Obviously @Laserbeak, was upset and sad about what happened to her Cham and she was looking for answers and support about what she could to to help her Cham. I'm sure she felt bad enough as it was but instead of being supportive everybody decided to rip her a new one instead! What happened to her Cham was an accident. Yes she should have been a little more villigent about he cats but it was still an accident. No, pets and chams don't mix and sometimes we need to learn the hard way. People want the best for their chams but sometimes stuff happens even if we mean the best. Whether it was a wild caught cham that succumbed to disease from the stress of capture or MBD, URI, Malnutrition, or an animal bite or someone just simply lost their Cham outside because they weren't paying attention. I'm sure all of it was by accident and none of it was intentional. But, as we all know some of these things have happened to some people on CF. But, by accident.....and usually most people here are a little more helpful, More kind and a lot less judgmental..
Sorry to say but not everyone can afford a large vet bill....
Some people just can't...and it's not their fault...its just reality. And it's not because they don't care.
I think if everybody here has had perfect Cham husbandry and has never lost a Cham to disease or any other accident that has taken the life of a Cham before they die of old age then you have a right to judge harshly. Otherwise not so much.......
People can be so mean here! I just don't get it!!

 

[cyberlocc]

This is why I don't contribute on threads involving a Veiled or Panther. Now if she had a $1500 Parson's her cat would be in the same boat with my wife's cats.

I dont get it so you only participate in Parsons threads? AFAIK, from everything I have seen for the most part price wise Panthers are second to only parsons. Jacksons, Oustalet's, Carpet, Pygmy, Mellers, Graceful, Fischers, Flapnecks, Quads, I could go on are all cheaper than a Panther. so I am confused.

Also I wouldn't let a few bad apples spoil your knowledge and help for people that do care JS.

I am kind of amazed by this however. There is a saying If you cant afford the Vet dont get the Pet, it really is that easy.

However I will admit that I once had a dog put down instead of a attempt at savior. That also was a 2,000 dollar yorkshire puppy. He was born and sold to us with a Liver shunt. The vet said it would require a 12k dollar surgery to even attempt to save its life. Even if the surgery did work he would have a rough life always on medications and issues, with more surgeries in the future may be needed. That time we decided to put the dog down, for both the sake of our wallets, and the dog that would even if kept alive be in pain forever. The breeder of course, gave us a big brush off, said we could have a 100 dollar discount on another pup from them next litter (Ha!), so we were out the 2k plus the 1100 we paid the vet for what she did in the meantime , and the dog was out his life do to a bad owners that decided to inbreed and cause issues for there pups.

This last part may sound harsh and some may not agree but it needs to be said. I think a big problem with veilieds is that we see alot of children get them. they are cheap so parents buy them for the low price and when the child wants to take it to the vet the parent says no. IMO, Chameleons are not a childs reptile. I wanted one when I was young, I read the care sheets ect, and decided I was no where near ready here we are 15 years late, and I just got my first chameleon. However with all the veiled setup videos I watch there horrible. there is usually a waterfall in almost every one, a few branches and no plant. The people give them only crickets with calcium D3 Dust. I feel that panthers and other semi costly species reduce this somewhat. I thing all chameleons should cost 300+, or require a permit or something, same with dogs however.

But I see that a lot on here as well. when asked how many times a day are they misted, 1 time after school. If you dont not have the ability to mist at all hours of the day and cannot afford a misting system then you shouldn't have a chameleon its that easy. On top of that if you cant afford a misting system how can you afford a vet? that is just a common thing I see here, but there is more lol. Pretty much if you dont have control over your own life, how can you control another that is very delicate?

Anyway Rant over, sorry.

I got a snake instead BTW, who sadly passed while I was in college, but he was at that time 17ish years old (when I got him he was around 7). Then no reptiles for me for 6 years till now .

 

[OldChamKeeper]

I dont get it so you only participate in Parsons threads? AFAIK, from everything I have seen for the most part price wise Panthers are second to only parsons. Jacksons, Oustalet's, Carpet, Pygmy, Mellers, Graceful, Fischers, Flapnecks, Quads, I could go on are all cheaper than a Panther. so I am confused.

Also I wouldn't let a few bad apples spoil your knowledge and help for people that do care JS.

I am kind of amazed by this however. There is a saying If you cant afford the Vet dont get the Pet, it really is that easy.

However I will admit that I once had a dog put down instead of a attempt at savior. That also was a 2,000 dollar yorkshire puppy. He was born and sold to us with a Liver shunt. The vet said it would require a 12k dollar surgery to even attempt to save its life. Even if the surgery did work he would have a rough life always on medications and issues, with more surgeries in the future may be needed. That time we decided to put the dog down, for both the sake of our wallets, and the dog that would even if kept alive be in pain forever. The breeder of course, gave us a big brush off, said we could have a 100 dollar discount on another pup from them next litter (Ha!), so we were out the 2k plus the 1100 we paid the vet for what she did in the meantime , and the dog was out his life do to a bad owners that decided to inbreed and cause issues for there pups.

This last part may sound harsh and some may not agree but it needs to be said. I think a big problem with veilieds is that we see alot of children get them. they are cheap so parents buy them for the low price and when the child wants to take it to the vet the parent says no. IMO, Chameleons are not a childs reptile. I wanted one when I was young, I read the care sheets ect, and decided I was no where near ready here we are 15 years late, and I just got my first chameleon. However with all the veiled setup videos I watch there horrible. there is usually a waterfall in almost every one, a few branches and no plant. The people give them only crickets with calcium D3 Dust. I feel that panthers and other semi costly species reduce this somewhat. I thing all chameleons should cost 300+, or require a permit or something, same with dogs however.

But I see that a lot on here as well. when asked how many times a day are they misted, 1 time after school. If you dont not have the ability to mist at all hours of the day and cannot afford a misting system then you shouldn't have a chameleon its that easy. On top of that if you cant afford a misting system how can you afford a vet? that is just a common thing I see here, but there is more lol. Pretty much if you dont have control over your own life, how can you control another that is very delicate?

Anyway Rant over, sorry.

I got a snake instead BTW, who sadly passed while I was in college, but he was at that time 17ish years old (when I got him he was around 7). Then no reptiles for me for 6 years till now .

Take a little humor from my post will you? Besides I didn't say I only post in Parson threads, I said I rarely participate in threads about Panthers or Veileds. Main reason for that is because there has been a huge trend in cheap chameleons being bought by people who don't do a lick of research on their own, or even read the care sheets listed on the site made by experts trying to help. The result is I'm not interested in posting the same info on ten different threads involving people re-inventing the wheel and not learning from others. How many people don't use UVB bulbs? Or have a clue about heating until after they buy the animal?

It's not a case of people being mean, it's a case of people tired of dealing with people who won't do a little research or even use the tools provided. The majority of those types of questions center around Veileds and Panthers, hence my original comment.

 

[cyberlocc]

Take a little humor from my post will you? Besides I didn't say I only post in Parson threads, I said I rarely participate in threads about Panthers or Veileds. Main reason for that is because there has been a huge trend in cheap chameleons being bought by people who don't do a lick of research on their own, or even read the care sheets listed on the site made by experts trying to help. The result is I'm not interested in posting the same info on ten different threads involving people re-inventing the wheel and not learning from others. How many people don't use UVB bulbs? Or have a clue about heating until after they buy the animal?

It's not a case of people being mean, it's a case of people tired of dealing with people who won't do a little research or even use the tools provided. The majority of those types of questions center around Veileds and Panthers, hence my original comment.

Gotcha, that makes since. I was looking at it from the cheap aspect only is why. I fully understand the same question being asked. I figured you didn't just read parsons threads I was just joking as well lol.