I used to love cats... until today....

I don't know.

Where's PDawg (hope he's ok).

Do the cats otherwise act normal?

That's scary. Cats definitely always maintain some unpredictablility even after years together with people and other pets, but that sounds way extreme.

It's one of the reasons that even though I haven't had a dog for years cats can never totally usurp dogs' place in my heart. You can find a dog to be your most loyal, trusted friend. Cats - it seems there will always be times of waiting for the other shoe to fall so to speak.

I had never seen these two particular cats before so I don't know what their usual demeanor is but today they were crazy. They were in front of a house so I assume they are someone's pets.

I have been around cats all of my life and I have never seen a cat behave like these two did. It was freaky.

Dog seems fine. He seemed to shake the attack off pretty quickly and he has been neither wary nor aggressive towards our cats or any of the other neighborhood cats.

The whole thing was just so strange.

It really was scary and it was extreme.

I'm kind of wondering if maybe my cats are an exception since they've always been around dogs but I really don't think so. I think these cats were nuts.

The cats live in the same house?

(is there a malevolent dog there, or person? I'm reaching, no idea.)

Have they been protected pussies until So and So let them out by mistake?

I don't really know. It isn't a street we usually walk down. I'm going to avoid that street in the future and warn the other dog people to do the same.

Oh, I thought you knew these 2 cats since you named them Snowball and Ginger. Just for identification porpoises, huh?

I've got a couple of thoughts.

Snowball and Ginger may have been pissed off at each other, and Dog was an easy target to vent their rage, since fighting with each other would have caused harm.

I have had it happen, with the gentlest cat I had, that I stepped in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was mad at something. I distracted her by walking by, and so I became the target (shrugs, it happens)

Maybe they were male and female and were planning on getting it on (Cue Barry White music) and again, Dog presented as something that was interrupting.

Cats just don't think like dogs. I don't think they were so much cooperating with each other to tag team dog, but when one stepped back, the other felt safe to move in, knowing he wouldn't get swiped by the other cat.
roland and otis, my 2 boys now, play and wrestle with each other, but if I do something with a ball or toy, first one will play with me, then steps back and the other one does. Or one will try to entice the other to play, and the other will ignore him until he damn good and ready to respond.

roland is a people cat, and otis is a cat cat. otis is cordial, likes brushing, playing, but people are not really on his radar screen to seek out. Because to otis I really don't exist often in his world, he's never made any move to act agressively toward me.

roland is a lover boy, but, he is a cat. He does enjoy me bapping with him, pushing him over, rough scratching sometimes, etc.
One time he gave me a pretty good bite, and even then I knew I had no one to blame but myself.
I wasn't watching him as closely as I should, as I was enjoying myself, and missed that subtle "that's enough" sign from him, which needs to be respected.
He turned his head looked at me and I saw his pupils dialate, he's ears went back and he got that crazy look you never want to see. This all happened in like a quarter of a second. I thought "uh oh this is not good" and immediately went into "get his body away from mine" mode. Quick as a snake he latched onto my wrist, but I already had grabbed the back of his neck and tossed him away from me. I felt lucky he didn't come back toward me. Instead he gave a good hiss and slunked off. When he came back later, I swear he was chagrined. I over agitated him, I should have known better. That's the nature of cats. Not that they are evil, not even that they are unpredictable....well, mine haven't been, but yeah, some are I know. They are just not team players, and don't drink the koolaide.

Anyway, I believe those two cats were already over agitated over something the two of them were involved in, and Dog was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

You know, us wandering into the middle of an existing feud (or sex thing) is a really good explanation for what went down.

I can totally see that.

We saw Snowball and s/he moved out of the way, then we passed between the two and Ginger attacked, then Snowball attacked, then Ginger attacked. And it was all because we dared to interrupt.

It makes sense.

Thank you!

oh yeah, I can see it now.

Snowball maybe was using you and Dog as a semi excuse to move away (or get into a better position for after you were gone)
Ginger saw Snowball moving off before he was ready for Snowball to go, and maybe even decided to make her move on Snowball now. However, in Ginger's pea brain, she attached Dog half thinking he was getting Snowball.

Snowball is now like "**** You Ginger! I'll get you now!" and attacks Dog who is now a surrogate Ginger.

Back and forth, with Dog being the training dummy.

Cat's can be dumber than **** sometimes.

Nah I think you were right the first time. Cats are just evil. Your dog should learn quickly how to snap their necks.

once a cat gets wound up for the attack, they are like a coiled spring with tunnel vision.

stinky was all wound up one day at another cat through the screen, and I startled him.

still bear the scar...

no cat in it's right mind is going to attack a dog. (chihuahuas and other demented rat dogs excepted)

and I've seen the ferals hunt as a team, (not dogs, another cat) but never housecats...

Tunnel vision, and when properly wound up, they don't seem to feel pain like an ordinary cat.

there has to be a massive adrenaline rush of some sort.

a frenzy state...

I give dink lotso room when he starts to howl and his neck fur spreads out.

I don't mind hissing. One of the ferals I used to feed hissed at me every day. I finally decided it was more a conversation gambit than anything else.

we have a hisser, too.

she is the one that meets me as I come to the house. crossing my path back and forth, and hissing at me the whole time until the food hits the pan.

2 of the feral young'ns are still around this year. I think they are gonna make it...

My feral hissed at a point I figured out it meant he was happy, touch me.

That's what I meant, though Freeloader by no means wanted to be touched. By the way, Freeloader was the fastest running cat I ever saw. Sometimes I saw her strolling across the construction yard and would holler "HEY FREELOADER". She'd take about six running steps to get up to escape velocity and then shift to front legs, then hind legs, with the hind legs passing the front. Looked like a little grey rocking horse, but rocking horses don't through up dust gysers from each foot.

Two of our cats worked together in a co-ordinated way to kill snakes.

I have had a cat who loved beating the **** out of any dog who tried to chase her.

Seems as though the cats may have felt threatened or were establishing territory? Perhaps have been frightened by dogs? They don't have a way of knowing what a good guy your dog is.

I dont think you would react so much if it had been dogs attacking a cat in that way.....they commonly work together to kill animals.

I don't think the cats are any weirder than dogs who attack cats....we are just more used to it the other way. Also, dogs are far more likely to suddenly turn on humans and do real harm than cats. I think you're being pretty tough on a pair of cats who have decided they aren't going to take it any more!

Dogs are more likely to be fenced or leashed than cats, and it is problematic that the cats appear to be running loose. I hope you can find some owners and have a stern word to them.....attack cats are a worry!