The big forest cat Simon almost never gave way to dogs

The last year marked Simon's strength diminishing (proven by his weight on the scale going down from 8.5 kilo to 5.7 kilo). Before then, but also to a great deal after, Simon was calm about cats, and also calm about dogs. This with the exception of Simon running for a Schaefer. Simon, being a calm white Norwegian forest cat, did not even bother to ruffle up when meeting a dog. He some times stretched and raised himself a bit when a big dog was within 2 meters, but not even enough to call it arching his back. Many times, he just sat, or lay down, with dogs close by.

Simon was once attacked by a dog on the sidewalk

One day when I came home from work, Simon greeted me as he always did. He came up to the car, on its right side on the sidewalk. He always did that when I came home, went out and met me next to the car on the sidewalk. I went to the back of the car to fetch my computer bag as I always did when coming from work. Then I saw the big dog running. Our neighbor had a very big black Labrador. And the dog had seen Simon, and the dog had forgotten the rules of not crossing the street. Thus I saw this big dog, rushing towards my cat Simon. In full speed and only with one target in mind, the white Norwegian forest cat.

We should not blame the dog too much, Simon used to walk in and through the dogs garden. Thus, the dog was frustrated and mad on the cat. The dog thought this was the time to get the cat to understand to stay away from the dog. Anyway, the big dog was running towards my cat Simon in an attack. I got afraid the dog would hurt the cat. So I rushed forward on the sidewalk side of the car where the cat was. I throw my arms in the air, and shouted "STOP", "STOP". The dog managed to stop his full speed forward attack by ceasing to run and slided to a screeching stop on his hind legs, less than two meters from Simon.

Simon did not even ruffle up during the attack

At that time I noticed Simon still sitting on the sidewalk. During the whole assault, the cat had not backed a step. In fact, the white forest cat had not even ruffled up. He was just sitting and waiting for the time to come to have to beat the attacking dog. Now, instead the big dog braked to a stop, and turned, and started to walk back. To my surprise my Norwegian forest cat then stood himself up and started to walk after the dog. As usual with Simon, not running, only walking. But true to his spirit, walking towards the dog to tell it off from his street. I got totally perplex, this very huge dog had just rushed in to attack my cat, and Simon never budged a millimeter. Obviously, unlike me, the cat did not even consider himself in danger. As soon as the attack from the dog was off, the cat was on the offense. Not in a rushed attack, only in a simple walk forward to remind the dog of not crossing the street. Luckily, with my cat walking instead of running, I had the time to bend down and pick my cat up from the street. Simon calmly allowed himself to be carried (why not, he was not seeing himself in any danger) and we went inside.

My cat owned the sidewalk around our house, but allowed passage on the other side of the street

Another time, me and my cat Simon were on the sidewalk, I was petting Simon, who was lying on the sidewalk, enjoying being petted. He loved being petted in the pebble of the sidewalk. He enjoyed the combination of being petted and laying on his back, rubbing himself in the pebble from the sidewalk. Suddenly I saw one of these big rescue dogs that used to be drawn as carrying a whiskey jar or similar to people in mountains. It was a Saint Bernard. It was not leashed. The dog owner saw me and the cat and said as dog owners may think, having the biggest animal "do not be afraid, he normally does not attack cats". I only had time to tell her "I cannot say the same thing of my cat as long as your dog is on his sidewalk". When the cat heard her, he had spotted the dog. So he had risen up. My cat was about two meters from an unleashed big Saint Bernard. This only seemed to trigger one thought in his mind "the dog is on my sidewalk". So he started walking towards the dog. Very typical Simon, walking, not ruffling up, not running, not hissing, just walking to block the way. I told the dog owner, my cat would not do anything if she took her dog to the sidewalk on the other side. But also that the Norwegian forest cat would not let the dog pass on this sidewalk. Rather than wait to see, she took the dog to the other sidewalk, and as expected, Simon stayed on his sidewalk, watching the dog leave. The cat did not show any aggression, only stood in the way preventing the dog to pass on the cat's turf.

My cat once blocked two dogs at same time from passing on the sidewalk

Once I was working from home, and heard a lot of barking outside. I went outside, and saw on the sidewalk a girl with two leashed dogs, Labradors, fairly big. In front of them was my white cat Simon sitting. Sitting. In front of two angry Labradors barking at him, both of them within a half meter. Even at that close distance, he was sitting, not standing, and not the least bit ruffled up either. I asked the girl with the dogs what had happened. She told me Simon had stepped out through the fence in front of the dogs. The dogs had continued towards him. Then he had scratched one of them on the nose when it got to close. Now my big white cat just sat there in front of the two Labradors, and did not move. He was simply waiting for them to select another route, not using his sidewalk. I told the girl the same story as always. "My cat considers the sidewalk part of his house. He will not let the dogs pass here, but if you take the sidewalk on the other side of the street, he will not touch them". She was amazed on both the behavior of the cat, as well as the idea of taking another sidewalk, but she did. An Simon just sat there and watched them leave.

There were a lot more similar happenings that went on, some I do only know from the wounds Simon got. My neighbors has told of the same thing, with the cat assuring the dogs stayed on the other side of the street while walking by. I have gotten same stories from dog owners themselves. One dog owner, having a terrier, told me once that he did not keep his dog in a leash except when passing our block. When I was speaking with him, Simon was lying on top of our fence post, which is not more than a meter high. Beneath him was the leashed terrier barking and trying to get to jump for the cat. The dog could not reach the cat due to the leash held by the dog owner. Simon did not even rise. He laid there on his fence post, studying the dog calmly, even when it jumped. He was absolutely sure that if the dog would get close enough to bite, he could handle him without problem.

When my cat was attacked by two dogs at the same time he did have to defend himself more viciously

Once, it did go a bit bad. There was a dog owner with two terriers, who according to what neighbors told me allowed the dogs to hunt after cats. I was doing some woodworking in my garage, when outside there was a lot of noise. It started with dogs barking. The sound was just outside my garage which is well inside my garden. It sounded like the dogs where just at the garage door. It did not sound like the dogs were on the sidewalk. Often, when I was in the garage, my cat would rest in the grass just outside the doors. The barking went on for a couple of seconds. Then it got quiet for a few seconds, and then I heard a lady screaming in high pitched tone "NO, GO AWAY, GO AWAY", and then dogs screaming. Later that day, the neighbors with the dogs approached me and wanted me to pay the medical bill for the dogs. The dogs had gone for the cat (I believe inside my garden), and when attacked by two dogs at the same time, my cat had to defend himself, not just block the dogs from moving further on. Specially this kind of dogs, who are used for hunting. So that time, the cat went from just being blocking, to actually fighting. When a cat is in pressure in a fight with a dog, he goes for the eyes. So one of the dogs had to have medical attention, his eyes where scratched.

I told the neighbours that I did not see this as my cats fault. If dogs are allowed to get leash enough to attack a cat in his own garden, it is the fault of the dog owner. However, I did neither want this to become a bad situation. In Sweden, the dog owner is forced to have his dog under control, so formally, what happened was the dog owners fault. And unlike what I heard about those dogs, my cat was not known for attacking dogs, it was known to calmly protecting his turf. Anyway, my bid was that I pay half, and they pay half, thereby both parties agreeing some guilt into this. I said that if we do not agree on shared guilt, then I go the opposite way and claim it is their fault only. It ended with us splitting the cost 50-50.