It really bothers me that so many responses here involve killing any and every cat that presents a risk, or even walks into the wrong place.
If a really aggressive dachshund was tearing into a cat, looking crazy and out of control, would you take a shotgun after the dachshund, or start taking bets on who would win?
Come on people, these things are pets. Most of the "feral" cats you see are just free range pets or pets that are turned loose every few hours. In most areas, it is not a crime to let a cat roam, and just like killing a dog, shooting someone's cat will result in a jail sentence.
I'd like to point something out. It threw itself to the ground and pretended to play dead? You really missed on that one. that is how a cat fights. a dog has strong teeth and powerful jaws, a cats teeth are for killing small animals and rodents. they fight with their claws. watch a cat fight, it slaps with claws at the face. When a cat is really serious and confident, it rolls to its back and dares his opponent to strike at the vulnerable spot. When it is attacked, it grabs with front claws and bites, holding on while those hind feet, which are truly powerful, beat at the opponent's belly. The can do it with closed claws,imagine someone hammering at a soft spot on your body. They can also use the claws, imagine being disemboweled with fish hooks.
Don't any of you keep mace on hand?
Think about this. If you encountered a free roaming Shi Tzu that was going after a cat, would you kill the Shi Tzu?
Usually, the dog initiates the fight. In fact, since the beginning of the fight wasn't witnessed, why are we saying that a cat attacked a dog three times it's size and must have been rabid?