Fighting cats :( HELP!!!

On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 11:08:19 -0700, Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

["Followup-To:" header set to rec.pets.cats.health+behav.] On 2005-01-14,
Margaret penned:

The US is a big place. Some areas have more traffic than others.

/snip/

Oscar is my first cat. Most of the cats I've known have been
indoor/outdoor, but I was living in an apartment near a lot of busy streets,
and frankly I was as worried about neighbor kids as I was about the cars.


Sounds like a wise choice, in your neighborhood.


I definitely think about whether it's unfair to keep Oscar indoors, but
she's been indoors since she was 8 weeks old, and also, her reflexes seem
pretty slow. I just don't think she'd adjust well to the outdoors at this
point.


I don't know how old she is, but if she's happy indoors, and your current
neighborhood is dangerous in some way, why rock the boat?


/snip/

We have coyotes, foxes, and mountain lions where I am, just to name a few.
I don't think the mountain lions would come into the suburban neighborhood
where I live, but I'd bet you'd find them within ten miles. All of our
recreational areas are actually mountain lion territory. When I first moved
to the area, I was astounded by the number of "lost cat" posters up ... and
unfortunately, it's pretty clear to me why there are so many =/


If there are a lot of posters up, that might indicate danger from
_something_, so the bottom line might be to keep your cat inside. Maybe the
local vets would know what the specific dangers are, if it matters. But in
other areas there is a lot of wildlife and few posters (and the local vets
don't think the wildlife is much danger).

If I had a cat I thought might be happier going outside sometimes, I'd begin
by asking the closest neighbors what their experience has been, etc. If they
indicated the immediate area was safe, I'd consider putting in a cat door so
she could make her choice whether to go out, and come back as soon as she
wished. I had a neighbor who did this with a previously indoor-only young
cat, and he put the cat door in a window about 6 feet above the ground, with
a little porch at that level and a ramp leading down. So she had a safe
place to sit and look from, to get used to the outdoor world, and eventually
decided to go down the ramp and check out the yard. (She now seems very
happy to go in and out but never goes far from his home.) But of course he
knew it was a safe area because some outdoor cats there had been safe for
years.


Margaret

I'm an idiot! This message should have said "In the mean time, spend
some time outdoors with your cat and discourage the cat, strongly and
repeatedly,
from going NEXT DOOR. It'll still happen, but it will happen less
frequently if the cat gets that you don't like it.

Apparently the relentless drumbeat of indoors/indoors/indoors just
corrupted my brain.

Gee wrote:
"KellyH" wrote in message
...

"Cat Protector" wrote in message
news:RnvFd.1910$sF5.1774@okepread06...

You specifically stated in your original post that you took your cat

over

to your neighbor's house to meet the other cat inside the home. Bad move
on your part and it will do little to solve the problem. Both you and

your

neighbor keeping the cats indoors will solve the problem and also be

safer

for the cats.


I'm guessing that Gee is from the UK. Things are different there and cats
are normally let in and out. Apparently they have much less traffic and
predatory wildlife.


Unfortunately yes, people do let the cats out here, but I am against
that,and mine 5 are indoor, with outdoor harness+leash only access . But we
do share the common hallway with other cats, and I need them to get on.

And no there is no much less traffic here.Trust me!


I know you lost a kitten to a traffic accident. Can I ask how old the
cat was when it was very sadly killed?

Personally I would not own a cat if I lived on a main road or in the
centre of a city. I have also not let my own kitten out yet( he will be
six months old on mon) for three reasons, I wanted him to be
microchipped and neutered first(which is happening next friday), and
also because my vet pointed out that cats are less cocky and playful the
older they get and therefore more likely to avoid cars when they are
kept in for longer. So his big day of freedom should occur next month!

It sounds from your previous posts that you excersise your cats a lot,
which is great. I am personally not against indoor cats as long as they
are excersised regularly, but do not honestly see the need to keep them
in, in this country. But then I personally would never keep a cat in a
busy area.

There are risks in everything we do, sometimes bad things happen, but
that is life, as long as you do your best to avoid any serious dangers
you are doing your best. If people keep their cats in, that is fine ,
if people let their cats out that is also fine as long as you are doing
the best thing for your cat and not for yourself.

--
Badger Badger Badger

Margaret wrote:
On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 14:12:47 GMT, Gee wrote:

/snip/


The OP asked for a help on how to deal with
neighbours cat, and apart from ONLY being told to keep the cat indoor,
nobody really helped her WITH the problem until my reply.



Personally, I'm cautious about giving specific advice when we're still just
guessing about what the problem really is, or how the OP will take things. I
asked the OP some questions but the OP hasn't replied. We don't know the sex
or age of the neighbor's cat, whether the OP's cat is going inside the
neighbor's house or where they are meeting, whether there are other cats in
the neighborhood that the OP's cat is not 'bullying', etc. Ftm, we don't
know whether the OP has other cats and what their relationship is.

Since the OP isn't replying to the thread, I'll follow your lead with some
specific ideas.

It seems likely that territory might be a factor in this somewhere, if not
the only factor. In warm weather a garden sprinkler-hose somewhere between
the houses might help. If the OP can arrange anything to make the OP's cat
have to go a long way round to get into the neighbor's yard, the cat might
decide to claim territory somewhere more convenient. It might be just a
matter of which of the OP's doors (or windows) the cat is let out through.

If weather doesn't permit the sprinkler hose, then some kind of netting
might be put above the fence (assuming there _is_ a fence), or some kind of
tall chicken wire fence might be erected temporarily. There are also 'cat
repellants' that might be used to keep her away from the boundary. All this
might be quite temporary, till she gets used to the shape of her new
territory.

The cat territory boundary doesn't have to coicide with the human property
line. Depending on how the houses and fences are laid out, it might be
easier to keep the cat on the far side of the OP's yard all the time. If
there is no cat next door on the far side, her territory might bulge out
that way.


Margaret
It would be nice to know from the OP whether they are able to talk to
the neighbour about this problem, how exactly the cat is bullying the
neighbours cat and on whose side of the fence. Also the sexes, ages and
what methods have already been used to discourage this bullying so that
we can actually give some valid advice. please?

--
Badger Badger Badger

"BC" wrote

I know you lost a kitten to a traffic accident. Can I ask how old the
cat was when it was very sadly killed?

Personally I would not own a cat if I lived on a main road or in the
centre of a city.

Bet you would, if you really love cats.

"Margaret" wrote in message


It seems likely that territory might be a factor in this somewhere, if not
the only factor.

yeah OPs cat has likely claimed his neighbours territory and is just trying
to warn the "intruder" off it

In warm weather a garden sprinkler-hose somewhere between
the houses might help.

Water is always a good solution

or some kind of tall chicken wire fence might be erected temporarily.

Im always in favor of cat fancies, especially for "indoor" cats. Excellent
idea.

There are also 'cat repellants' that might be used to keep her away from
the boundary.

True but dont forget that they will repeal both cats equaly.

The cat territory boundary doesn't have to coicide with the human property
line.

True. The way the boundaries seem to be for cats is that gardens belong to
a specific cat, and fancies are public roads Males tend to have 3 times
larger territory they cover everyday, then females.

"BC" wrote in message news:HQXFd.2797$Pp4.1198@newsfe6-

I know you lost a kitten to a traffic accident. Can I ask how old the
cat was when it was very sadly killed?

Thank you for remembering

Yes QT was tragically run over in front of my eyes 5 years ago. He was three
weeks before his 1st b-day. And I am in no way still over him He was just
the most amazing guy I 've ever met.Loosing him was the worse day of my life
and I have become nervous wrack worrying about the other 5 I have now
They are only allowed outside on harness and leash.

Personally I would not own a cat if I lived on a main road or in the
centre of a city.

Its acommon misconceptin Im afraid. Although admitingly traffic IS much
worse in London then on countryside, the cars tend to drive much faster
outside London. Some freinds moved to a countryside few years back from
London and took their outdoor cat with them.She was run over on a pretty
much deserted country road within a week. So the risk is always there Im
afraid, neither is safe.

I have also not let my own kitten out yet( he will be
six months old on mon) for three reasons, I wanted him to be
microchipped and neutered first(which is happening next friday), and
also because my vet pointed out that cats are less cocky and playful the
older they get and therefore more likely to avoid cars when they are
kept in for longer. So his big day of freedom should occur next month!

I spoke to a number of people whos cats got run over and it turned out most
of them were under 1 yrs old.So Id go with your vets suggestion, and if you
really really do want to let him out, dont do it till he has calmed down and
grown up a bit, so not before hes one.

Also do show him the territory, dont let him out cold turkey.Walk him aroudn
on leash and harness for a couple of weeks and just show hime where he can
go. Try and scare him when cars are coming, so he possibly associates them
with negative feelings and runs from them.

It sounds from your previous posts that you excersise your cats a lot,
which is great.

its not so much the excercise,as is that they are used to outdoors and I had
to teach them slowly to become indoors. Also inside the have 3 floors for
them (and one for me ) as I put the cat stairs on the walls and made
access to all the tops of the cupboards which cats love. I also have 3
scratching posts, and they are allowed to go anywhere they want.Finally
there is 5 of them so they always have company. Going out is really just a
special treat which they may or may not get every day.

I am personally not against indoor cats as long as they
are excersised regularly, but do not honestly see the need to keep them
in, in this country.

I felt the same til I lost my QT. And only when I lost him I realised
NOTHING was worth as much as him. Was the 2 months of him going out worth
his early death? Not in my opinion. He could've had much more fun to day
with us and his 5 brothers and sisters. Instead he's gone and taken a huge
chank of my heart with him

Sorry I haven't replied but my news server is causing me untold problems.

Our cat is going over onto their drive. Their cat is out quite a lot and
has been out all night on some occasions. It tends to go under their car
but ours goes straight after her. Last night I had to separate them, mine
had fur in her claws and a bloody nose!!

They are both females, ours is 8yrs old, she used to be able to come and go
as she pleased at the old house as we had a cat flap, we are intending to do
the same here. Her mother was feral, and from what I can remember of where
we used to be she had no fear of other cats in the main.

We have met next doors and they know we're onto it, but how long can one
tolerate ones cat being done in every day??

Ian
"Margaret" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 17:30:19 -0000, IFS wrote:

We've just moved, well end of Nov and our cat is constantly fighting, no
actually, she's bullying the cat next door. We thought it might have
stopped by now but she continues to go round there and give the other cat
a good clawing. I'm getting tho the stage where I don't want to let her
out as she is terrorising next doors cat.


Have you met the owners next door? It might be good for you to establish
friendly relations with them and let them know you're working on the
problem.

How much time did your cat spend outdoors at your old home? How large was
her territory there? This might be a temporary problem, till she learns
the
boundaries between her territory and the other cat's territory. But you
need
to avoid contact that might cause injury or stress to the other cat. You
might research ways of showing your cat the boundaries without involving
the
other cat.

Is the other cat always outside, or only at certain hours? Maybe you could
keep yours inside when theirs is out.


Margaret
--------------

"IFS" wrote in message
...
Sorry I haven't replied but my news server is causing me untold problems.

Our cat is going over onto their drive. Their cat is out quite a lot and
has been out all night on some occasions. It tends to go under their car
but ours goes straight after her. Last night I had to separate them, mine
had fur in her claws and a bloody nose!!

They are both females, ours is 8yrs old, she used to be able to come and
go as she pleased at the old house as we had a cat flap, we are intending
to do the same here. Her mother was feral, and from what I can remember
of where we used to be she had no fear of other cats in the main.

We have met next doors and they know we're onto it, but how long can one
tolerate ones cat being done in every day??

Much as I'm a person who, when it's safe, advocates letting cats come and
go, it sounds like yours just might have to be contained somehow.

On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 09:17:02 -0000, IFS wrote:

Sorry I haven't replied but my news server is causing me untold problems.

Our cat is going over onto their drive. Their cat is out quite a lot and
has been out all night on some occasions. It tends to go under their car
but ours goes straight after her. Last night I had to separate them, mine
had fur in her claws and a bloody nose!!

They are both females, ours is 8yrs old, she used to be able to come and
go
as she pleased at the old house as we had a cat flap, we are intending to
do
the same here.


Has she fought this much where you lived before? Does she fight other cats
in this new home?


Margaret