Stray cat attacking my cat

fartyarse

Hello boardsies

I am in desperate need of your help.

My family has a lovely cat we adore, a tom, we've had him for two years. A few days ago a scruffy stray showed up at my doorstep whining so I (arguably stupidly) fed him some cat food.

Now he won't feck off, he's literally at the patio door from dusk til dawn, whining like I've never heard before. We also noticed our own cat has made himself scarce and this evening I witnessed why. This new guy on the block attacked him when he tried to approach the door.

Here is a photo of the new guy, he's scruffy and dirty but affectionate. Any ideas what I can do? Our local shelter won't take him, they're full to the rafters!

Rancid

Sounds very much like he was being fed regularly and his source of food has dried up. Maybe people have moved out or moved away for Christmas?

If he's affectionate, he has definitely been someone's pet at some stage, but at a guess he's not been neutered and has been through his fair share of wars.

If he continues to hang around, getting him neutered will calm him down a lot.
I'm afraid I have no good short-term solution for you.

Looked again at your pic, is the tip of his left ear missing? Isn't that a sign that he HAS been neutered?

fartyarse

Rancid wrote: »

Sounds very much like he was being fed regularly and his source of food has dried up. Maybe people have moved out or moved away for Christmas?

If he's affectionate, he has definitely been someone's pet at some stage, but at a guess he's not been neutered and has been through his fair share of wars.

If he continues to hang around, getting him neutered will calm him down a lot.
I'm afraid I have no good short-term solution for you.

Looked again at your pic, is the tip of his left ear missing? Isn't that a sign that he HAS been neutered?

Every time someone opens the door he scrambles to come into the house so it would seem he was a house pet at some stage. It's sad. And yep the top of his ear is missing and i can honestly say I've never seen a dirtier cat! He does look like he's been through the wars.

But we have to put our own cat first. And right now our family doesn't have the funds to go neutering another cat.

I don't know what to do with him! I've tried to attach a video of him, it's literally what he does all day every day...

micar

maybe the cat does belong someone and is missing.

put the pic and details on this site


http://www.lostandfoundpets.ie/search/found/cat

zef

fartyarse wrote: »

Every time someone opens the door he scrambles to come into the house so it would seem he was a house pet at some stage. It's sad. And yep the top of his ear is missing and i can honestly say I've never seen a dirtier cat! He does look like he's been through the wars.

But we have to put our own cat first. And right now our family doesn't have the funds to go neutering another cat.

I don't know what to do with him! I've tried to attach a video of him, it's literally what he does all day every day...

Well according to your posting history you're in the market for a Louis Vuiton handbag, just bought a v expensive camera, etc.
Neutering a male cat is cheaper than a female.
Why not take him in, take a week or two for cats to become friends or at least tolerant of each other.

Pumpkinseeds

He may have gotten lost. It's not unusual for them to get stuck in the back of a van and end up a long way from home. If you have a spare room you could set him up with a litter tray in the spare room and slowly introduce him to your cat after a week or so. We've 4 cats and they didn't like each other for ages. Most shelters are full as they don't rehome cats until after Christmas. Are you sure he's not neutered? He's very hungry and if your cat is territorial as most cats are, he will fight to eat and survive.

Put up some posters with his poster locally and post them on the lost pets sights as well to give the best chance of finding his home. He could be from anywhere really or he could have been abandoned. I'd like to think if any of our cats was found somewhere that the finder would do all they could to help. Also, if someone does come forward claiming to be the owner make sure to ask for proof of ownership in case it's scum looking for bait for fighting dogs.

Cuddlesworth

Rancid wrote: »

Isn't that a sign that he HAS been neutered?

I thought so too. I'd assumed that did sort of huge cut to trap and release cats, rather than the tiny clip they take off the ear of normal cats.

jopax

Dont actually have any good advice for you on this. I just wanted to let u know I done something similar to you before.
I have two outdoor cats and never had any bother, a stray cat kept hanging around and of course i fed him.
What happened though was he started to bully my two cats and fight with them and frighten them away.
In the end I just fed my two cats inside and hunted the stray away.
I did feel bad for the stray but i like you felt my cats came first.
Anyway he did eventually go away when he didn't get fed.

fartyarse

zef wrote: »

Well according to your posting history you're in the market for a Louis Vuiton handbag, just bought a v expensive camera, etc.
Neutering a male cat is cheaper than a female.
Why not take him in, take a week or two for cats to become friends or at least tolerant of each other.

Thanks for displaying your detective skills but this is my daughter's account. She suggested I post on here when I told her the story about the cat.

fartyarse

jopax wrote: »

Dont actually have any good advice for you on this. I just wanted to let u know I done something similar to you before.
I have two outdoor cats and never had any bother, a stray cat kept hanging around and of course i fed him.
What happened though was he started to bully my two cats and fight with them and frighten them away.
In the end I just fed my two cats inside and hunted the stray away.
I did feel bad for the stray but i like you felt my cats came first.
Anyway he did eventually go away when he didn't get fed.

I would take our tom inside but he hates being indoors. It's a rotten situation and I can hear him meowing for my attention but he won't come near the house for fear of being attacked again.

fartyarse

micar wrote: »

maybe the cat does belong someone and is missing.

put the pic and details on this site


http://www.lostandfoundpets.ie/search/found/cat

Thanks a million, will do just that!

fartyarse

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

He may have gotten lost. It's not unusual for them to get stuck in the back of a van and end up a long way from home. If you have a spare room you could set him up with a litter tray in the spare room and slowly introduce him to your cat after a week or so. We've 4 cats and they didn't like each other for ages. Most shelters are full as they don't rehome cats until after Christmas. Are you sure he's not neutered? He's very hungry and if your cat is territorial as most cats are, he will fight to eat and survive.

Put up some posters with his poster locally and post them on the lost pets sights as well to give the best chance of finding his home. He could be from anywhere really or he could have been abandoned. I'd like to think if any of our cats was found somewhere that the finder would do all they could to help. Also, if someone does come forward claiming to be the owner make sure to ask for proof of ownership in case it's scum looking for bait for fighting dogs.

Great points and advice, thanks a million!

Beer Assistant

Maybe if you have some sort of squirt gun if he keeps returning to the door give him a squirt of water he will soon bugger off, just an idea.

fartyarse

Beer Assistant wrote: »

Maybe if you have some sort of squirt gun if he keeps returning to the door give him a squirt of water he will soon bugger off, just an idea.

That seems a bit cruel, no? But ultimately I do have to put my own cat first...

zef

Maybe your daughter could give you a few bob then?
I am pretty full here with 3 cats but have taken in foster cats that were roaming on occasion, rehired one to a fellow boardsie too. I see it as a civic duty, as an animal lover, to look out for any lost or straying cat. It was in the minuses last week, you say you can't get a place in rescue, why not take him in for the next few weeks till you can find him a forever home, although he might grow on you cos he's a sweet unusual looking guy.

zef

fartyarse wrote: »

That seems a bit cruel, no? But ultimately I do have to put my own cat first...

Yes it is cruel, to feed him and give him a bit of affection, then turning into the wicked witch the west with a squirt bottle. Poor cat that you'd even think that.

mada82

Zef who are you to try guilt the OP into keeping the cat?

Just because you would do it, it doesn't mean everyone else has to.

Very cheeky checking the OPs past posts too.

Most people would simply ignore the cat or keep chasing it. The fact the OP has come online looking for options is a good thing.

I have 3 cats myself and wouldn't be able to afford taking on a random stray if it arrived.

Teyla Emmagan

Bring him to your local vet, the vet can scan him to see if there's a chip. And he will put up a 'stray/lost cat' poster for you so he can be found if he's a family.

Poor fella looks like he's been in the wars.

DBB

Zef, almost all of your posts in this thread thus far have sailed very close to the wind in terms of being unduly uncivil towards other posters, and squeezing the OP at every turn to take this cat in when they have expressed that they need to prioritise their own cat's welfare, and rightly so. In addition, as has already been noted, bringing their posting history into it is a low blow indeed.
Given your disruptive posting, please do not post in this thread again, and please also reconsider your posting style before contributing to this forum again.
Thanks,
DBB

DBB

Beer Assistant wrote: »

Maybe if you have some sort of squirt gun if he keeps returning to the door give him a squirt of water he will soon bugger off, just an idea.

Advocating unpleasant, distressing, or cruel actions towards animals is not permitted in this forum. Please do not post in such a way again.
Do not reply to this post on-thread.
Thanks,
DBB

Beer Assistant

zef wrote: »

Yes it is cruel, to feed him and give him a bit of affection, then turning into the wicked witch the west with a squirt bottle. Poor cat that you'd even think that.

Ye squirting a bit of water is so cruel what was i thinking (sarcasm) Well isn't it better than giving the poor cat a kick up the backside.

DBB

Beer Assistant wrote: »

Ye squirting a bit of water is so cruel what was i thinking (sarcasm) Well isn't it better than giving the poor cat a kick up the backside.

Beer Assistant,
I have asked you to stop.
Now stop.
Do not post on this thread again.
Thanks,
DBB

fartyarse

Right I'm really at my wits end now, I saw this stray attacking my cat again this morning as my cat tried to approach his bowl of food. I can't keep this cat here. My neighbour suggested driving it off miles away and letting it out. I acknowledge it's a horrible thing to do but I am so desperate to have it gone before it seriously harms my own cat.

Capercaille

fartyarse wrote: »

Right I'm really at my wits end now, I saw this stray attacking my cat again this morning as my cat tried to approach his bowl of food. I can't keep this cat here. My neighbour suggested driving it off miles away and letting it out. I acknowledge it's a horrible thing to do but I am so desperate to have it gone before it seriously harms my own cat.

Driving the cat miles away and dumping it would not be a good choice. The cat won't know where to find food and will starve to death. You could bring it to vet and get it put down.

loveisdivine

fartyarse wrote: »

Right I'm really at my wits end now, I saw this stray attacking my cat again this morning as my cat tried to approach his bowl of food. I can't keep this cat here. My neighbour suggested driving it off miles away and letting it out. I acknowledge it's a horrible thing to do but I am so desperate to have it gone before it seriously harms my own cat.

That is honestly one of the cruelest things you could possibly do.

Whilst I would never advocate putting a healthy animal down, it would still be infinitely kinder than just dumping out in the middle of nowhere.

Whilst I agree that your cat has to come first, fights between animals often look a lot worse to us humans than they actually are.

In the short term, could you bring your cat in just to feed him? Then pop him back out again.

mada82

Can you not chase the stray away? Surely it would get the message after being chased a few times?

Zapperzy

What general area are you in? Someone might be able to pm you names of other rescues in your area to try. This close to Christmas a lot of rescues have ceased rehoming until January so a lot of them would be full up. There are some that may be able to help with neutering him/her if he isin't already done but without somewhere else to go he'd have to be returned.

Driving him away somewhere, while I appreciate your at your wits end, isin't a nice thing to do. He will be in an unfamiliar area, maybe in another colony of cat's turf and if there isin't a cat friendly kind person to feed him he won't know where to find food.

Ring around local vets, they can give you names of rescues and sometimes they know of people who may not be rescues as such but sometimes take in strays. Indeed iv known of some rural vets that if they have the kennel space have taken in strays in emergencys.

Day Lewin

A bit of important cat psychology:

if the Newcomer is entire - eg, has all his balls and testosterone - and yours, the local tenant, is neutered, then it is very likely that New Tom will bully the castrated one. This happens all the time; owners of cut males can report: their tame cat may be harassed by bigger, stronger Tomlier visitors to the garden, etc. Only if they are big-built themselves may the local ones hold their own.

Cats are quite territorial and females typically have just their own garden and surrounds. A whole Tom may roam far and wide and claim conjugal rights over any entire females he may find...and fight the others for her...and mercilessly bully any castrated males he may come across!

Neutered males are somewhere between the two. Some are assertive and some can be victimised. So you can see how this conflict looks from a feline point of view!!

It's a difficult one to deal with (since you did provide food) but you could try getting rid of the newcomer by making a loud noise every time you see it and throwing a small light missile such as a clothes peg in its direction. [keep a basket of them handy]
Or spreading the steps, door edges etc with the smell of the urine of a much larger animal - a big dog or even your own (sorry, no offense meant!) There is a thing called Lion Urine that might be worth looking into.

I think it will wander off in due course anyway, since it is either straying or deserting; but Toms can be right hoboes sometimes: it may just go home!

But DO NOT FEED it.

Pumpkinseeds

I have to agree with the others. If you aren't in a position to take the cat in yourself and you can't find any rescues to take him, the kindest thing to do is take him to the vet to be euthanised. Abandoning him in another area or not feeding him at all just means a slow painful death sentence for him.

mada82

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

I have to agree with the others. If you aren't in a position to take the cat in yourself and you can't find any rescues to take him, the kindest thing to do is take him to the vet to be euthanised. Abandoning him in another area or not feeding him at all just means a slow painful death sentence for him.

Someone might own him though?

Pumpkinseeds

mada82 wrote: »

Someone might own him though?

I totally agree with you and in an earlier post I suggested that the finder take the cat in and keep him in a spare room, doing slow introductions to their own cat. The problem is that the finder can't/won't do that. If the plan is to dump the cat somewhere then it has little to no chance of survival and in that case I think that euthanasia is kinder than forcing the cat to slowly and painfully starve to death. That's the only reason I would suggest euthanising a healthy animal.

Rancid

Is it really not possible to keep your OWN cat inside and feed him in the house?
If you could do that, at least in the short-term, then you could give the stray guy some food outside, ideally at the farthest point in the garden from your door.
Then in January get a cat trap and take him to a rescue, they might be less overcrowded by then.

In the meantime, you might get some response to your Missing Cat posters.
Or, his not-too-conscientious previous feeders might return and he'll go back to them.

VonVix

Aren't cats that have had the tip of the ear removed generally from Trap/Neuter/Release programs? That they are already strays who were perhaps being a nuisance rather than being owned by someone?

Day Lewin

I found this...
http://www.neighborhoodcats.org/how_to_eartipping

seems to be an American article but it may be done here too.
That does indeed imply that your stray is a neuter...

in which case you can either:
Keep him and acclimatise the two together
Re-home (difficult)
Get euthanased - up to you!
OR release into the wild again: he probably won't starve - he is resourceful and resilient as he has already proved; but adding to a population of feral cats is not responsible either.

Tricky one to think out! Can you let us know what you decided??

Pumpkinseeds

VonVix wrote: »

Aren't cats that have had the tip of the ear removed generally from Trap/Neuter/Release programs? That they are already strays who were perhaps being a nuisance rather than being owned by someone?

This cat isn't feral. Feral cats are terrified of humans and wouldn't try to get in the house, they'd run as soon as they saw a human. TNR programmes release cats back to an area where there are carers to feed them and this cat isn't that kind of cat. It's either lost or abandoned and is looking for food and shelter.

tk123

That cat imo hasn't has it's ear clipped from being TNR it looks more like it was in a fight and tore it's ear. There was TNR ferrels where I used to work and it was a clean/straight cut. OP can you catch the cat and take it to a vet to be scanned - if it was my local vets they'd take the cat in.

fartyarse

Thanks for all the replies. Food for thought.

My own cat is basically no longer a Tom cat, he has had most of his manhood removed. He's very docile and friendly and a small chap, especially compared to this new guy,

This new guy's ear seems to be split as opposed to cleanly cut, almost definitely the result of a scrap.


Taking either cat inside is not an option, for one thing my tom hates being indoors and for another I have my young grandchild staying with me for the next few days.

I caught a glimpse of my own cat today and he seems to have a bleeding face, I can only assume the new guy has given him a seeing to.

Tried to feed my chap today and the new guy literally chased him away from it and ate the food himself. I've tried chasing him and he literally isn't one bit scared. This situation is literally breaking my heart!!

I'm living in the Wicklow/Carlow/Kildare area.

boomerang

Feckit OP I'm really trying to come up with a solution here, I feel sorry for your poor cat and it's hard not to resent the bully boy. Neutering the marauding tom would stop the bullying but you need a more short-term solution than that.

fartyarse

boomerang wrote: »

Feckit OP I'm really trying to come up with a solution here, I feel sorry for your poor cat and it's hard not to resent the bully boy. Neutering the marauding tom would stop the bullying but you need a more short-term solution than that.

Heard another scrap between the two tonight underneath my car, my tom is obviously trying to get back to HIS doorstep and the new guy is having none of it. I literally hate this imposter for what he's doing to my cat. I know it's all about animal instinct and the fight for survival but it's so unfair.

I'm thinking of just taking the new guy to a shelter tomorrow and begging them to take him. I cannot have him here any longer. He will kill my cat if I don't do something.

Capercaille

fartyarse wrote: »

Heard another scrap between the two tonight underneath my car, my tom is obviously trying to get back to HIS doorstep and the new guy is having none of it. I literally hate this imposter for what he's doing to my cat. I know it's all about animal instinct and the fight for survival but it's so unfair.

I'm thinking of just taking the new guy to a shelter tomorrow and begging them to take him. I cannot have him here any longer. He will kill my cat if I don't do something.

That stray could have FIV/FeLv. He looks fairly ill/unhealthy. By fighting those diseases could be spread to your cat via blood.

fartyarse

For those who asked for the outcome, my son managed to find a new owner for the cat so he went off to his new home today and my Tom is back sitting on his doorstep, chowing down some ham, proud as punch to be home.

Thanks for all the helpful advice!

fartyarse

You are NOT going to believe this but I heard my cat screeching so I looked outside the door. At first glance I thought it was the same cat back again but it's just a similar one. Another cat is trying to invade my Tom's territory and has scrapped with him.

Is there something I'm doing wrong that they seem to be attracted to my house?!

boomerang

Are you feeding your cat outside?

fartyarse

boomerang wrote: »

Are you feeding your cat outside?

Yep and he chomps it down the minute it hits his dish in the mornings!