How to get rid of an unwanted cat.

Mal-Adjusted

We've been having issues with a neighbour's cat for the last few weeks. She's pretty mangy and he doesn't treat her well at all. We felt sorry for her and fed her a few times down at the bordering field but now she's trying to take over and actively attempting to drive away our own cats (a pampered little tabby and her equally pampered 9 month old kittens). She does (or at least did) have her own kittens in the neighbour's hay-barn. Talking to the neighbour isn't really an option. If it wasn't for the fact she was chasing our own cats away, we'd be fine.
Any suggestions on how to either get her to stop or failing that, keeping her away?

Graces7

Mal-Adjusted wrote: »

We've been having issues with a neighbour's cat for the last few weeks. She's pretty mangy and he doesn't treat her well at all. We felt sorry for her and fed her a few times down at the bordering field but now she's trying to take over and actively attempting to drive away our own cats (a pampered little tabby and her equally pampered 9 month old kittens). She does (or at least did) have her own kittens in the neighbour's hay-barn. Talking to the neighbour isn't really an option. If it wasn't for the fact she was chasing our own cats away, we'd be fine.
Any suggestions on how to either get her to stop or failing that, keeping her away?

Cats are fiercely territorial and she has wisely adopted you for your kindness.

Can you feed her earlier /separately? Set her a slightly different territory? Or feed yours inside? I have an aggressive tom here in the same situation.

and feed your cats inside?

dixiefly

Graces7 wrote: »

Cats are fiercely territorial and she has wisely adopted you for your kindness.

Can you feed her earlier /separately? Set her a slightly different territory? Or feed yours inside? I have an aggressive tom here in the same situation.

and feed your cats inside?

I agree that the cat probably adopted the OP through kindness. But it would be a significant enough imposition on the OP to try and introduce a new regime of feeding and also to so that for a cat that is not their own.

Feeding in the OP’s own cats inside is probably the best thing to do and (maybe) give some food to the other cat at the boundary furthest away from their own cats is a possibility. So difficult to do much when you have a neighbor that you cant deal with on it.

Igotadose

Keep your cats inside, whatever you do. There's no upside to letting them out.
Please be sure to find homes for her kittens as well, and spay/neuter them before adopting them out, there's way too many unwanted cats out there.

If you keep your cats inside, you can make it inhospitable for the visiting cat and eventually it'll go away. Spray, noises, etc.

I have 2 cats of my own but regularly enough feed 2/3 other “visitors”. Two of these “visitors “ have homes of their own but seem to prefer mine . The other guy is a mangy Tom who I give food to at times but he can disappear for months.

I live in a housing development and have a decent garden with a wall and lots of shrubby bushes so there’s room for hiding and sleeping . The visiting cats seem to respect the boundaries and understand my cats live here ! They generally get fed maybe 3 times a week if they show up then disappear.

I don’t feed the visitors near my own cats but have come home from work at times and found them all sleeping outside the back door ! They seem to develop a pecking order naturally and know who’s ‘top cat’ but I would be more concerned with kittens.

StillThinking

People won't like this but if you really want to keep him away every time you see him throw a pint of water on him. I've lost a pure pet of a cat because I fed a stray who decided that this was his turf now and my cat wasn't wanted.

bobbyss

Graces7 wrote:

Cats are fiercely territorial and she has wisely adopted you for your kindness.

But don't they just take off sometimes and leave and not come back? I thought this was the case?

Graces7

bobbyss wrote: »

But don't they just take off sometimes and leave and not come back? I thought this was the case?

Never had that happen . Has anyone else?

Graces7

Igotadose wrote: »

Keep your cats inside, whatever you do. There's no upside to letting them out.
Please be sure to find homes for her kittens as well, and spay/neuter them before adopting them out, there's way too many unwanted cats out there.

If you keep your cats inside, you can make it inhospitable for the visiting cat and eventually it'll go away. Spray, noises, etc.

No way would I keep my cats in. I did it for years in town settings then released them and they are far happier and healthier when out.

also they are working cats; without them we would be overrun with rodents as we were when i was first here.

I have a visiting tom who gets aggressive; he used to live here years ago. since I started talking to him and greeting him, the aggression has stopped. He is lonely but his owner refuses to get him fixed etc so as with ferals i befriend as much as I can.
I would never spray him; was sorely tempted way back , but gentler ways are working better.

agree totally re spaying; you beat me to that!

Igotadose

Graces7 wrote: »

Never had that happen . Has anyone else?

Usually something bad has befallen the cat. Another reason to keep them in

Igotadose

Graces7 wrote: »

No way would I keep my cats in. I did it for years in town settings then released them and they are far happier and healthier when out.

also they are working cats; without them we would be overrun with rodents as we were when i was first here.

I have a visiting tom who gets aggressive; he used to live here years ago. since I started talking to him and greeting him, the aggression has stopped. He is lonely but his owner refuses to get him fixed etc so as with ferals i befriend as much as I can.
I would never spray him; was sorely tempted way back , but gentler ways are working better.

agree totally re spaying; you beat me to that!

"Cats who are kept indoors can reach the ripe old age of 17 or more years, whereas outdoor cats live an average of just two to five years. Another reason for indoor cats' longevity is that it's easier for their owners to identify health problems early, before they become life threatening."

https://pets.webmd.com/cats/features/should-you-have-an-indoor-cat-or-an-outdoor-cat#1

Happier is a matter of opinion. I'm happier if my cat's there for me. The cat *may* be happier outside - but it's getting into mischief, depopulating birds, eating endangered rodents, lizards and amphibians and causing stress to other cats.

And when it comes to pet ownership, my opinion matters way more than the cat's opinion.

Graces7

Igotadose wrote: »

"Cats who are kept indoors can reach the ripe old age of 17 or more years, whereas outdoor cats live an average of just two to five years. Another reason for indoor cats' longevity is that it's easier for their owners to identify health problems early, before they become life threatening."

[u
My 15 year old cat is sitting on my bed, jaw agape...has been in and out all his life,, all my five are indoor/outdoor as they choose. Healthy, working cats else we would be overrun with rats... and all well cared for and monitored

That report is clearly referring to ??farm cats?? not allowed inside...

:eek:

The very idea!

Graces7

StillThinking wrote: »

People won't like this but if you really want to keep him away every time you see him throw a pint of water on him. I've lost a pure pet of a cat because I fed a stray who decided that this was his turf now and my cat wasn't wanted.

sorry for your loss, but
a dreadful thing to do to a cat frankly.

Graces7

Mal-Adjusted wrote: »

We've been having issues with a neighbour's cat for the last few weeks. She's pretty mangy and he doesn't treat her well at all. We felt sorry for her and fed her a few times down at the bordering field but now she's trying to take over and actively attempting to drive away our own cats (a pampered little tabby and her equally pampered 9 month old kittens). She does (or at least did) have her own kittens in the neighbour's hay-barn. Talking to the neighbour isn't really an option. If it wasn't for the fact she was chasing our own cats away, we'd be fine.
Any suggestions on how to either get her to stop or failing that, keeping her away?

Thinking back to when I was caring for a feral; he was fed outside and my cats are always fed inside. Food is at the centre of this issue Better still stop feeding the stray and just feed your car inside? That will remove the attraction for the stray.

pablo128

Graces7 wrote: »

sorry for your loss, but
a dreadful thing to do to a cat frankly.

I would have thought it was a humane way of getting rid of a cat? It's only water. It won't harm the cat.

A good water pistol or 'super soaker' is what I've been told works well

cruais

Igotadose wrote: »

"Cats who are kept indoors can reach the ripe old age of 17 or more years, whereas outdoor cats live an average of just two to five years. Another reason for indoor cats' longevity is that it's easier for their owners to identify health problems early, before they become life threatening."

https://pets.webmd.com/cats/features/should-you-have-an-indoor-cat-or-an-outdoor-cat#1


.

Our cat passed away just before Christmas at the ripe old age of 20.

She was an outdoor cat who limited herself to both my neighbours and our garden and was always in every night.

She would cry to get outside if we had her in for a long time during the day.

Miss her every day x

Igotadose

Igotadose wrote: »

"Cats who are kept indoors can reach the ripe old age of 17 or more years, whereas outdoor cats live an average of just two to five years. Another reason for indoor cats' longevity is that it's easier for their owners to identify health problems early, before they become life threatening."

https://pets.webmd.com/cats/features/should-you-have-an-indoor-cat-or-an-outdoor-cat#1

Happier is a matter of opinion. I'm happier if my cat's there for me. The cat *may* be happier outside - but it's getting into mischief, depopulating birds, eating endangered rodents, lizards and amphibians and causing stress to other cats.

And when it comes to pet ownership, my opinion matters way more than the cat's opinion.

I have to strongly disagree on this.
I’ve always had cats, and my parents did when we were kids. Our cats as kids, and my cats now have always been allowed come inside and go outside whenever they want . In summer they are out more and may stay out for days in the garden..... in winter they are ingenious at finding indoor hiding places just as I’m heading to work in the hope they get to stay in all day long.

My last cat lived to 21 , my current two cats are 18 and 9 , both extremely healthy and happy . I’m couldn’t have cats if I had to keep them inside . They’re born to be inquisitive and explore. One has never hunted anything , the younger one catches mice ,when she’s bothered to, mostly in Autumn. Being outdoors keeps them healthier I think and keeps their weight down too. In winter they choose to stay mostly inside and that’s fine, they love when I light the wood stove.

I’ve lived both in country houses surrounded by fields and in developments. Both my current cats have moved house 4 times ! As long as I’m around they settle...... but this house is for keeps !

Back on point if I ever have a troublesome cat hanging around spraying or giving my cats trouble loud banging of saucepan lids and shooing seems to frighten them off. But most of my “visitors” are well behaved!

Igotadose

Anecdotes are not data. I've lived with a cat that went in and out that lived to be at least 25, though it became exclusively indoor for the last 6 or so years of its life.

I've lived with same that lived to be 6 years old that were indoor/outdoor and got sick from something outside.
These were in urban and suburban areas.

I don't think webmd's making up the life expectancy data, though. Indoor only cats live longer. Plus they *are* a big impact on native wildlife, there really aren't plenty of birds, or reptiles/amphibians out there to feed to kitty who is going to go home to a bowl of kibble and a warm bed.

Spanish Eyes

Had a cat from who knows where coming up to the kitchen door every single day. Mewing to get in.

I would not be cruel or anything like that, but just shoo'd the blighter off, not my problem. And refused to feed it anything.

Went on for a week or two. Ignored the cat, s/he obviously found somewhere else to beg.

Cat owners take note. They are YOUR cats, and they are a blight on many people with their roaming and shi tting and killing our lovely birds.

Cannot see what the attraction of a roaming outdoor cat is to be honest.

Probably a ban coming my way for saying this. But whatever.

StillThinking

Graces7 wrote:

sorry for your loss, but a dreadful thing to do to a cat frankly.

It's a lot better than physical harm, cat will dry off

Graces7

StillThinking wrote: »

It's a lot better than physical harm, cat will dry off

The fact you think it deters cats says it all. It is a shock. That damages. And not necessary. It IS physical harm.

pawrick

One option is to take on board your neighbours cat and keep it in part of the day alternating with your own cats and preventing altercations (if you have the space to do so). Don't keep them in the same space though as the scent may cause issues if your own cats are nervous as it is.

We have done this with our neighbours cat for similar reasons and also had him neutered.

Graces7

pawrick wrote: »

One option is to take on board your neighbours cat and keep it in part of the day alternating with your own cats and preventing altercations (if you have the space to do so). Don't keep them in the same space though as the scent may cause issues if your own cats are nervous as it is.

We have done this with our neighbours cat for similar reasons and also had him neutered.

perfect solution.

I have an unwanted cat here! He used to live here at one time and then the place was empty years after the death of his owner and someone took him "in" ( ie out) he gets fed but that is all.

Being fiercely territorial there was a lot of aggro and I still cannot leave windows open as he is still a tom (Stinkertom is his name now!)

If i lived on the mainland he would be fixed but the ferryman would play pot, so now I am trying to befriend him. When he starts howling I talk to him and he stops; he never gets any indoor time where he " lives" so is lonely. Cannot get near him yet. I will..

pablo128

Graces7 wrote: »

The fact you think it deters cats says it all. It is a shock. That damages. And not necessary. It IS physical harm.

God love the poor things when it starts raining so.

Graces7

pablo128 wrote: »

God love the poor things when it starts raining so.

:rolleyes:

auspicious

OP catch it and get it spayed
She'll be calmer and more relaxed without hormones.

davidk1394

When you say “get rid” of.. do you mean Al Pacino way or Julie Andrews ?

Mal-Adjusted

Just an update. There were various reasons co-living wasn't an option (our own cats go in and out several times a day) but it's a moot point now. On Sunday, one of the kittens went missing nearly all day. She eventually came back home but was limping badly. We took her to the vet who said it looked like a bite and specifically asked if there were any other cats around. Our own tend to get on (or at least give each other space when they don't) and never fight. We think it could have been the stray as i saw her out the window earlier stalking and chasing two of the others. I can't be definite but it's likely. We eventually confronted the "owner" and convinced him to let us bring her to a sanctuary. we brought her for a check up first and the vet told us that she had what was basically cat A.I.D.S and as she was so old the humane thing was to put her down.

We still have to check the kitten who was bitten to see if she contracted anything but otherwise that's basically the end of the story. I still feel pretty bad that it ended like this but i suppose it's better than letting her suffer. Just a lesson to always take care of (and spay) your cats!

Graces7

Mal-Adjusted wrote: »

Just an update. There were various reasons co-living wasn't an option (our own cats go in and out several times a day) but it's a moot point now. On Sunday, one of the kittens went missing nearly all day. She eventually came back home but was limping badly. We took her to the vet who said it looked like a bite and specifically asked if there were any other cats around. Our own tend to get on (or at least give each other space when they don't) and never fight. We think it could have been the stray as i saw her out the window earlier stalking and chasing two of the others. I can't be definite but it's likely. We eventually confronted the "owner" and convinced him to let us bring her to a sanctuary. we brought her for a check up first and the vet told us that she had what was basically cat A.I.D.S and as she was so old the humane thing was to put her down.

We still have to check the kitten who was bitten to see if she contracted anything but otherwise that's basically the end of the story. I still feel pretty bad that it ended like this but i suppose it's better than letting her suffer. Just a lesson to always take care of (and spay) your cats!

Thank you for this caring. Yes feline aids is a scourge; you can now get vaccines. I hope the kitten stays free of it.

Please do not feel guilty; the fault is with the owner and I cam imagine how hard it was to confront them. You did absolutely right.

Bless you!

auspicious

I have never yet to find a cat with feline aids here in the midlands. It is mostly flu or gingivitis. Flu is deadly and gingivitis is just punishing.
I wonder if aids is more prevalent in parts of the country and is it spreading?

( Cat bites can carry pathogens.)

Graces7

auspicious wrote: »

I have never yet to find a cat with feline aids here in the midlands. It is mostly flu or gingivitis. Flu is deadly and gingivitis is just punishing.
I wonder if aids is more prevalent in parts of the country and is it spreading?

( Cat bites can carry pathogens.)

Feline aids was rife both in Cornwall and on the North Isle i lived on. The latter has cat neglect to a fine art being deeply rural and the cats inbred; cats seen as little more than vermin as they do not make a profit. Understandable given the dire poverty there was there in times past but... when I SOLD a Siamese kitten there was total shock.. " THAT PRICE! FOR A KITTEN!!!"

In Leitrim the colony of ferals nearby took ill;one wee girl came in through the bathroom window to die in peace. I barrier-
nursed her lovlngly but never ever let my cats near. Could well have been FAIDS. As long as folk refuse to spay and neuter this is going to spread.

On the island a vet on holiday got pressed into neutering as many cats as they could round up, in a garden shed!

Cat bites are potentially very dangerous. always seek medical help and antibiotics if skin is pierced.