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I would appreciate any advice from people that have dealt with this issue..anything except making my cats indoor-only. I am living in a house with a large yard at the end of a cul-de-sac only so they can have a chance to play outside, so please know they are loved and that I care about their welfare a lot, even if you disagree about the inside/outside issue.
The problem is a cat that lives within a block of me (I haven't figured out where) that regularly chases my cats even in my own yard. That isn't the end of the world but he crossed a line with me this week because he beat up my small female cat for the second time in a year and and gave her a big gash next to her eye. She is now terrified to go outside and hides under my bed even when I am home with her.
A similar thing happened at another place I rented where a cat came inside my apartment through the cat door and beat up my cats. Luckily I was able to close the door behind him one day and scared the living daylights out of him by screaming at him at the top of my lungs. I swear I didn't touch a single whisker! After a minute he started to yowl in fear so I opened the door and he shot out and never came in again. But the cat causing the problem now beats up my cats at the top of a the behind my house, not inside.
One solution I have thought of is to make or rent a trap to catch him but if I scream and yell, he'll be terrified of me but I don't think it'll stop him from going after my cats. I don't know how to make him afraid of my cats? Should I spray him with urine from my cats?
Taking him to the pound or dumping him somewhere is not an option because even though he makes me mad, I know he is only being a cat.
I even thought of buying a marshmallow gun but I can't walk around with a 2 foot plastic gun on me at all times! and even if I were to sit at the top of the hill in this miserable heat for hours I don't think he'd try anything if he saw me and I'm not willing to sit under a pile of leaves for hours!
I need to borrow a big cat to beat him up and warn him to stay away or he'll get his kneecaps broken!
We had an old cat that we'd had for 14 years and the poor thing had a major stroke and could only walk in circles after that. There was this jerk wild cat that used to jump over our 7-foot fence and come into our yard to beat up on our poor old cat. Our cat stayed in his own yard because he couldn't even jump a fence to save his life.
Anyway, how we stopped this jerk wild cat was we turned the hose on him. Our cat turned in about 5 or 6 circles and split for inside the house. Then we closed the sliding glass door and it was hose time for the jerk wild cat.
Now, to understand more how this works, you need a special kind of "hose" ... it's called a "power wash unit" and it sprays high powered water through it. That cat felt like a hurricane had descended on his unlucky a$$ and that was the last we EVER saw him.
About 3 months after that, we had to have poor old Porky put to sleep. (Our cats name was Porky because he ate like a pig )
If all else fails -- get a little poodle. The small dog will love your cats (ours did) and the dog will chase away the strays.
Good ideas, Leaving.Illinois. The hose will work great. I have one of those old-fashioned brass adjustable nozzles on mine, and it'll run anything off.
Thanks Leaving.Illinois! I love that idea and the fact that you got the jerk cat Sorry your cat passed away
The problem with my yard is that its mostly a long, steep hill full of bushes and trees and there is no fence on one side so unless he comes all the way down, I wont have much chance. Still, I'll be sure to have a hose ready for him if he does!
I have a feeling that a trap is my only hope but there are also a lot of raccoons, possums and skunks that walk through my yard. A friend told me its a BIG PROBLEM if you catch a skunk. I think he meant they'll bite but I haven't had a chance to ask him yet.
Wonder if I raise the trap 4 feet? Then there is still the problem of making him afraid of my cats. Why is there no cat whisperer on TV?
Does anyone know can I put marshmallows in a BB gun?
lol, I assume the advice would be to kill the cat?? I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I did that.
So when would the skunk release its smell? when I approach the trap cage to open the door? or as soon as it realizes it is trapped? I haven't seen the trap yet but if I could open the door with a rope from far away would that solve the problem?
Damn, I just realized if he stinks up the trap I'll never get the cat to go in ..
Some tales and thoughts:
When my "Weasie" was a year old, people with a 20-something-year-old cat moved in on our street. The cat was a grouchy codger who mainly was content with sunning in one spot for hours at a time - until another feline happened along, when he'd cuss at the arrival and attack her/him. Weeze and the female cat named "Ed" owned by other neighbors were amongst those terrorized by him. One summer morning, I had to hold my sides when I saw that Weasie and a buddy of hers had staked a claim in front of the bully cat's house. They sat, tails a-twitching, eagerly awaiting their nemesis' emergence: "What'cha gon' do now, foo', two against one, it's on, we gon' whup yo' azz" you could totally imagine their silently communicating. As luck would have it, their foe never appeared, for his guardians were short-term renters and had boarded him while they moved house that week. Maybe it will occur to the TO's cats that they, too, can find strength in numbers and vanquish the oppressor.
More recently, a long-haired white cat with a tail like an ink quill appeared on the scene in 2007. She'd sashay around with her nose in the air, carrying on like the snottiest cheerleader in high school, and seemed to be especially fond of tormenting now-elder Weasie. Nearly every day I'd have to run her off as she had words with and took shots at the rightful resident. Things came to a head during the afternoon when I was having a cookout and she traipsed into the yard to sprawl on the walkway. When Weasie strolled over to greet the guests (don't laugh, she does this), the cheerleader b*tch cat took a swing at her and caused her to run away. I told myself that one more incident would put me over the edge; she obliged within the week. As Weasie snoozed on the sidewalk at the base of our front stairs and I conversed with a neighbor, Mean Grrrrrl came barreling along with fire in her eyes. Frightened, Weeze gamely tried to escape, but she has to hop up one step at a time due to arthritis and the bully cat easily overtook her. The evil kitty sent her retreating into the open doorway with a swat to the left hip. That did it. I told the neighbor I had a plan for that beast, while that beast smugly lay down across the bottom step and did the typical turning up of the nose. Calmly, I ambled over to her as she congratulated herself. After a couple of scratches to the head, I seized her by the nape of the neck and deposited her on the main sidewalk almost before she had a chance to be startled. Then she got as good as she gave - a decisive open hand to her left hip. Even a completely brainless cat would've gotten the message. Mean Grrrrrl made a white streak as she fled, ducking under the nearest fence never to be seen again. All of which is to say - don't hesitate to resort to humane yet assertive physical force when it's called for.
As for Ed? She saw an end to her troubles from the grumpy old tomcat courtesy of folks living upstairs from me. I awoke one morning to the sounds of the bad guy verbally confronting her. Hardly had I looked out the window to see what was going on when the faucet of the second-floor sink was activated. The husband in the household was filling a saucepan with water. Soon he was on the porch; as I watched, he overturned the saucepan, and its contents - having taken on the shape of their vessel - rocketed earthward. SPLOOOOOOOOOOOSHHHHHHHHHH Right on target. Thoroughly soaked and taken by surprise, Ed's foe learned his lesson and didn't bother her after that. H2O works when nothing else does.
P.S. Y'know how well those motion-detector lights work? The ones that cut on when autumn leaves blow past and animals walk by and would-be burglars aren't afraid of? It's the same effect with "humane" traps. They're not worth the money for the purpose you're intending one for. Water should do the trick.
OP - do you think this is a stray or is it someone's pet?
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I am living in a house with a large yard at the end of a cul-de-sac only so they can have a chance to play outside, so please know they are loved and that I care about their welfare a lot, even if you disagree about the inside/outside issue.
Should I spray him with urine from my cats? 
)
I think he meant they'll bite but I haven't had a chance to ask him yet.
I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I did that. 
