Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Pets > Cats
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 09-03-2009, 09:01 AM
 
4,533 posts, read 8,304,262 times
Reputation: 3429

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah View Post
NO! Keep him inside. But you knew that and are just messing w/my feeble mind at an early hour.
That is my advice too. However, there are some cats that will not take "can't go outside" for an answer. I read somewhere on here that one cat would take to clawing the furniture big time if it wasn't allowed out when it meowed to do so. Its all in the personality of the cat.

Second piece of advice is water. For whatever reason, it seems to be the key, but as one poster noted, the water should come out at a very strong force in order to send the cat the message.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 09-03-2009, 01:53 PM
 
Location: Naples, FL
376 posts, read 1,803,216 times
Reputation: 262
I had this same problem with a feral cat a couple of years ago. My cat only goes out in the yard for a couple of hours a day, usually after I get home from work, so say, 6:30 to 8 or 8:30. He is quite old and basically has his little "route" around the house, next door to neighbor's, up on the stone wall and back home. After the first time he was ambushed, I put myself on watch. It took a couple of nights, but that paid off. The feral cat learned my cat's route, would hide along the route, usually near my garage, and would attack my cat on his way back into the house for the night. I bought a super soaker water gun. My cat is trained to come when I call. 90% of the time, he does, so I'm pretty lucky. I called, my cat came and sure enough, guess who came tearing around the garage right behind him? That cat got blasted with the super soaker. He never came near my property again.

Sooo, cats are pretty predictable, do you know your cat's route around your property? Can you figure out where and when the conflicts are taking place? A hose is the best, but if you need to get past the reach of the hose, try a super soaker.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-03-2009, 02:31 PM
 
4,533 posts, read 8,304,262 times
Reputation: 3429
Quote:
Originally Posted by mytimenow View Post
I had this same problem with a feral cat a couple of years ago. My cat only goes out in the yard for a couple of hours a day, usually after I get home from work, so say, 6:30 to 8 or 8:30. He is quite old and basically has his little "route" around the house, next door to neighbor's, up on the stone wall and back home. After the first time he was ambushed, I put myself on watch. It took a couple of nights, but that paid off. The feral cat learned my cat's route, would hide along the route, usually near my garage, and would attack my cat on his way back into the house for the night. I bought a super soaker water gun. My cat is trained to come when I call. 90% of the time, he does, so I'm pretty lucky. I called, my cat came and sure enough, guess who came tearing around the garage right behind him? That cat got blasted with the super soaker. He never came near my property again.

Sooo, cats are pretty predictable, do you know your cat's route around your property? Can you figure out where and when the conflicts are taking place? A hose is the best, but if you need to get past the reach of the hose, try a super soaker.

Very true to a point. They looooove their routine and if anything disrupts it, they don't like it. They don't like being uncomfortable.

You have a very good point here.

Although there are times when you think they'll do their normal thing and they do something else and that's when you roll your eyes and mutter to yourself "kids".
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-03-2009, 08:33 PM
 
Location: Phoenix
354 posts, read 1,276,415 times
Reputation: 444
There is no sure way but to keep them indoors.

If your cats stay close to home in that big yard I can tell you what worked for us. It was not by design, but I adopted a dog with a strong prey instinct and after she learned that we do not eat our kitty's they didn't run from her and she didn't chase. Any other small animal was fair game for a chase and even a kill.

I expect you problem cat is someone's pet, not fixed, and free to roam. It is in his nature to claim territory so figure out a way without cruelty to deliver the message that your yard is not his. I love imagining you hosing him whenever he shows up but are you really going to be that vigilant?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-03-2009, 09:29 PM
 
Location: Southern California
421 posts, read 3,212,210 times
Reputation: 285
Thanks for the replies everyone

Honestly SouthernBelleinUtah, I thought that was what you were implying! I posted a question about BB guns in the hobbies forum and they want me to use real or plastic pellets! I would feel miserable if I actually injured the stupid cat.

I think my cat definitely got ambushed also because she is so scared of passing thru doorways now and she never was like that before but there are so many places he could get her that I have no idea how to find out.

I was even prepared to camp out on top of my shed in this miserable heat for a few hours with the supersoaker hose in my hand but I think my cats would want to hang out with me and wouldn't do their normal routine up in the hills.

Getting a dog right now would be extremely hard for me but I wish it was possible.

Fivehorses, I have never seen a collar on him but then again I haven't been very close. I assume he belongs to someone since he isnt super thin but I know he stays out all night because I saw him on my porch when I first moved in. I wish I had known then what a nightmare he would become.

I think if I do manage to catch him, I'll take him to the pound to see if he has a microchip. Then at least I can contact the owner. Maybe he isn't fixed and thats why he's so territorial???

What do you guys think would happen if I fed him instead? would it make him nicer or even more territorial?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-04-2009, 08:27 AM
 
1,688 posts, read 8,114,663 times
Reputation: 2005
Quote:
Originally Posted by Panks View Post

I think if I do manage to catch him, I'll take him to the pound to see if he has a microchip. Then at least I can contact the owner. Maybe he isn't fixed and thats why he's so territorial???

What do you guys think would happen if I fed him instead? would it make him nicer or even more territorial?
It's an educated guess to assume he's an intact male, and a valid one. Getting him snipped might help, it might not - but it certainly won't hurt.

Personally, I think you'd be biting off more than you can chew. First and foremost your responsibility lies with your own cats. To bring this "monster" into their midst at this point in time, isn't exactly fair on them. While it might appeal to your sense of "greater good", the fact of the matter is that is sure as heck isn't going to appeal to your cats on any level.

Put yourself in your female cat's shoes for a minute.... as the "victim", imagine what it would be like to have the "mugger" constantly there. Don't underestimate the damage - both physically and mentally - consistently high stress levels do to a cat.

I've been in your shoes and it's not a nice place to be. How you decide to deal with this is a personal decision and it has to be one you can live with, BUT, regardless of what it is ultimately you decide to do, your own cats health and welfare needs to come first.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-04-2009, 01:07 PM
 
Location: Southern California
421 posts, read 3,212,210 times
Reputation: 285
Excellent point Fivehorses! Thank you
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-04-2009, 03:02 PM
 
Location: Naples, FL
376 posts, read 1,803,216 times
Reputation: 262
I would NOT recommend feeding that cat. The really mean feral cat started coming into my yard because some of my neighbors about 1/4 mile away feed the feral cats and my back yard was on its "route" to get there.....those neighbors said that the mean cat chased all the other feral cats away! Eventually it got hit by a car crossing a street about 1/2 a mile away. I never thought I would feel this way, but I was glad. It was the meanest cat I ever met.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-04-2009, 03:07 PM
 
Location: Naples, FL
376 posts, read 1,803,216 times
Reputation: 262
Although there are times when you think they'll do their normal thing and they do something else and that's when you roll your eyes and mutter to yourself "kids". Yesterday 02:53 PM

LOL "THEBOBS" you are so right!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-05-2009, 10:03 AM
 
27 posts, read 125,808 times
Reputation: 80
I had a cat who was just like the bully you described. He was SO much the king of wherever he was. He was the love of my life, but sooooo embarassing--he'd even go in my then landlady's cat door and beat up her cats. One neighbor started to write a book about him -- as an adventurer. And he would travel for several blocks.

He was gentle and sweet and wonderful with people and dogs, but on his own, he was a terrorist. MOST of the time, he'd just go visit the neighbors--meow at the door to come in, or come in if the door was open. He was very sociable. But if he ventured on another cat, his testosterone peaked (even though he was neutered).

I was scared someone would hurt him, so he started taking walks with me on a leash. He got to feed some of his need for adventure, and we also had bonding time. He'd drag me hither and yon. We'd walk City streets and he was fearless and dog-like.

Eventually, his health problems (a PU and several VAS/fibrosarcoma surgeries) weakened him, so, even though he thought he was king, he was MUCH safer on his leash. Some people thought I was mean to him by the leash, but I simply couldn't let him out on his own.

So--back to YOUR problem--I don't know WHAT to do with a cat with Rascal's delusions of grandeur. Garden hose and the surprise water sound terrific. Best, find the owners and get them as fearful for their baby as I was.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Pets > Cats

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top