Neighbourhood cat's a bully - Help

[maddercow]

Our lovely springer now has a 10 week old adopted brother named Frank and already Frank has been taught to respect the divine Wally.  He is so obviously in awe of his amazingly acrobatic house mate - aahh!

Fingers crossed x

Can we have some pictures of these two?!

Is sad reading about your poor cats being terrorised, I know it is the way of the world but it is still heart rending.  I have indoor cats now so, although I suspect they do get a bored bored from time to time, they don't get beaten up.

Dynamics are always changing in the cat world though and I am sure things will settle eventually.  X

[Nicola (RockysMum)]

Here's hoping the change in dynamic with the new cats in the mix might bring that bully down a peg or two.

I'm having a similar issue because new neighbours have moved in with a tabby tom who has decided to enter into a turf war with my Jake.

Jake is a total softy and really timid so he's run home to hide a few times recently and at one point didn't come home overnight and we found him all scratched and beat up.

We've lived here 14 years and Jake only goes as far as a neighbours garden which is completly overgrown and a cat paradise. You can actually see his tracks from the regular route he takes around it & the flattened patch of grass he likes to nap in. My OH has now declared war and has been known to follow Jake and then lurk in the neighbours garden with a water spray to scare off the other cat. 

So now I not only worry about jake, I worry about the neighbours catching my OH sneaking about their garden like a looney   

I really hope things calm down for you soon. Poor Wally!

[themindlady]

I haven't seen the three new cats but about 3am last night there was a fierce cat fight in the street at the front of my house.  Wally appeared to be sleeping through it but I may have caught the flicker of a smile .... !

I bought one of those long distance squirt water pistols to shoot in the direction of the bully cat but he wasn't really put off.  A bit like a horror movie, he just kept coming closer. In the end all the neighbours have chased, clapped loudly and done their best to keep him away.  Wally has a best friend who lives right next door and this cat is truly timid and anxious.  They just sit together in next door's front window looking gorgeous and little friend rarely leaves his house.  On the day that he did the bad cat terrorised the pair of them and little friend didn't come home for two days.  It has been like being under siege.

Our lovely springer now has a 10 week old adopted brother named Frank and already Frank has been taught to respect the divine Wally.  He is so obviously in awe of his amazingly acrobatic house mate - aahh!

Fingers crossed x

[maddercow]

Oooh, things could get interesting, keep us posted. 

Poor Wally, some cats are bullies, when I had outdoor cats I did have some success with a hooter and a water pistol, the cat in question was an insolent nasty piece of work, (I had never met a cat I didn't like before I met him) but after a few soakings and scarings his visits did lessen, probably went to find another poor cat to pick on.   Wish cats were a little more co-operative because in a perfect world Wally would gang up with the 3 new cats, beat him up & teach him a lesson.... sigh.

It is so sweet to hear that your Springer stands up for Wally.

Hope things get better soon.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Yes indeedy things will change 

[themindlady]

Thank you for your helpful comments.  It was great to feel I wasn't on my own any more.

I think a solution of sorts is about to happen as three new cats have moved in two doors away on the other side of us.  They are having a period indoors to get them used to their new house and then - who knows!  Something will change anyway

[Tiggy's Mum]

Does the cat still come in the cat flap? If so then a microchip cat flap is worth looking into, I know there's quite a few on here that have them and are pleased with them.

Another idea could be to make your environment as unpleasant as possible for Mr Bully (without harming him obviously) so you could squirt him with a water pistol whenever he's sat outside the flap, or make loud clattering noises to try and frighten him off. If he associates your house with getting wet and horrible loud noises hopefully he'll get the hint and stay away!

and  to Purrs btw

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

A very difficult situation and without either a cat proof garden or the owners help almost impossible to solve.

Is the neighbours cat neutered? If not that would probably help.

Is he friendly will he let you stroke him?

[themindlady]

I have a lovely big strong healthy black and white boy called Wally.  Despite his physical attributes he is an absolute softie and for the past year or so has been bullied by a cat who lives nearby.  This bullying has recently escalated and is making the whole family sad.  This includes our springer spaniel who tries to protect his feline friend.

The cat from down the road smashed our cat flap in a frenzy trying to get at Wally, he comes in the house if the back door is open and stands his ground when we try to shoosh him out.  He is only vaguely afraid of our bouncy springer and once scratched his face when he got too close.  Now the cat is spending the night sitting outside the cat flap so our boy can't go out. 

When passing the time of day with the cat's owner I carefully mentioned that her cat was quite a character and sometimes came in my house.  She totally denied that her cat would ever do such a thing, although it was not said as a criticism, and suggested it could be the cat up the road - mine.  Sigh. 

Please can anybody suggest a way of stopping this behaviour?  We are all on tenterhooks most of the time and just feel so sorry for poor gentle Wally who seems to wonder why we are letting this happen to him.

Thanks for reading this plea - Wally's mum