giant cats fighting with ours

watna

We have a 9 month old kitten, called Murdoch. We recently moved house and kept him in for 3 weeks. There a lot of very large cats in the neighbourhood and for the last three weeks two of them have been sitting at our patio doors staring in at Murdoch, making that cats fighting noise and shaking the glass with their paws. He was safe behind the glass though and just looked at them.

Today, we allowed Murdoch to go out for the first time and he was having a great time, exploring and going in and out his cat flap. The problem is, both those cats have been around today and have started fights with Murdy. He's about half their size and is not a territorial cat. In our last house he made friends with the other cats and used to sunbathe with them. When they started to fight with him, he ran back in the house to get away from them but the cats followed him through the cat flap. They only ran back because we were home and shouted at them. We're worried what will happen when we are home. If he doesn't want to fight and runs off what will the cats do to him? My previous cat was a giant tom and an excellent fighter - he was the bully to other people's Murdoch's so I'm not sure what to do. I'd say he has no interest in challenging them for their territory but they are still going after him.

The only thing we can think of is getting one of those cat flaps with the magnetic thing and matching collar so the nasty giant cats can't come in, The problem with this is Murdoch can take collars off.

Any suggestions? Could the other cats really hurt him? He is still very small. We're getting a bit worried and also don't want other cats in our house.

star-pants

That doesn't sound nice hun. If cornered he might defend himself but obviously you still don't want that. If those magnetic door flap things aren't too expensive over there I'd give it a shot. I've seen cats fighting on our roof and I've seen my friends cats come home after a fight, it's not pretty. So for now I'd be protecting him till he's at least a bit bigger to fend them off himself a little. Do you know if the big cats have sprayed out in your garden?

I wonder could you try to deter them by spraying with water when they come into your garden? Obviously you don't want them in your house when you're not there. Oh- probably silly, but can you get a smaller cat flap? Might make it harder for them to follow Murdoch.

watna

Thanks SP. We're going to give the water thing a go. We've got the fattest one a few times with a jug of water but he keep coming back.

He was so excited to go out earlier and now he's terrified. He's sitting staring at the cat flap and he just went in his litter tray rather than go outside. (he went out in the garden earlier and before once he was let outside the litter try never got used). It's sad. He loves going outside and exploring and he's to scared to go out now.

Think we'll have to invest in a magnetic door and a collar - at least that way they can't follow him inside.

We're hoping things will settle doen in a day or two as well and the other cats will see he's not a threat and leave him alone.

The Sweeper

Watna - the other cats seeing he's not a threat and leaving him alone won't happen. What may happen is they beat the living bejesus out of him a number of times until they're satisfied he's thoroughly dominated and then they may ignore him, but your vet bills will be steep. If they're territorial and he's in their territory, they'll make a serious effort to do him as much injury as they can. Leave the catflap locked, and only allow Murdoch out on supervised garden visits where you're with him and can help defend him, at least until he's much larger. Alternatively, ask your neighbours to restrict their cats' roaming, or if possible put up some sort of cat-proof fencing if your yard is enclosed, to keep Murdoch in and keep the others out.

watna

Thanks for the advice. I think the supervised garden visits when we're home are the only way to do it. I think he's already been hurt. He looks terrified, he's having trouble jumping up on the bed and he's meowing like he's in pain when we pick him up and he nevers meows, he's the quietest kitten. The poor thing.

I'm really worried about him now and I feel bad for moving to a new house when he had a great garden before and now he's too scared to go outside

We'll talk to our landlord about cat-proofing the area that's actually our garden and see what we can do. We have a lot of land behind the house (it's all bush) and I guess the neighbourhood cats hang out there. If we cat-proof our actual garden that means he'll get to lie in the sun but it's a deck, not an actual garden so it wouldn't be the same.

If we were to talk to the neighbours, how would they stop their cats roaming? Keep the cats in more?

I really feel awful

The Sweeper

The neighbours may react badly if you ask them, but they may also agree to go halves on the cost of cat-proofing the fence.

www.cat-world.com.au is a good site for Aus/NZ cat owners and has information on local suppliers for everything from food to veterinary care and especially solutions to restrict a cat's roaming. Far be it from me to link to another site other than boards.ie, but in this case I think some of the info on it could be useful.

How big is the area you would be looking to cat-proof, and what barriers are in place already e.g fences, hedges, a tree that could be climbed to escape etc.? I've looked into a LOT of different locally available solutions in Aus and from NZ, so I may be able to help you on that front if you describe the area to me.

Re the apparent pain etc, look over him thoroughly while he's relaxed. If he has a bite that isn't immediately obvious it could abscess, which can mean a trip to the vet for cleaning and antibiotics. Just keep an eye on him for a bit and see how he's doing.

Lastly, if you have bushland behind your property it could be the case that the roaming cats are strays that are maintained by the community you live in.

watna

The Sweeper wrote: »

The neighbours may react badly if you ask them, but they may also agree to go halves on the cost of cat-proofing the fence.

www.cat-world.com.au is a good site for Aus/NZ cat owners and has information on local suppliers for everything from food to veterinary care and especially solutions to restrict a cat's roaming. Far be it from me to link to another site other than boards.ie, but in this case I think some of the info on it could be useful.

How big is the area you would be looking to cat-proof, and what barriers are in place already e.g fences, hedges, a tree that could be climbed to escape etc.? I've looked into a LOT of different locally available solutions in Aus and from NZ, so I may be able to help you on that front if you describe the area to me.

Re the apparent pain etc, look over him thoroughly while he's relaxed. If he has a bite that isn't immediately obvious it could abscess, which can mean a trip to the vet for cleaning and antibiotics. Just keep an eye on him for a bit and see how he's doing.

Lastly, if you have bushland behind your property it could be the case that the roaming cats are strays that are maintained by the community you live in.

It's only small wooden square deck with a bbq and it is completely fenced in with either walls or wooden fences - just not high enough to keep out a cat. We've been discussing it and it wouldn't cost much to put some kind of trellis up all around that was too high for a cat to climb over. We'd have to look in to the best materials to use though. My main concern with this though is that it's only access to a deck, no grass or garden for him to go to the toilet or to enjoy (he loves being outside). There's four sides - one has a steep drop behind the fence (about 12ft) down to the bush, another side is our house and patio door, another side is a steep bank(everything in Wellington is on a hill or set in to a hill) which is not accesible from anywhere but our deck, and the other side is the only one place where it's possible for cats to get through as the land behind is slopes up towards the fencing until it is level with the top of the fence and the cat can stroll on to the top of it and jump down in to the deck. My OH thinks the cats use the deck as a kind of thoroughfare and access to all the bush land and that's why they may be so territorial.

We're pretty sure he hurt his stomach going through the cat flap because he was so desperate to get inside and not that the other cat got him. He appears to only be hurt on his stomach and not cut or anything. We're going to keep an eye out on him anyway tonight. He's currently cowering under the dining room table. Poor baby.

Good point about the strays but they are giant so if the community is feeding them then they're doing a very good job of it!

The Sweeper

Watna - not certain that these guys ship to NZ: www.sureguard.com.au, look up pingg string cat containment systems... Am pretty sure they will ship though.

doctor evil

If he has any scratches or bites this could put him at risk from feline flue and aids.

Good luck cat proofing the garden.

watna

We just had to take Murdoch to the vet and she has confirmed that he didn't hurt his stomach coming through the cat flap to get away from the mean cat, that cat attacked him. He's got a nasty bite but is in so much pain that she couldn't look at it properly. He's been left down there to get painkillers and probably antibiotics, he's running a very high fever and is a very sick little kitty.

He's got feline asthma and is on steroids for it which supresss his immune system, meaning he can't fight off the infection by himself. This means we have to be double careful about keeping him in. The vet said he's unlikely to grow any bigger (he's 9 months old now) and if he is not territorial now then he's not likely to be.

The only solution is to cat-proof the deck (that site was great, The Sweeper, watna will be popping up in the forums over there methinks) and supervise when he is outside that area. I don't want him becoming really ill because of another cat and as pointed out above, cats can get feline HIV from fighting and I'm sure how good he would be at fighting it off.

The Sweeper

Oh poor Murdoch!!

Catproof your decking area definitely, and then plant up some grass for him in trays. You can buy super-large under-bed plastic storage boxes - the ones with snap lids. I'm talking about a size like 1m x 50cms or even larger, but only about five or six inches deep.

Buy one. Very, very carefully, drill some drainage holes in the base of the plastic box (use a slim drill bit and go slow so as not to crack the box. It's most effective if you put the box on a soft surface like the earth, or some grass, before drilling).

Fill the box with good quality potting mix from the garden centre. Press it down, then either sow grass seed (you'll have to keep Murdoch off it until it establishes!) or buy and plant kitty grass and pot it up in there. Basically, you can maintain your own little patch of grass for him to eat and lie in as he feels like it.

You could pot up some catnip for him too and even - I know this is a looney stretch, but hey - even buy a bale of straw and just leave it out there (if you cover it when it rains, it'll last longer). Straw makes the most excellent bed in the sunshine, because it absorbs and radiates heat. Those are just some suggestions if you want to create a sort of mini-garden feel for him out on the deck. I'd put a covered litter tray out there for him too, just to stop him digging your pot plants and to encourage him to use it outdoors.

watna

The Sweeper wrote: »

Oh poor Murdoch!!

Catproof your decking area definitely, and then plant up some grass for him in trays. You can buy super-large under-bed plastic storage boxes - the ones with snap lids. I'm talking about a size like 1m x 50cms or even larger, but only about five or six inches deep.

Buy one. Very, very carefully, drill some drainage holes in the base of the plastic box (use a slim drill bit and go slow so as not to crack the box. It's most effective if you put the box on a soft surface like the earth, or some grass, before drilling).

Fill the box with good quality potting mix from the garden centre. Press it down, then either sow grass seed (you'll have to keep Murdoch off it until it establishes!) or buy and plant kitty grass and pot it up in there. Basically, you can maintain your own little patch of grass for him to eat and lie in as he feels like it.

You could pot up some catnip for him too and even - I know this is a looney stretch, but hey - even buy a bale of straw and just leave it out there (if you cover it when it rains, it'll last longer). Straw makes the most excellent bed in the sunshine, because it absorbs and radiates heat. Those are just some suggestions if you want to create a sort of mini-garden feel for him out on the deck. I'd put a covered litter tray out there for him too, just to stop him digging your pot plants and to encourage him to use it outdoors.

Thanks. There's some really good ideas and we have discussed something similar - about how to make is comfortable for him. I was out there planting bedding plants and herbs yesterday and he was in there like a shot digging them all up! Think we'll have to make a Murdoch area for him so he leaves my plants alone. The storage boxes with grass is a great idea. It's a small deck but we could definitely put a few more bits and pieces around.

Unfortunately the heat pump outside units for our flat and the one above us are out on our deck taking up space but it gives something for him to lie on top of as they get direct sunlight. We could put some grass up there and the fan part is on the side not on the top, so it wouldn't be blocking anything.