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Missing cat mystery

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Comments

  • #32
    Bonedigger
    Closed Accounts Posts: 608 ✭✭✭Bonedigger


    Pumpkinseeds wrote: »
    Ahh, he's so gorgeous. Do you know if anyone owns the other cat he fought with? I only ask as if funds allow and he isn't belong to someone, it might be worth getting the vet to neuter him to prevent further fighting with your own cat. I know a lot of people will say it isn't your cat and why should you pay etc etc and I get that, but in the long run it'd be a lot cheaper than having to take your own cat to the vet after fights.

    I'm not sure who owns the other cat or if he's a stray.My guess is he's a stray/feral.It would be ideal if he too was neutered,but as the vet said this morning,we really can't do anything until we're sure he doesn't belong to anyone.The problem is,I've only ever seen glimpses of him in the evenings and almost always when it's dark.How would you catch this guy?Our fella sleeps in the utility room,where we have a cat flap on the door,but this other fella is now coming in on the odd occasion and spraying on this,that and the other.The smell at times is awful and I'm going to have to come up with some solution to this problem too.Obviously,if the other guy is neutered it will solve this issue as well.


  • #33
    Pumpkinseeds
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,635 ✭✭✭Pumpkinseeds


    Bonedigger wrote: »
    I'm not sure who owns the other cat or if he's a stray.My guess is he's a stray/feral.It would be ideal if he too was neutered,but as the vet said this morning,we really can't do anything until we're sure he doesn't belong to anyone.The problem is,I've only ever seen glimpses of him in the evenings and almost always when it's dark.How would you catch this guy?Our fella sleeps in the utility room,where we have a cat flap on the door,but this other fella is now coming in on the odd occasion and spraying on this,that and the other.The smell at times is awful and I'm going to have to come up with some solution to this problem too.Obviously,if the other guy is neutered it will solve this issue as well.

    We used to have that problem with the catflap and we switched first to a magnetic one, a little magnet opens the flap for your cat and no others. But a few years ago we got a microchip flap. It just slots into the space where the standard flap is, one size fits all really, and it's much stronger than a standard flap. Not even a seriously determined cat has been able to force their way through it.

    As for trapping the other cat, you could ask on Feral Cats Ireland facebook page and see if anyone practices trap neuter and return in your area. You can get very good deals online with zooplus or Amazon on microchip flaps. There's even one now that's a double one so you can programme it to stop some of your cats getting out. I'm very tempted by it as it'd be really handy for vet trips when I want to let the other 3 out but confine whichever of them is going to the vet:)


  • #34
    Bonedigger
    Closed Accounts Posts: 608 ✭✭✭Bonedigger


    Pumpkinseeds wrote: »
    We used to have that problem with the catflap and we switched first to a magnetic one, a little magnet opens the flap for your cat and no others. But a few years ago we got a microchip flap. It just slots into the space where the standard flap is, one size fits all really, and it's much stronger than a standard flap. Not even a seriously determined cat has been able to force their way through it.

    As for trapping the other cat, you could ask on Feral Cats Ireland facebook page and see if anyone practices trap neuter and return in your area. You can get very good deals online with zooplus or Amazon on microchip flaps. There's even one now that's a double one so you can programme it to stop some of your cats getting out. I'm very tempted by it as it'd be really handy for vet trips when I want to let the other 3 out but confine whichever of them is going to the vet:)

    I was wholly unaware that there are cat flaps so technologically advanced.:) I'll certainly check those out.
    The great news is he's literally just after eating and has also had a drink.I was worried he may have been dehydrated because I hadn't seen him drink up until now.
    Many thanks to you and everyone else for your advice in recent days.


  • #35
    twomonkeys
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 168 ✭✭twomonkeys


    Great news Bonedigger, hopefully he'll improve day by day now. You were lucky you were aware of the scrap with the other cat otherwise those puncture wounds may have gone another 24hrs before you noticed!

    I'm like you....on edge when the cat doesnt eat or drink and I watch her like a hawk. I relax a bit once I see her eating and drinking, its a good indication that they're getting back to normal.


  • #36
    Bonedigger
    Closed Accounts Posts: 608 ✭✭✭Bonedigger


    twomonkeys wrote: »
    Great news Bonedigger, hopefully he'll improve day by day now. You were lucky you were aware of the scrap with the other cat otherwise those puncture wounds may have gone another 24hrs before you noticed!

    I'm like you....on edge when the cat doesnt eat or drink and I watch her like a hawk. I relax a bit once I see her eating and drinking, its a good indication that they're getting back to normal.

    He's a hell of a lot better today,thank goodness.He's eating like there's no tomorrow too,which is always an encouraging sign.It looks like he'll be back to normal in no time.


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  • #37
    username123
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,484 ✭✭✭username123


    Bonedigger wrote: »
    He's a hell of a lot better today,thank goodness.He's eating like there's no tomorrow too,which is always an encouraging sign.It looks like he'll be back to normal in no time.

    He's a tough little warrior. Gorgeous looking cat OP. Great to hear he is making a swift recovery.


  • #38
    Bonedigger
    Closed Accounts Posts: 608 ✭✭✭Bonedigger


    username123 wrote: »
    He's a tough little warrior. Gorgeous looking cat OP. Great to hear he is making a swift recovery.

    Thanks username123.Yeah,I've been told in the past that he's a fine looking animal alright,but when you have him from day one you can't really see what others see I suppose.He's back to eating normally once again and I was just looking at the wound on his side this evening and it's not looking as bad as it was.Touch wood the other tom won't be around while he's recovering.
    All the best.


  • #39
    Qualitymark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,824 ✭✭✭Qualitymark


    Pumpkinseeds wrote: »
    Ahh, he's so gorgeous. Do you know if anyone owns the other cat he fought with? I only ask as if funds allow and he isn't belong to someone, it might be worth getting the vet to neuter him to prevent further fighting with your own cat. I know a lot of people will say it isn't your cat and why should you pay etc etc and I get that, but in the long run it'd be a lot cheaper than having to take your own cat to the vet after fights.

    It won't prevent fighting. I well remember a neighbour from the next street coming to me carrying my (spayed) cat and saying he was tormenting her cat; he'd even chased it through the cat flap and up into the bedroom and there was fur everywhere. The worst of it is that I was always conscientious about keeping him in overnight, and he only went out for an hour or so during the day.

    Cats fight when they meet and challenge each other; it usually happens when there's a cat-crowded neighbourhood or when a new cat comes into a neighbourhood. They have carefully organised schedules to avoid other cats' rounds; it's when a new cat or too many cats disrupt this that the fights happen.


  • #40
    --LOS--
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,028 ✭✭✭✭--LOS--


    Cats are usually smart enough not to interfere with wounds like dogs.

    Love this story :D That's cats, they never come when they're called.


  • #41
    Bonedigger
    Closed Accounts Posts: 608 ✭✭✭Bonedigger


    Qualitymark wrote: »
    It won't prevent fighting. I well remember a neighbour from the next street coming to me carrying my (spayed) cat and saying he was tormenting her cat; he'd even chased it through the cat flap and up into the bedroom and there was fur everywhere. The worst of it is that I was always conscientious about keeping him in overnight, and he only went out for an hour or so during the day.

    Cats fight when they meet and challenge each other; it usually happens when there's a cat-crowded neighbourhood or when a new cat comes into a neighbourhood. They have carefully organised schedules to avoid other cats' rounds; it's when a new cat or too many cats disrupt this that the fights happen.

    I have to say,I haven't seen as many cats in this neighbourhood in donkey's years.Most I think are well looked after female cats,but I guess it just takes one mean tomcat to move in and all hell will break loose!


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  • #42
    Bonedigger
    Closed Accounts Posts: 608 ✭✭✭Bonedigger


    --LOS-- wrote: »
    Cats are usually smart enough not to interfere with wounds like dogs.

    Love this story :D That's cats, they never come when they're called.

    Yeah,it's been an emotional roller coaster alright.:D


  • #43
    Pumpkinseeds
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,635 ✭✭✭Pumpkinseeds


    Qualitymark wrote: »
    It won't prevent fighting. I well remember a neighbour from the next street coming to me carrying my (spayed) cat and saying he was tormenting her cat; he'd even chased it through the cat flap and up into the bedroom and there was fur everywhere. The worst of it is that I was always conscientious about keeping him in overnight, and he only went out for an hour or so during the day.

    Cats fight when they meet and challenge each other; it usually happens when there's a cat-crowded neighbourhood or when a new cat comes into a neighbourhood. They have carefully organised schedules to avoid other cats' rounds; it's when a new cat or too many cats disrupt this that the fights happen.

    It will calm things down an awful lot and as a result the fighting will decrease massively. Some cats are very territorial and will always fight with a cat they see as an intruder, but with neutered males the tension decreases after being neutered. I've seen it in my own cats and in the way they interact with neighbouring cats.

    Neutering also mostly stops spraying and I don't even need to mention that it will prevent an awful lot of kittens being born. A decrease in fighting means potentially, a decrease in cases of FIP as a result of bites. I always know when there's an unneutered tom in the area as our own cats get very unsettled and pretty much sit guard in the back and front garden.

    It is always far better to neuter/spay than not to.


  • #44
    boomerang
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,189 ✭✭✭boomerang


    Qualitymark wrote: »
    It won't prevent fighting. I well remember a neighbour from the next street coming to me carrying my (spayed) cat and saying he was tormenting her cat; he'd even chased it through the cat flap and up into the bedroom and there was fur everywhere. The worst of it is that I was always conscientious about keeping him in overnight, and he only went out for an hour or so during the day.

    Cats fight when they meet and challenge each other; it usually happens when there's a cat-crowded neighbourhood or when a new cat comes into a neighbourhood. They have carefully organised schedules to avoid other cats' rounds; it's when a new cat or too many cats disrupt this that the fights happen.

    Cats will avoid physical confrontations at all costs. Think about it - even though they're domesticated, these animals are still solitary predators by design, so any injury comes at a huge cost - leaving them vulnerable to predators themselves, and impacting on their ability to hunt and find food.

    There will be stand-offs with a distance maintained between two cats until one cat backs down and retreats.

    Where fights occur, it is usually because one cat is strongly territorial, or a row over mating rights. That's why neutering toms eliminates aggression in most cases. Of course there are some cats that are just natural bullies, but in the main, neutering the aggressing cat solves the problem.


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