2 Year Old Outside Cat Bullying An Old Outside Cat.

[dawn harvey]

I feed several outdoor/stray/feral cats. One cat that has called my porch home is not allowing an older (probably 13-14 years old) female to come up and eat. The young one chases her and everything. When she does sneak up to my porch she is very nervous. Is this normal or has anyone dealt with this? The younger one is making me very angry. And she has done this to other cats, but especially to the old one. I feel very protective of the old one as I have taken care of her since she was a kitten, but she is not real trusting so I never tried to bring her in. The young one appears to be causing all the issues. Help!

 

[movinintime]

Can you spray bottle water on the young one or move food to a location to hide from young cat or even seclude somehow them? Often this deters for awhile the encroachment. Some may think it is cruel ,yet it is only a deterrent & some cats still come back determined. I really feel for the older cat & no one likes see this, I agree. Others here may have better ideas but it is my 1st idea in my head. Hope things work out for the older kitty.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Is the younger cat newer on the scene and trying to establish dominance? Even though she has done this to other cats, a lot of times this kind of aggression results from the victim being sick/in poor general overall health - survival of the fittest, if you will.

You can try the spray bottle, but I am not sure if it will work. If you feed the older cat and the younger one wants the food, she will continue to come back.

You need to remove one or the other from the area. You can either ask for assistance in trapping the younger cat through a rescue group or shelter, or you can set up an area in a garage or other place within/around your home where you could relocate the older cat that is safe and away from the younger cat.

I am surprised after all these years, she isn't more accepting of you.

I hope other members with more experience with strays/ferals will come along soon and offer some suggestions.

 

[dawn harvey]

Is the younger cat newer on the scene and trying to establish dominance? Even though she has done this to other cats, a lot of times this kind of aggression results from the victim being sick/in poor general overall health - survival of the fittest, if you will.

You can try the spray bottle, but I am not sure if it will work. If you feed the older cat and the younger one wants the food, she will continue to come back.

You need to remove one or the other from the area. You can either ask for assistance in trapping the younger cat through a rescue group or shelter, or you can set up an area in a garage or other place within/around your home where you could relocate the older cat that is safe and away from the younger cat.

I am surprised after all these years, she isn't more accepting of you.

I hope other members with more experience with strays/ferals will come along soon and offer some suggestions.

She was real accepting of me until I got her spaded and she has changed since then. And she doesn't want to hang around long because she is very nervous. I am both of their ONLY food source. The one is 2 so of course the older one has been around the longest. I feed both of them. I feed many cats, not just them. She is trying to be dominant, but I don't know what to do about it where they can both co-exist. I guess she will be moved. I cannot move the older one. That would not be good for her. I have traps and there are no rescues around here that move cats. Our animal control officer (who we just recently got) won't even mess with feral cats. Crazy I know. I will have to find a place for her to go. I thought more people would have encountered this. Dominance is an issue with cats after all. No, the younger one is healthy she is recently spaded. I think he personality has changed some to more aggressive.

 

[dawn harvey]

Can you spray bottle water on the young one or move food to a location to hide from young cat or even seclude somehow them? Often this deters for awhile the encroachment. Some may think it is cruel ,yet it is only a deterrent & some cats still come back determined. I really feel for the older cat & no one likes see this, I agree. Others here may have better ideas but it is my 1st idea in my head. Hope things work out for the older kitty.

Thank you and I will look out for the old one. I care about her a lot. I have wanted to bring her in, but it's very hard for her to feel at all comfortable around here. I know she is only coming here because that's the only way for her to get food. I am going to remove the young one.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I am sorry you are not getting more ideas from others. But, there are a ton who have dealt with strays/ferals for a long time. Perhaps, they just have not yet been on this site to see your post. Hang in there, I am positive that some of them will soon, and can offer some other ideas. So, check back often!! I will also continue to inquire about what is going on so that your thread will be 'bumped up' on the list.

No, the younger one is healthy she is recently spaded.

No, I actually meant the older one might have a health issue, triggering aggression from the younger one.

 

[shadowsrescue]

I had an aggressive male move in on my small colony a few years back. He started going after my very first feral who I always protected. I had the newcomer neutered, but things did not change.

I moved my first feral to my front porch. I made put a shelter behind some bushes and then fed him on my front porch. It was not ideal, but it gave him some space and the new cat stayed away.

All went well for about a month. Then the new cat found the front porch. He wasn't as bad, but still really bothering my feral boy. My feral boy was very skittish and would run off and hide. I was very sad and upset.

I called rescue groups for help, but everyone was too busy. I decided to retrap the new cat and bring him inside. I had to get him away from my feral cat. I was able to recatch him and set him up in a room of his own. It was a longgggg process for him, but he did adjust and I was able to socialize him. He has been inside now for 6 years. He is such a sweet boy. Still feral like in some ways, but very sweet. He is not aggressive at all. Once inside, the aggressive melted away. I now have 6 cats inside and the original aggressive new cats gets along with all.

Then another feral boy showed up outside. He was very unpredictable. I had to build him a separate feeding station of his own that was away from the others. It helped to feed them in separate areas. I also made sure there were many areas for shelters so they could get away from each other.

I am not a fan of spray bottles in any way. All if does is teach the cat to be afraid of you. That is not what you want when working with feral cats. You want to earn their trust not make them more fearful of you.

If you do remove the young cat, where are you going to take her? It would be very cruel just to drop her off somewhere.

If this were me, I would work really hard to find separate feeding areas for the two. Try to move the new cat further away from your older cat. This may take a bit of work, but if you establish a new place for the new cat, eventually she will learn that is her area.

 

[dawn harvey]

I had an aggressive male move in on my small colony a few years back. He started going after my very first feral who I always protected. I had the newcomer neutered, but things did not change.

I moved my first feral to my front porch. I made put a shelter behind some bushes and then fed him on my front porch. It was not ideal, but it gave him some space and the new cat stayed away.

All went well for about a month. Then the new cat found the front porch. He wasn't as bad, but still really bothering my feral boy. My feral boy was very skittish and would run off and hide. I was very sad and upset.

I called rescue groups for help, but everyone was too busy. I decided to retrap the new cat and bring him inside. I had to get him away from my feral cat. I was able to recatch him and set him up in a room of his own. It was a longgggg process for him, but he did adjust and I was able to socialize him. He has been inside now for 6 years. He is such a sweet boy. Still feral like in some ways, but very sweet. He is not aggressive at all. Once inside, the aggressive melted away. I now have 6 cats inside and the original aggressive new cats gets along with all.

Then another feral boy showed up outside. He was very unpredictable. I had to build him a separate feeding station of his own that was away from the others. It helped to feed them in separate areas. I also made sure there were many areas for shelters so they could get away from each other.

I am not a fan of spray bottles in any way. All if does is teach the cat to be afraid of you. That is not what you want when working with feral cats. You want to earn their trust not make them more fearful of you.

If you do remove the young cat, where are you going to take her? It would be very cruel just to drop her off somewhere.

If this were me, I would work really hard to find separate feeding areas for the two. Try to move the new cat further away from your older cat. This may take a bit of work, but if you establish a new place for the new cat, eventually she will learn that is her area.

You sound so devoted to the cats and I admire that in you. And I am too when time and money allows. I have food put all over the place. I have food on each side of my house, front porch and at bottom of front porch steps. She literally will zero in on the older cat even when the older cat hides under my neighbors porch. I have never seen anything quite like this, where she is so determined to prevent her from eating. The little bully cat has done this to different cats at different times, but it all worked out. I'm thinking that she can sense the older cat's vulnerability. I already have 4 cats inside (and one doesn't get along with the newest addition) and 2 dogs. So I already have a situation inside that isn't ideal. But the newest is very young and crazy. And all sorts of cats come to my porch. I have food out all day long. Some are spaded some not because I have to pay for all this myself. There is no TNR here yet.

 

[dawn harvey]

You sound so devoted to the cats and I admire that in you. And I am too when time and money allows. I have food put all over the place. I have food on each side of my house, front porch and at bottom of front porch steps. She literally will zero in on the older cat even when the older cat hides under my neighbors porch. I have never seen anything quite like this, where she is so determined to prevent her from eating. The little bully cat has done this to different cats at different times, but it all worked out. I'm thinking that she can sense the older cat's vulnerability. I already have 4 cats inside (and one doesn't get along with the newest addition) and 2 dogs. So I already have a situation inside that isn't ideal. But the newest is very young and crazy. And all sorts of cats come to my porch. I have food out all day long. Some are spaded some not because I have to pay for all this myself. There is no TNR here yet.

So anyway, I don't know what to do about her. The older cat is in need of regular food. It is actually really sad to see this. You have a lot of good ideas, but here when I make a set up for a cat another one usually hoardes it. We have a huge cat problem in the town I live in and there are lots of them.

 

[dawn harvey]

I am sorry you are not getting more ideas from others. But, there are a ton who have dealt with strays/ferals for a long time. Perhaps, they just have not yet been on this site to see your post. Hang in there, I am positive that some of them will soon, and can offer some other ideas. So, check back often!! I will also continue to inquire about what is going on so that your thread will be 'bumped up' on the list.


No, I actually meant the older one might have a health issue, triggering aggression from the younger one.

Oh I see. I don't know. She is more feeble than she used to be, but she is aging. If I could get her to go in a trap again I would take her to a vet. But last time I trapped her she got spaded and she hasn't had trust for me since.

 

[dawn harvey]

I had an aggressive male move in on my small colony a few years back. He started going after my very first feral who I always protected. I had the newcomer neutered, but things did not change.

I moved my first feral to my front porch. I made put a shelter behind some bushes and then fed him on my front porch. It was not ideal, but it gave him some space and the new cat stayed away.

All went well for about a month. Then the new cat found the front porch. He wasn't as bad, but still really bothering my feral boy. My feral boy was very skittish and would run off and hide. I was very sad and upset.

I called rescue groups for help, but everyone was too busy. I decided to retrap the new cat and bring him inside. I had to get him away from my feral cat. I was able to recatch him and set him up in a room of his own. It was a longgggg process for him, but he did adjust and I was able to socialize him. He has been inside now for 6 years. He is such a sweet boy. Still feral like in some ways, but very sweet. He is not aggressive at all. Once inside, the aggressive melted away. I now have 6 cats inside and the original aggressive new cats gets along with all.

Then another feral boy showed up outside. He was very unpredictable. I had to build him a separate feeding station of his own that was away from the others. It helped to feed them in separate areas. I also made sure there were many areas for shelters so they could get away from each other.

I am not a fan of spray bottles in any way. All if does is teach the cat to be afraid of you. That is not what you want when working with feral cats. You want to earn their trust not make them more fearful of you.

If you do remove the young cat, where are you going to take her? It would be very cruel just to drop her off somewhere.

If this were me, I would work really hard to find separate feeding areas for the two. Try to move the new cat further away from your older cat. This may take a bit of work, but if you establish a new place for the new cat, eventually she will learn that is her area.

Thank you. I have tried to move food around. I have food everywhere. She still zeroes in on the cat. The cat (bully one) has literally made a job out of this. It is very strange.

 

[catsknowme]

I feel your pain! In my yard, it is a younger cat who gets bullied, especially by my inside/outside Maine Coon.
I have found that adding toys to the yard as well as play time helps stop the stalking/bullying. I use a retired fly fishing pole with a bird toy attached with a long, thin string. The semi-ferals engage & the really wild ones enjoy watching from a distance. I also make circus-like tunes; when I make the tunes, the cats will begin to appear (fortunately, my new neighbor thinks it's cute and is using the method for her own inside cats & she reports that it has stopped her original cat from attacking her recently adopted kittens).

 

[dawn harvey]

I feel your pain! In my yard, it is a younger cat who gets bullied, especially by my inside/outside Maine Coon.
I have found that adding toys to the yard as well as play time helps stop the stalking/bullying. I use a retired fly fishing pole with a bird toy attached with a long, thin string. The semi-ferals engage & the really wild ones enjoy watching from a distance. I also make circus-like tunes; when I make the tunes, the cats will begin to appear (fortunately, my new neighbor thinks it's cute and is using the method for her own inside cats & she reports that it has stopped her original cat from attacking her recently adopted kittens).

I will take some toys outside! Thank you so much! This is hard. It's very hard to not know what to do for sure.