A cat that all other cats dislike

[Antonio65]

One of my neighbors, two doors down, has a cat (girl, 5 yo, spayed), but they leave her outdoor 24/7. She's free to go back home, but she'd rather prefer to stay out.
Of course, as an alternative residence she chose my courtyard, where she finds some food that I leave out for her too, along with my other outdoor cats.

Fact is that the other outodoor cats chase her, especially the boy, who even attacks her out of the blue. Most of the time they do get along, but rather often my outdoor cats chase or attack her, she runs away, but she comes back later.

My two indoor only cats really dislike her, and even if they can only see her through the windows, they get crazy and paw at the window panes when she passes by. When I lead my cats out with leash and harness, and they happen to see her, they get mad and try to chase her.
Yesterday, my cat Giada sneaked out for a second and happened to find herself face to face with this neighbor's cat, and Giada chased her across the properties, and it took a good while to coax her back home.
My two cats Giada and Freya have absolutely nothing against the other outdoor cats, they're all friends.

My Rainbow Bridge cat Pallina would do just the same. She just couldn't stand the neighbor's cat when she saw her outside, and when she had the chance to meet her face to face, Pallina would attack or chase her.

So I wonder, what makes a cat so unpleasant to others, even through a window?

 

[di and bob]

Cats form family units and hate any change or intrusion. Your cats have all formed a clowder and do not want any changes. That is why TNR is successful, the neutered cats chase intruders away.
your cats will eventually accept her, especially a female, but it may take a LONG time, years even. As long as she is coming back, she is not really getting hurt or she would avoid them. There also may be a smell about her that the others do not like, but once again, they would get used to it over time.

 

[Antonio65]

Cats form family units and hate any change or intrusion. Your cats have all formed a clowder and do not want any changes. That is why TNR is successful, the neutered cats chase intruders away.

The outdoor cats (including the neighbor's one) have been there long before my two cats Giada and Freya came into our family.

your cats will eventually accept her, especially a female, but it may take a LONG time, years even. As long as she is coming back, she is not really getting hurt or she would avoid them. There also may be a smell about her that the others do not like, but once again, they would get used to it over time.

Yes, I thought about the smell, but when she's outside the window, which is closed, and the indoor cats get mad at her, the smell isn't involved.
Likewise, my indoor cats should dislike the other outdoor cats too, but this is not the case, so it seems that it is more like a visual thing than a smell thing.

 

[Furballsmom]

I agree with Di and Bob, it doesn't matter that the other cats are outside. Whether time is involved in the catly equation or not, they're part of the accepted group.

Who knows, maybe that other kitty isn't as healthy as the rest of the cats prefer, which in the wild would possibly be a draw for predators.

 

[danteshuman]

Am I the only mean one thinking motion activated sprinkler to keep her out of your yard? Or cat fence toppers to keep your cats in and other cats out?

If the cats keep fighting it will mean injuries & vet bills.

 

[Antonio65]

Who knows, maybe that other kitty isn't as healthy as the rest of the cats prefer, which in the wild would possibly be a draw for predators.

Health-wise, this cat looks in a very good shape. She's a petit cat, looks like a 6 or 7 months old cat, thin, black and white. Other than this, she looks very healthy, has a good appetite. The only thing is that she isn't very fond of human touch and gets a tiny bit aggressive when one tries to pick her up.

 

[Antonio65]

Am I the only mean one thinking motion activated sprinkler to keep her out of your yard? Or cat fence toppers to keep your cats in and other cats out?

The sprinklers would spray and keep out of the yard my outdoor cats too. They come and go from my yard, the roam in the neighborhood as they please.

If the cats keep fighting it will mean injuries & vet bills.

Rather than a real fight, with teeth and claws, they just chase her, run after her, but they almost never wrestle.

 

[Punxpunx]

I have observed this with the ferals n strays I feed. One cat always gets picked on and she always backs off. When i put their food down she will always stay a distance away and wait until the other cats are eating first, the she will go to the last bowl. New cats sometimes join the feeding and they dont get hassled like she does.

I think it may have something to do with the bully syndrome same as humans. If they have chased her before and she always runs, it gives the winners a sense of domination and power. everytime they do this they get this feeling refreshed so they keep doing it.

I dont know how to fix this, it may just be the natural way for them. Only thing I can do is give her more seconds and thirds of the tasty food than the other cats, hopefully that brightens her life a bit.

 

[Antonio65]

I have observed this with the ferals n strays I feed. One cat always gets picked on and she always backs off. When i put their food down she will always stay a distance away and wait until the other cats are eating first, the she will go to the last bowl. New cats sometimes join the feeding and they dont get hassled like she does.

I think it may have something to do with the bully syndrome same as humans. If they have chased her before and she always runs, it gives the winners a sense of domination and power. everytime they do this they get this feeling refreshed so they keep doing it.

I dont know how to fix this, it may just be the natural way for them. Only thing I can do is give her more seconds and thirds of the tasty food than the other cats, hopefully that brightens her life a bit.

For some reason, TCS didn't send me a notification for this post, so I missed it until today, I apologize.

What you describe is exactly what would happen with a cat of my colony. One of the cats had to stay back and wait for all the others to have their meal, and only when all the other cats were done with it, she could step forward and eat her part.
The other cats weren't aggressive to her at all, but she knew she couldn't get closer. Last year, due to an accident, I had to rescue this cat and have her cured, and after that I took her to the local shelter, where such accidents can no longer happen. Now, at the shelter, this cat is living a new life. She has friends, she can eat along with the others, she looks happier, and I'm happy too.

As for my original question, why is it that a cat is disliked by everyone else, I still can't find a clear explanation.
This neighbor's cat, Mia, arrived at the end of 2017, when I had only one outdoor cat and only one indoor cat. My indoor cat couldn't stand Mia, even through the windows. Same thing for the outdoor cat who would chase Mia every time she saw her.
Then my indoor cat passed away some months later, in 2018. And a new outdoor cat arrived in my yard. He, too, would chase Mia everytime he could.
Fast forward to 2020, when I adopted my new cat, Giada, who hated the sight of Mia in the courtyard, through the windows, from the first moment, but she wasn't absolutely bothered by the two outdoor cats, she even made friends with them immediately.
A year later I adopted a new kitten, Freya, she grew up and when she saw Mia in the yard for the first time, she got crazy and would have liked to chase her.

My cats do not dart outside when I open the door to the outside. They sit a few steps back from the threshold and look outside. It sounds impossible, but it's what they do, I'm lucky.
Well, today, again, the door to the yard was open, Giada was on the chair looking at the world outside but with zero interest in darting through the door, until this cat, Mia, walked in the yard and Giada jumped from the chair and chased her across the neighbors' properties. It took me about 15 minutes to convince her to come back inside, and I guess she ran back only when the postman arrived and she got scared.

It is clearly something in this cat's appearance that triggers all the other cats.