Fighting/growling spitting at neighbor cat through the windo

[tnbsp]

This morning I was exercising and suddenly heard Gannicus (G) hissing and spitting and growling in window. His hair was standing extremely tall. I thought he was hurt and then saw a neighrbohood cat on the other side of the window and I think it was also howling back. This was extremely scary as my other cat Spartacus (S) came to see what was wrong and put his nose right up to his screaming howling brother. I went to open the front door and scared the cat away.
Then about 15 mins later it happened again but both G and S were in the window screaming and howling and it looked like they were about to fight with eachother (they’re bonded litter mates btw) I did not want my cats to fight while looking at how to release their aggression. In my panic I screamed like a banshee in hopes of startling them away from the window.... probably this wasn’t the best approach. But, it worked.

my cats ran upstairs and were still extremely in “wild cat mode” i thought I’d have to separate them somehow. Then they calmed down and were shaking and i went outside and the neighborhood cat ran across the street.

this has never happened before. Its a new house, we’ve been here about 4 months and the neighborhood cat passes in my yard about every day.

my question is: should i continue to let my cats look out this window meanwhile? They both really want to because they seem nervous and are watching for the cat. Or should I block access? Close the curtains and remove the perches? This window is in a half-basement and is level w the ground. They have to use a cat tree to get to it

should i buy skattt and try and deter the other cat or just wait and see if it happens again?

also, at our previous house one of our neighbors cats always came to our porch and my cats just calmly watched and they all got along through the window. Can they react differently to different cats or is this new aggressive reaction going to be their normal reaction now?

thanks!!

 

[ArtNJ]

Maybe its because their comfort level was higher in the old house? But from what you are describing, yeah, there is a definite risk that they could attack each other like that -- or attack you, when you go to move them. Classic "redirected aggression". And if you aren't home, the risk would be higher since who knows how long it would go on for? I'd consider keeping the shades down for a bit, especiallly if you aren't home. If that is an indoor/outdoor cat, then once the temperature drops, perhaps you won't see it much, if at all, so you may not need to worry about the shades for long. I mean, its no guaranty, some indoor/outdoor cats mind the cold and some dont.

As far as deterring the other cat, I think you'll find that yelling and chasing works poorly. I've done that myself, and it doesn't stop the cat from coming back. Heck, it doesn't always make the cat leave, since they are so much faster than hoomans. A couple of members recommend a motion activated sprinkler -- there are a lot of choices on amazon. Most aren't rated better than 3.5 stars though (a few 4.0s) and depending on how much coverage you need it could get expensive, so closing the shades may be the better bet.

 

[tnbsp]

thank you for the advice! I also think my cat was just sleeping in the window and suddenly woke up to the other cat looking at him or doing something. It was probably very startling.

I decided to move the perches to a different window (backyard view) and close the curtains. I've only seen this cat in the front yard. I work from home, so hopefully, I can stop any potential fights, but I still can't always watch them 24/7. Let's hope that cat stays away as my cats really had been enjoying the window space!

 

[ArtNJ]

Sounds like a good plan.

If it doesn't fix the problem, do take it seriously. Usually a temporary separation fixes the problem if they end up fighting because of this issue, but very rarely it has turned into a lasting problem for people. Some people have gotten badly scratched up too.

 

[tnbsp]

Thanks! I am definitely going to do everything I can to prevent fighting/aggression or further problems. As of now, my two cats seem to be alright and getting along fine. I'll definitely be back on the catsite if this escalates. thanks again for your help today! I really appreciate it

 

[sivyaleah]

We had an instance of redirected aggression between our 2 cats some years ago under similar circumstances. Our Tortie girl, got incredibly angered by an "enemy" cat outside and our poor boy happened to be sitting with her at our back window. She lashed out at him, scratching his cornea. Had to rush him to the vet to make sure it wasn't serious.

And just the other day, same Tortie went ballistic over our neighbors cat visiting our yard. Our new girl, the Maine Coon, who is 1-1/2 now but never experienced a cat yowling, hissing and throwing themselves against a glass window, didn't know what to make of it. I shooed her away pronto, because I already knew how the other one was going to respond if she got to close.

This time, I went next door and spoke directly to the (newish) neighbor about keeping her cat indoors. They do normally, but he had escaped a couple of times recently. I'm hoping that my telling them about how serious this was and unfair that I now feel I can't keep my window blinds up for my own cats enjoyment will make an impact.

Hopefully, this won't happen again for you and your cats. Having a towel near the area to throw over the cat that's freaking out can help break the moment up without you getting hurt, or your other cat. Most likely that will be enough to have the cat back off - or a piece of cardboard like A ArtNJ suggested.

And who knows why this happened, cats are weird. It isn't like our girl hasn't seen cats wandering around our home before; in fact there was one that liked to sit on our porch quite a bit but she never reacted to that one.

 

[tnbsp]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! It was really helpful to read. I imagine that was heartbreaking to deal with the violence. I'll be keeping a towel nearby, and am definitely not letting them see out that ground-level window for now.

The neighbor cat came back into the yard this morning. I let him/her know I was there and it crossed the street, but she just returned after I went back inside. then it caught an animal in my yard.. it seems to be hunting. My cat Gannicus, the one that really went berserk over it, can see the cat from our upper-level window but seems to be handling it alright. I am thinking that maybe I should get a motion-activated sprinkler. I don't know the family that owns the cat...but I think I know which house it is. It's been really hard to meet the neighbors during these weird pandemic times, and I hate to get off on the wrong foot - plus I'm pretty sure they won't consider making the cat indoors as it is constantly outside. I am really happy you were able to have a good conversation with your neighbor about it! I hope your tortie can find some peace and enjoy looking out the window now!

 

[sivyaleah]

tnbsp Yes, very difficult to speak with neighbors these days, let alone for a touchy subject.

I actually had a couple of nice cat related chats with our neighbors; they bring that particular cat out in a tent to hang out outside in summer (they have 2). And, the cat got out a few days before and I found him in our bushes. Very friendly boy. The wife came out looking for him and I showed her where he is and she brought him in.

Then he showed up in our yard a day or so later and just sat there, looking in our back sliding door at our cats. That door, is one which we use all the time because our driveway is right there. And the blinds are left open all the time because the kitchen is too dark otherwise plus it has a nice view. So it was distressing to have to worry about this cat hanging out there.

Once Bean got so upset, I felt I had to go nextdoor so I grabbed a mask and headed over. While the wife understood, I'm not completely sure if it will make a difference but am keeping my fingers crossed. I mentioned all the things that can happen to the cat when it gets out including what a busy street we are on - an elementary school is there and many cars come by 2x a day to pick kids up let. Plus, he has no collar on either. It would be a shame if something happened to him

Good luck to you too. It's a difficult situation to manuever through.

 

[tnbsp]

wow, great job at being brave and talking to them! I hope they'll double think about how much time their cat is outdoors and your cats will get a break. I wouldn't want my cats outside roaming, especially without a collar - I would be constantly worrying about them,- but I try to understand not everyone shares my viewpoint on it. My cats get to go on the screen porch with me - and only when I'm there!

 

[ArtNJ]

I guess its unprectiable and depends where you live, but I've found that there is always another cat that will wander into your yard eventually, so its not like talking to a neighbor is necessarily a forever fix even if it works. I generally have no idea where the cats come from.

 

[sivyaleah]

A ArtNJ same here. Most cats are just passing through. We don't get many luckily. Worst thing that happened is our old neighbors (same house), who we were very friendly with, had a mostly outdoor cat who liked to visit our home. Until the one time he tried to claw through one of our front screens to get at our cats. After they paid for the ruined screen (they offered) that was that for the cat's outdoor days. But not everyone is that accomodating and kind.

tnbsp same about keeping our cats indoors. They have always been happy and healthy this way.

 

[Caspers Human]

It happens to Casper, too.


There is a neighborhood cat that comes up on our back porch and makes trouble for Casper.
It's CASPER'S porch! His territory! This other cat comes and invades his space!

It's a calico and she's a really bitchy one, too!
One time, late at night, I heard a noise like something hitting the patio door and went to investigate. I found her on the porch, looking inside. When I went to close the drapes, she tried to swat at me THROUGH THE GLASS!

There are other cats in the neighborhood that are nice. There's an orange tabby, named "Louie," that's a real cutie. It's a she-cat.
She lives a few doors down and she comes to visit the back door, every so often, but Casper likes her.

We let Louie come up on the porch to visit Casper but this other cat, we don't like. Whenever that calico (I don't know her name) comes around, I throw water at it and scare it off.

If you have cats coming up to your windows and back doors that you don't like and don't want to come around, scare them off.
You can throw water at them if you want. Yeah, it might be a little bit mean but the cat is invading YOUR CAT'S territory and, if he's an all-indoor cat, he can't defend his turf by going outside to run the other cat(s) off. You'll have to be his "wing man," so to speak.
Water won't hurt the cat. It's a lot less harmful than other things that people throw at cats.

Basically just yell, stomp your feet and make "monster noises" at the interloper-cat and, eventually, it will get the message that it's not wanted.

 

[tnbsp]

Thanks for sharing your experience! Poor Casper. I also find it interesting that some cats are "ok" and others are "not ok" by our cats' standards.

 

[ArtNJ]

I personally didn't find water too effective. The visiting cat maybe got hit once, and the next time knew to dodge. If you try to run, cat laughs, breaks your ankles w fancy moves, you go back inside, enemy kitty resumes whatever it was doing

 

[Caspers Human]

It’s not necessarily a single episode that does it but continually sending the message, “You’re not wanted, here!”

Yes, that calico dodged the water then ran and hid under a bush the second or third time but, after continued, consistent effort, she got the message and doesn’t come around very often, anymore.