How to deal with territorial alpha queen cat at new residence?

wali_the_cat

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Hello! I have successfully moved me and my blind kitty from New York to California! We are moving to a beautiful new spot with a lot of land.

While my little guy is most an indoor cat for his own safety, I take him outside a lot so he can listen to birds and nibble on grass (which he loves).

The new residence has a very territorial outdoor cat. She mostly hangs out around the main house, while I live in a little hut about 75 yards away. She has attacked other outdoor cats before. I'm a little worried here. Is it safe to take my cat outside with her around?

Is there some way to indicate that the space around my residence is *my* territory and not hers? I want my cat to feel like he can be safe in the 5 foot radius of yard around our little residence, but I'm not sure if this cat has claimed this space as "her territory". My cat is extremely timid (and blind). I don't know how cat hierarchies work but he would be low on a cat hierarchy.
 

susanm9006

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Congrats on the move. I would give your boy lots of time, like weeks, to adjust to his new indoor space before you consider outdoors. Then I would only take him out leashed and when the other cat isn’t present. If you want to discourage her to be near your area, perhaps some sprinklers that you can turn on periodically?
 

Mamanyt1953

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I think that susanm9006 susanm9006 has exactly the right advice. Give this lots of time. Your cat being blind, you want to give him lots of time to get used to the new indoor space before introducing him to the outdoor space. I do know that you can get motion-activated sprinklers with directional controls. If the queen approached, she would get a wetting. Generally does not take long for a cat to take its business elsewhere!
 

ArtNJ

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The other thing to keep in mind is that a truly freaked out cat can back out of most leashes sold on the market. I had an indoor/outdoor cat that I transitioned to indoor only, and I thought he would like leash time. He did not! He very quickly discovered the backing out thing. There is some solution that some folks have come up with - I don't recall for sure, but I believe it involves incorporating a collar somehow as an additional failsafe??

My concern is that if you don't have a totally secure setup, and your blind cat was to get away and run, it could be very hard for her to find her way back to you.
 

maggie101

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I was going to suggest having an inclosed area so she can't get out and no cat can get in and micro chipping her. It would be very scary though if she were to get loose. Also put a collar on her with vets info and possibly your number on the other side. It is great that you want her to hear the birds but as long as she has you to take care of her she will be ok. There are dvds with sounds of wild animals. What's mostly important to her is she has someone to feed her and care for her . Lots of TLC!
 

game misconduct

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5 foot radius? why dont you just build a secure catio for your cat?keep the resident cat away from your cat along with keeping yours safe then from getting lost or attacked also the grass will probably be dried /dead etc. california is in drought regulated watering days/times welcome to california
 
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