How To Get Rid Of An Aggressive Cat?

Antonio65

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In my courtyard two semi-feral cats took up residence some time ago.
One is a sweet tabby grey female, about 4 years old, she arrived about two years ago. The other one is a black (well, actually very dark brown) young male, about 18 months old, who arrived last year in April.
I had them fixed and they live quietly and peacefully in my yard, where they have their dishes and a nice timber house, a two-room cat house I had bought a few years back for another cat that a year later went to the Rainbow Bridge. The house is this one (photo taken from the web, not mine)
Cat House.jpg


I altered that house a bit, I closed the upper floor with thick styrofoam walls and added lots of thermal insulation for the winter on the ground floor too, and the lower room has a nice electric heating pad in it, to keep a bit a warmth inside.
Both cats appreciate this house. They are quite friendly, especially the boy.

Some days ago a new feral cat joined the pair. This is a rather aggressive young cat, unfriendly to humans and cats. He steals the food and sleeps in the cat house, especially in the warmed room.
The two semi-feral cats are a bit scared by him, and too often they leave the house, sleep in the cold, and sometimes they give up eating.
Every now and then, like yesterday, I hear cats fighting very early in the morning or at night, and my two semi-ferals are scared afterwards and don't come near when it's meal time.

I tried almost everything to shoo that nasty cat away, I yelled at him, I sprayed him with the garden hose, I threw something at him. He comes back, and he's getting braver lately.

Is there a harmless way to get rid of him? Any advice is welcome.
Thank you!
 

shadowsrescue

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He needs to be neutered and that is the only way you can get him to calm down. He has found a warm place and food to eat. I doubt he will just up and leave until he's ready to find a mate. The fighting you hear is most likely male tom cats. It would be very kind of you if you could trap him and get him neutered.

Please don't yell or spray him with the hose. He is hungry too.

I had this happen many times when I cared for ferals on my back deck. There was always new ones. Yet once I did TNR, a few weeks later things calmed down.

Also you could try to feed him in a different location from the other two. Also see about making him a shelter from a rubbermaid container or styrofoam cooler. Try to keep his location separate from the other two.
 
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Antonio65

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The fighting you hear is most likely male tom cats. It would be very kind of you if you could trap him and get him neutered.
Getting him neutered is one of my goals.
But the fighting I hear I'm sure it's him attacking or trying to attack the other two quiet cats.

Please don't yell or spray him with the hose. He is hungry too.
Yes, but I can't encourage him or others to come and take possess of the cat house or food.
In my area there's an out-of-control situation thanks to a neighbor who let their cats mate and give birth without intervention. I had warned them to fix their cats before the situation would explode, but they just ignored me.

Also you could try to feed him in a different location from the other two. Also see about making him a shelter from a rubbermaid container or styrofoam cooler. Try to keep his location separate from the other two.
I think that he has found the best place for sleeping and eating, I doubt he will ever move to a different location.
It's likely my two quiet cats will move because of him. They are scared!
When he's around, even at meters away, my semi-ferals do not eat.
 

msaimee

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I had a similar problem on my road. We solved the problem between our resident feral cat and the new feral cat by providing the new cat with his own shelter and food bowl. The resident cat then decided to move from her shelter on the side of my neighbors house to my porch, where I provided her a heated shelter. They no longer fight since they have their own space. My advice is to do the same with your new feral. Please don't drive him away.
 

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Once they've found a safe place it's almost impossible to get them to move on. I know it's frustrating for you, but please don't chase him away. He's just struggling to survive, like all the other feral cats out there.

Getting him neutered will help a lot.

Could you provide him with a place of his own to sleep? You can make a cheap cat shelter from a plastic or wooden crate and some straw.
 
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Antonio65

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I haven't enough room outside for another shelter and for more dishes.
The cat house is rather big a takes much of the room outside where it isn't in the way of anything else.
Another shelter won't be heated, the new feral will always pick the better shelter for the night, my semi-ferals would sleep in a colder place.
One of the two semi-ferals has started coming less and less, I was so attached to her, she was my favourite, but now she isn't coming closer and for sure she isn't coming to the dishes area. She's hiding under the hedges, far away, and when she does come for her meal, she keeps looking around and never finishes her meal.

All other spots outside are exposed to cold winds, that's why the spot I had chosen for them is where it is.

My fear is that if I set up a new shelter and dish, more cats will come and this story will never end.

About half an hour ago I served some food outside. Only one of the semi-ferals were there, but he suddenly ran away frightened by the arrival of a new feral (not the same of my original post).
I wouldn't like to lose my semi-ferals, they are so sweet :(
 

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Unfortunately once you start feeding feral cats, other cats will come. Cats can smell from other cats that they are getting a good meal. They learn to follow these cats.

Can you contact a rescue group in your area for some helping doing TNR on these cats? Since the neighbor was so irresponsible there are bound to be so many cats. Ask for help. Someone might volunteer to feed the cats in another location or even take some of the cats to barns where they care for feral cats.

If the population isn't reduced by spaying/neutering unfortunately it will just continue to grow. There really is no way to keep the cats from coming as long as you are feeding them.
 

msaimee

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With regard to this particular new cat, is there any chance you could get him neutered sooner rather than later? It's a lot less complicated getting a male neutered in the wiinter than getting a female spayed. Getting him neutered would really help your situation. If he calms down and is less aggressive, it's possible he could fit in with your other two cats. I also want to add that it is not automatic that a bunch of other cats will show up on your property if you put out another small shelter for him and food bowl. My neighbors and I have been caring for the same two feral cats outdoors for the past two years. The female had already been spayed before she showed up, and we are almost certain that the male has no balls. No other cats have been coming around to mate, them having been fixed really helps with that. Occasionally other cats have wandered through for a few days, but left. I hope you can be patient with this very difficult situation. It has been my experience the cats will work out their situation without humans chasing them off, especially if there are other human caregivers in the area providing food.
 

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If he is a young male and more aggressive than the other two you may find that if you get him neutered and established nearby, he may keep others away. I suggest you try and stay outside while your kitties eat. Any new true feral will not want to come while you are there. Making sure you remove uneaten food will help keep more than the three from coming.
He has already chosen you. I think he is there to stay. You also may find that once he is neutered and the hormones have left his system, your other two will not be upset by him. Maybe you could add to the shelter by going up a level instead of out. Is a second story possible? Maybe the entrance to the second level could be on another side too.
 

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:alright: No easy answers here. If you cannot TNR him, then the kindest thing is to try trapping him and pay a vet to put him down. As awful as that sounds, it is easier on him than languishing in the kill shelter where the euth methods may not be as humane. The alternative is removal but those situations too often result in circumstances where Death comes as a friend.
Please keep us updated! I really feel badly for your resident kitties who have had their peace & quiet upended. I have a similar situation here in my yard upon arrival of a large, unneutered male that we named Mike. Mike is so strong, he bent up the gate on my raccoon trap escaping & he is still intact. The urine marking is the worst. I made a point of giving him a name that I could call out & all the cats could use to identify him (when I call a cat's name out, most of the others look at the direction of that cat - it really helps in locating them). I don't chase off Mike but I do use a "drill sergeant stance" when walking towards him if I am averting a catfight or other undesirable behavior. Knowing that I will intervene has given the other cats the confidence to eat with Mike present. They have learned that a growl or hiss (although they still cower) from them elicits a "Miiiike, NO!!!" from me & Mike backs down enough to either move to another plate or the scared cat moves on, but without fear of attack.
 

msaimee

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I'm sorry, but I have to very respectfully disagree with the suggestion to trap and euthanize him. If you're unable to get him neutered, just let him be. Toms rarely stay in the same place for long, he will likely move on in a few weeks. I've seen this happen many dozens of times on my road. I live on a dead-end street in a suburb with woods around me, where new feral cats will often pass through, and where people will sometimes dump a cat. 98% of the time they leave within a few weeks. Either they have a caretaker already and were just passing through, or they find a new caretaker. If he isn't physically and seriously hurting your other two cats, then please give it some time so he can either adjust to them, or move on. For all you know, he may have another caretaker somewhere nearby who feeds him, and will return to them. It is way too soon to be talking about euthanization.
 

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msaimee msaimee is right - he will probably move on in search of a mate. Until then, you might be able to establish an alternative eating & sleeping area for your 2 residents. I feel sorry for them because I know how rough it is for them to be dealing with an unneutered male. I feel sorry for the tomcat, too, and I hope that he can be TNR'D and hopefully relocated. Please keep us updated!
 

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I understand your predicament Antonio65 Antonio65 I also live in a country with a lot of feral cats and very little money or facilities to help them.

Please don't have the cat PTS though. I know you'd never be able to forgive yourself, you're too empathetic towards animals to do anything like that.

:grouphug2:

Is it possible to bring you two favourite ferals indoors? Or to make your yard enclosed so that other cats can't get in?

Getting him TNR'd will help a lot, as others have said. I really like JCatbird's idea about putting one shelter on top of the other too.
 
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Antonio65

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Can you contact a rescue group in your area for some helping doing TNR on these cats? Since the neighbor was so irresponsible there are bound to be so many cats. Ask for help. Someone might volunteer to feed the cats in another location or even take some of the cats to barns where they care for feral cats.
In my area the town council is obliged by the law to neuter all feral cats that are taken to their attention, provided that the feral cats are forming a feline colony and that this colony has been verified by an authority.
So, the town council agreed to neuter them on their expenses, the fact is that at the end of the year the council ran out of money for this issue and we are waiting for fresh funds. Even if all the cats are neutered, they will be still around.

There's someone else who is feeding them in a different location, but those cats wander and go all over, and stop where the food is better and the shelter is warmer. And there are no other shelters, that I know.
 
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Antonio65

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With regard to this particular new cat, is there any chance you could get him neutered sooner rather than later?
Of course I will do that, as soon as I figure it out his habits.

I also want to add that it is not automatic that a bunch of other cats will show up on your property if you put out another small shelter for him and food bowl.
At first I had no cats outside, just the old cat house.
Then a female cat came a would sleep in there, so after a few days I set up a couple of dishes for her.
Then a young male joined her, I altered the cat house to give shelter to both and set up a new dish.
And now I have this new feral and, occasionally, his friends.
 
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Antonio65

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If he is a young male and more aggressive than the other two you may find that if you get him neutered and established nearby, he may keep others away.
I hope it is like you say.
The second semi-feral cat I have outside was neutered a couple of months after he settled in the courtyard. Probably it's just him, but he isn't able to keep other cats away :lol:

I suggest you try and stay outside while your kitties eat. Any new true feral will not want to come while you are there. Making sure you remove uneaten food will help keep more than the three from coming.
This is what I am doing. I stay there while my semi-ferals are eating. This doesn't discourage the other from showing up, even at a certain distance, and this is often enough to scare my cats off :(
Lately I'm removing the dishes with uneaten food when I leave, but this means that my cats don't have food available for most of the day, like they had in the past.

Maybe you could add to the shelter by going up a level instead of out. Is a second story possible? Maybe the entrance to the second level could be on another side too.
The cat house has two storeys, with separate entrances. A further storey is impossible.
 
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Antonio65

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:alright: No easy answers here. If you cannot TNR him, then the kindest thing is to try trapping him and pay a vet to put him down.
I'm quite positive that I will never find a vet, over here, that will agree with PTS a healthy cat.
All shelters here are "no kill", laws forbids PTS a healthy animal, so this will never be an option, luckily!

The alternative is removal but those situations too often result in circumstances where Death comes as a friend.
This is the alternative I had thought, but it sounded so cruel in my mind...:(

I don't chase off Mike but I do use a "drill sergeant stance" when walking towards him if I am averting a catfight or other undesirable behavior. Knowing that I will intervene has given the other cats the confidence to eat with Mike present.
Unfortunately this doesn't work for me.
The female semi-feral is very shy and sensible, and if I make a "drill sergeant" walk to make my presence seen to the invaders, this shy cat will run away along with them.
 
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