Indoor & Outdoor Cats Trying To "fight"

[remi0889]

Hello!
I have two cats, one older chill guy named Remi, and a younger ( 3 yr old ) crazy spaz named Theo. I live about an hour from my family and usually go visit on the weekends and I like to take my boys with me. Well my parents recently had a feral cat come up to their house and they've been feeding her and getting her treated for fleas, worms etc and planning to get her spayed. But now that she is constantly hanging around outside, Theo is a mess when he sees her and she returns the feeling. If he sees her outside he'll do the whole low growl, crazy noises, and attack the window. She also is hissing and going wild and will attack right back. Theo also will attack anything that is in close proximity and my sister has been clawed because she was just too close. I have had Theo around other cats, my friends sometimes would bring theirs over and Theo would maybe hiss a little bit but then just hide or stalk from a safe distance. I've never seen him go so wild to try to attack another animal. Any advice on how to calm him down? When he sees her and goes so crazy it makes the whole family nervous and careful as to where we sit in the house and poor Remi just doesn't understand why he's mad and I think it's traumatizing him. I'm planning on going out of town for a week and my parents will be keeping them both. I hate to think they'd have to deal with this wild boy the whole time i'm gone. Thanks for any advice!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Is there anyway to confine your cats to a room/area away from where they can see the feral whenever they are at your parents? Until a long term plan is in place for this feral, that is about all you can do.

I am guessing Theo is neutered - if not, that might be part of the problem.

You might also want to consider having a friend, your sister or other relative, even a professional cat-sitter take care of your cats - in your home - while you go out of town.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Unfortunately, Theo's reaction is a pretty normal cat reaction to a strange cat. Cats are HIGHLY territorial, and see a strange cat as a threat. And for cats, territory is a matter of life or death. That's instinctive.,

If you can't get an alternate sitter, or if your parents done have a room where Theo can be kept away from Wild Girl, then the only way to handle this is allow them to have at it. They can't physically get to each other, after all. I know how upsetting this is, but warn everyone involved NOT to try to go near Theo during or immediately after a window spat, to give him time and space to settle back down again. Keep Remi away from him at this time. This will avoid instances of redirected aggression.

We have a colony of ferals where I live, and when Hekitty first encountered them, it was mayhem. She sounded like a dragon in heat, would puff out to double her normal size, and she and the other cats would go at it through the glass door. It took a while, but they now coexist quite peacefully, and will often sit just looking at each other through the door.

 

[remi0889]

Thank you for the input! He actually got to where he sat and just watched her through the window for a bit today without going crazy. Maybe he'll calm down once he has to see her outside everyday.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

YAY! Yes, once he realizes that she will NOT be coming in, he'll be much more relaxed about her!