Redirected Aggression for Cats They Can't See, But Hear

[Annieca2016]

I have two girl kitties, Snap (7) and Grommet (5). After the introduction period a few years ago, they get along just fine. Sure, there's play tussling, but that's play and not real fighting. They are indoor-only kitties, although I do keep them up to date on Revolution because you never know with the mosquitoes in South Carolina. Enter in...a neighborhood girl kitty who is in heat and therefore meowling at night to attract the boys.

My girls can't see this cat - I have a fenced-in back yard and no windows facing the front yard on the first floor (and they don't peek through the blinds in the upstairs windows). But they can definitely hear her. Which leads to Grommet getting upset and attacking Snap. There's hissing, growling, meowling, the works. This of course only happens once I'm upstairs, in bed, lights out, and settled for the night. It's only happened twice over a few week span, so I've just been letting them work it out versus going down there and breaking the fighting up. It sounds like the fights maybe last a minute, probably less.

Because my house is 1500 sf spread over two levels, I'm not sure Feliway diffusers would work without taking stock in them! Any ideas?

 

[ArtNJ]

If its a stray you could try animal control. If its someone's cat, my guess is that they are kind of &^%es since no one responsible lets an unspayed female roam, so probably no help there.

People have recommended motion-activated sprinklers in the past, which will keep the cat at a distance that the smell shouldn't reach your cats. The sound might still reach, but without the smell perhaps it wouldn't matter. They aren't so costly, but I don't know about effectiveness. There are a lot of models on amazon if you search pet sprinkler, with the higher rated ones having 3.5 or 4 stars. So clearly its not a beloved product category, but with those ratings I'm guessing they do work for many.

 

[FeebysOwner]

You probably should try contacting local rescue groups to see about having her trapped, checked for a chip, and taken care of - ideally before she gets pregnant. You could put flyers around your neighborhood asking if she belongs to anyone. If you have a Next Door Neighbor web site you could post a pic of her and ask if anyone 'owns' her. Sometimes, there are people on these sites that are involved with rescue centers and volunteer to foster stray/abandoned cats so they can be adopted after spaying/vaccinations.

If she hangs out in your yard and does get pregnant, she could find a location on your property to deliver and care for the kittens - likely making the situation worse for you and your cats.

In the meantime, is it possible to get your cats to come upstairs with you at night?

 

[Annieca2016]

The hardest thing about this is that I have never seen the poor girl. She hasn't come into my yard because of the fence. I'm guessing she's in my backyard neighbor's yard, but not 100% sure. Because honestly, when a cat wants a mate, they are going to scream to the rooftop to find a guy.

I'll call my local rescue and see if they have any ideas as well. I've got a baby gate I can put at the top of the stairs in the meantime to keep my kitties up with me at night.

 

[Danneq]

Keeping them upstairs at night will hopefully help, and might make Feliway more feasible since you'd only need it on one floor.

While it's obviously hard to dissuade her from coming 'round of she's mostly in the neighbor's yard, could you try talking to the neighbors? Maybe if you offered to buy them a motion activated sprinkler they'd put it in their yard at night. Or even one of those motion activated air cans? We had a problem with a neighbor's cat hanging out on our porch upsetting our girls, and that seemed to help. The neighbors might even be happy to have a solution themselves, if there's a chance the noise she's making could be bothering them.

 

[Annieca2016]

Well, the cat turns out can jump my fence. I have a trap out to hopefully catch her. If I can, I plan to take her to a vet for a microchip scan. If she's a neighbor's kitty I will return her and say "Hey, please have her spayed and don't let her go outside. She's a fence climber!"