Stray cat upsets indoor-only cat

[poolcat]

Can't find anything on this topic using the search function. Seems odd, so I'm probably using the wrong search terms.

Anyhow... a neighbor (#1) at the other end of my block was feeding a stray, pregnant female. She didn't attempt to trap the kittens in time to prevent another litter! An unneutered male from the first litter has been hanging around my house for several months. He doesn't seem aggressive, but my indoor/outdoor boy (12 year-old, neutered) is determined to run him off. We never put any cat food outside, nor does anyone else at my end of the block as far as I know. I think the woman at the other end is the only one who does. She has told me that she sees the offending cat finishing up her other outdoor cats' food.

Now my next door neighbor (#2) is complaining that my cat and the young stray are hanging around her back door, upsetting her indoor-only cat. I told her I'd try keeping my cat inside if we can stand it. (He's a howler... BB ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.) After one day, my husband found that BB had peed on the blanket he uses in his study, even though I put a new litterbox right next to the door where he goes in and out.

My question is whether trapping and neutering the stray is likely to alleviate these problems. I'm willing to do that... and it needs to be done anyhow. It will be easier for me to trap him than for neighbor #1 to do it. I expect that both neighbors will offer to help with the cost, but that's not a big issue for me.

Are there other solutions, just in case he won't go in the trap? Neighbor #1 trapped him when he was younger and got him vaccinated, but refused the vet's suggestion to neuter him. She thought he was too young.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Your cat was not hanging around Neighbor #2's house before this stray showed up? If your cat is running him off, I wonder why he is hanging out at the neighbor's house with the stray? I also wonder if the neighbor is using your cat as an excuse for someone else (you) to do something about the stray.

At any rate, trapping the stray and getting him neutered is probably the first, and best, course of action to take. It could take a while to accomplish it, so don't give up too soon. But I am curious how you are going to do this if your cat is allowed outside and could easily stop the stray from going into the trap - or your cat going in the trap for that matter. Maybe it would be better if Neighbor #1 would set the trap in their yard, to possibly avoid any issues with your cat if the trap is in your yard, especially if they are still feeding it. If you have to be the one to trap him, maybe you set the trap overnight each night and keep your cat inside during that time. You are most likely going to have to place food in the trap to convince this cat to even go inside it, so you might consider ways to camouflage it too.

There is no guarantee that your cat will stop chasing the stray even after it is neutered - or, as you are concerned, that you aren't successful in getting him trapped. Tbh, at that point I don't think you have much choice but to see about making your cat an indoor only pet. Any other deterrents to try to keep this stray away are going to impact your cat too.

 

[IndyJones]

Could you build a catto for your cat? It might not solve the stray issue but if your cat stayed in there he wouldn't wander into the neighbours yard.

If the neighbours are annoyed enough, I would be concerned they may resort to antifreeze or some other poison.

 

[ArtNJ]

I dont have a ton of experience with this, but I've had neutered indoor/outdoor cats hiss and growl at visiting neutered indoor/outdoor cats so I'm a little skeptical it will fix your problem. Also, I know from other posters that some indoor cats react very strongly to a visiting outdoor cat even with all the windows closed -- i.e., they see the cat, but dont necessarily smell it. If they do smell it, it surely cant help if its unneutered, but I just dont know how likely it is that its the only issue. Might be worth a shot, and/or get the neighbor off your back while your working on it.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

getting the stray neutered might not fix THAT problem, but it would sure fix a lot of little homeless future problems, and MAY help a good bit in other areas, as well. One thing I find confusing is that your neighbor reports that the two cats are hanging out together at her house, which seems to indicate that they have some sort of friendship going on, and if that is true, the stray's visits should NOT incur "accidents." You might want to get your boy checked for urinary tract issues, just to be safe.

I love the idea of a catio, if you can do it. Lets him be out, but secure, and not roaming around.

 

[klunick]

I dealt with this issue. Stray cat (although he had an owner because he wore a collar) kept coming to the house to torment Gracie. He would stand at the sliding glass door knowing that it would make her go bonkers and then pee on our terracing while he walked away. Gracie going bonkers lead to her taking her aggression out on Boone. They had to be separated for 6 months before they would tolerate each other again.

I haven't seen that cat for probably a year. He caused so my grief in my house. He did leave his mark though by getting another cat who lives in our woods pregnant which has now spawned a bunch of cats now living in our woods because they keep breeding with each other. Our neighbor feeds them but won't TNR them so the cycle will continue.

 

[poolcat]

Thank you all for your replies. I don't have time to respond right now, but I'll get back to y'all later!

 

[poolcat]

I’ve talked to both neighbors today. They are cat lovers and I consider them friends, so I don’t think they’d do anything to harm a cat. Neighbor #1 had two of her female cats spayed today. That makes 6 out of…. I don’t know how many. Lots. She feeds most of them outside, so she’s always acquiring new ones.

The stray, Desi, is scheduled for neutering a week from next Thursday. I’m going to try to get him used to the trap over the next couple of weeks by gradually moving the food dish into it. Old BB will just have to stay in the house till Desi is done eating. Neighbor #1 has so many cats at her house, she’d probably catch the wrong one. Hopefully Desi will be so traumatized by being trapped that he’ll stay down at her house. I will not be feeding him after his surgery.

Seems there was a fight last night between BB and Desi, which is what got the neighbor’s cat, Buddy, all upset. His food, water, and litter are there, so it really is his room. Good reason for him to be especially territorial about it. BB does go over next door a lot, but Buddy isn’t bothered by that. He’s gotten used to BB, I guess.

A catio is a great idea, except half of our house is home to a foster, and two ferals (who all get along fine). The other half is the front and the driveway, so there’s no good place for a catio. Besides, we want to move soon, so I’ll save that idea for our next home.

It’s possible BB didn’t use the litterbox because it had pine pellets in it. I need to buy some softer litter and see if that suits him. If not, I’ll have him checked for a UTI.

Thank you all again. I’ll let you know if neutering this cat makes any difference. Fingers crossed.