Stress peeing and neighborhood bully cat

[lyrajean]

How to deal with neighborhood bully cat who terrorizes our two in/outdoor kitties?

There is a neighborhood kitty who gets out and thinks she owns at least half our lawn. Apparently our 2 are wimps and she chases them into our house, stares at them through the glass door and they don't like it.

It would be tolerable except that it triggers Aya "stress peeing" on our furniture.

Looking for a solution besides making them indoor only as being outside has greatly helped Aya's peeing issue (my Vet agrees, and yes she's been checked out and the conclusion is that she's a high-anxiety cat, and the peeing is behavioral/stress related).

We use feliway in the house. Tried prozac (can't get it in her!). 

 

[lyrajean]

I forgot to mention aya is 3.5yrs old, spayed since 6mos. and was a kitten that I hand raised from 5 wks and exported from Japan. she previously lived in a very small apt. in Okinawa as an indoor only and the peeing issue was acute. She has a very high activity level and lots of "tortitude".

Our other cat is a 10.5yr old spayed female who is as mellow as Aya is high-strung. We've had her since 4yrs and never any behavior issues.

They get along okay and have lived together for a little over a year. They were both only cats before I moved back in the house. While not snuggle buddies, they get along great.

We don't know much about "Ms. Gray"  the bully cat except we think she belongs to the couple in the house across the field. We thought it was a boy at first till we figured out who owns her.

 

[johnson-bennett]

The fact that the neighbor cat sees your cats outdoors is probably triggering her to keep up the aggression. Cats are territorial.

Even though your cat may enjoy the good part of being outdoors (the sun, the grass, the scents, etc.,), it is actually a high-stress situation because of the other cat. The fact that it's causing one of your cats to display inappropriate elimination means she's living in an ongoing anxious state. It may also, at some point, change the relationship between your two kitties and that's the last thing you want. I would strongly recommend that you keep your cats indoors. It will greatly reduce the stress level and will virtually eliminate the risk of one of your cats becoming injured should the other cat make physical contact during a confrontation.

Here are some other suggestions as well. You can get a motion-activated water sprinkler so that it will go on whenever that other cat comes into the yard. That will certainly make it a less attractive place for her to be.

If your cats are watching her from the window and getting upset then cover the bottom part of your windows with cardboard temporarily. This will also help limit how much that outdoor cat can see your two cats. If she can't see them AND she gets wets every time she enters your yard she may think twice about venturing onto your property.

Pam Johnson-Bennett, CCBC

Cat Behavior Associates

 

[lyrajean]

Thanks for the good advice! Both suggestions have been mentioned to us before.

We've tried covering the bottoms of the french doors at night to put an end to the staring/hissing/growling contests. Right now Ms. Gray isn't coming over at night so we aren't.

Unfortunately, a sprinkler system isn't something my folks are going to contemplate for their property for bugetary reasons. And we are unwilling to make either cat indoor only. Being outside has helped Aya's peeing issues immensely. It onyl kicks up when Ms. Gray starts coming over.

 

[johnson-bennett]

The sprinkler isn't a full system, it's just a motion-activated sprinkler that you position correctly in the yard. Just wanted to make sure you understood I wasn't referring to a full irrigation system.

Pam Johnson-Bennett, CCBC

www.catbehaviorassociates.com