My cat's a bully?
I just had an irate neighbour ranting at me about my cat, who's apparently been terrorising her cat and other neighbours' cats for weeks.
I was surprised because my cat is very small for its age. He's 11 years old, but has the body and weight of a kitten, approx 9-11 months old (ll three vets over years said he was totally fine. Very healthy, too). In the house, he's gentle, quiet and reasonably friendly, and a quick learner. Our other two cats are much bigger, body-wise, weight-wise, personality-wise and god, voice-wise.
It'd make sense if it was one of the other two that's been bullying neighbours' cats, but this one? I just can't associate him with it. If anything, he's more likely to be a victim.
He's a standard black-and-white cat, but the neighbour insists it's him because she recognised his unusually small frame when she spotted him - her words - "beating up a poor tabby" in her own garden.
Is it possible for a cat to have a different personality outside its home?
Was the neighbour overreacting? Cats are territorial, aren't they?
If it is indeed him, what's the usual solution? The only one I can come up with is make him a house cat, but I don't see how I can pull it off? We have a cat door and we sometimes leave windows open. Ideas? Thanks.
I was surprised because my cat is very small for its age. He's 11 years old, but has the body and weight of a kitten, approx 9-11 months old (ll three vets over years said he was totally fine. Very healthy, too). In the house, he's gentle, quiet and reasonably friendly, and a quick learner. Our other two cats are much bigger, body-wise, weight-wise, personality-wise and god, voice-wise.
It'd make sense if it was one of the other two that's been bullying neighbours' cats, but this one? I just can't associate him with it. If anything, he's more likely to be a victim.
He's a standard black-and-white cat, but the neighbour insists it's him because she recognised his unusually small frame when she spotted him - her words - "beating up a poor tabby" in her own garden.
Is it possible for a cat to have a different personality outside its home?
Was the neighbour overreacting? Cats are territorial, aren't they?If it is indeed him, what's the usual solution? The only one I can come up with is make him a house cat, but I don't see how I can pull it off? We have a cat door and we sometimes leave windows open. Ideas? Thanks.
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All our cats are.
If tabby is new in the area I'm afraid a bit of rough and tumble will only be natural until territories are settled. I'm not sure I'd be keeping your cat in just on her say-so - he's been around 11 years so surely its the other cats who need to accomodate him, not the other way round?
I look after our next door neighbour but one's cats on occasion and one of them is a big mardy puff ball of a thing that looks like butter wouldn't melt when at home.
However he turns into a beast when out and about and I often see him in my back garden terrorising the other next door neighbour's cats.
He's going to buy a camera-mounted collar for our cat to prove the neighbour's allegation wrong. I've tried to talk him out of it as it may be too big for our cat, but he's determined.
This is what he's getting: http://www.amazon.co.uk/EYENIMAL-NGCOLCAM002-Eyenimal-Petcam/dp/B007POVHBU/
I'm staying out from this ridiculous plan.
Anyway, thanks for posting.
Build him a secure pen or keep him inside else you face serious, long term neighbourhood dispute and/or you cat 'disappearing' ;-)
It'd be very sad to keep in a cat who has been able to access the outside all its life just 'cos you're afraid something nasty will happen to it.
Having said that a sensible discussion about cat behaviour would be the way to go with the neighbour - so many neighbour disputes could be nipped in the bud with a little diplomacy from the start.
I don't have any real answers - except that I really don't see there is anything the OP can do. If cats roam free, they are always going to meet up with feisty opponents. As long as there are no vet bill involved - I would honestly say - that's life.
If she sees them she runs up to them and, after they have growled at each other a bit etc, she hits them on the head with a hard paw and they run away. Cats are territorial and our cat thinks our garden and both of next doors are hers. As far as I can tell they don't actually fight. They are all neutered and spayed.
I agree with Muze I am afraid, I would worry someone could take revenge or that I would end up with a big vet bill.
When I first moved to my house my Tabitha had to deal with a big bully who had identified my garden as his own (the previous owners were catless). Tabitha even came home bleeding once after he attacked her.
I chased away the cat whenever I could - though he wasn't scared of me and often wouldn't move so I had to resort to water squirting. However, as a cat owner and lover, it never once occurred to me to complain to the cat's owner. I certainly didn't expect the owner to confine such an obviously outdoor cat and I understood why the cat was doing what he was doing. In his eyes, my Tabitha was the interloper. It all settled down in the end as Tabitha became accepted (she was so lovely and over the years earned the respect of other local cats), her scent pervaded the garden and I spent a lot of time out there myself with her.
I know there are people who hate cats but very few people actually hurt cats (the few who do get heavily publicised/prosecuted so we get skewed perceptions of the problem - also reading DS GD threads certainly would make anyone fear for their cat's safety
She's 14 years old & weighs next to nothing compared to my other 2 babies (yes she's healthy & happy)
Both my other two are bigger than her but they're scared of her as she's a grumpy old lady when she feels their getting the attention she obviously deserves more
The little ones are the worst
Some cats simply don't know their own size. Today my husband had to break up a fight between our tiny, elderly cat and a huge magpie (we have a pair of magpies nesting in our garden). The magpie is bigger than her..she's been stalking it for days