As most of you already know, this is my little baby Duke, sitting in our bird bath. Isn’t he super cute. He loves it in there. I’m not sure that the birds do though.
I know a lot of my readers have lovely pussy cats too and I want to know how you stop them from fighting with the neighbourhood cats. And here’s where this guy, Harry, comes in:
Harry and Duke fight, a lot. Like.. full on brawls. Duke has heaps of holes in his ears now. You all know I’m vegan and I love all animals but I have mixed feelings for this one! haha I kind of want to kill him for beating up my little boy. Don’t get me wrong, Duke is huge and can definitely hold his own. The problem is Harry has always been king of this neighbourhood and used to be best friends with the cat that used to live here, before we moved in… he even comes inside using the cat flaps.
There are other neighbourhood cats, lots of them in fact. When they come over Duke beats them up and they don’t come back. Harry and Duke however are both massive and too evenly matched meaning both of them keep going back for more and more.
So aside from getting out the hose, which I have done many times, what are your tips for fighting cats. Got any ideas?
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I would definitely make that gorgeous cat an indoor kitty! That would take care of the problem!
ReplyDeleteOoh Donna look at that gorgeous pic you have! hehe
ReplyDeleteDuke could definitely not be an indoor cat. He has been an indoor cat 5 days a week before and he was so depressed... it was devastating really! Plus he goes absolutely bonkers, runs up the walls even when it's just raining out haha. He'd drive me nuts too.
We have a neighborhood bully. Once we started feeding him he doesn't get in too many fights with our cats.
ReplyDeleteWhen he does my husband shows him the fence and he is asked to leave. I think the food and treats keep his urges to kick butt down to a minimum. Our cats only go outside supervised they are basicly indoor cats. The smallest of our cats when he sees the bully Smokey makes a b-line for the door. Also Smokey is an unfixed male. We don't even know where he lives. Shows up for breakfast and dinner everyday.
Oo Olivia gorgeous kitty in your pic too! :D
DeleteThanks so much for commenting... that is super interesting! He has come in the house before and stolen Dukes food, Duke didn't care that much though he's a good sharer and when we first moved in it was pretty obvious he was trying really hard to just be submissive and be friends with this cat but not anymore..
I might have to try that out. Thank you!
Great post! Your cat's adorable! I have four cats (who have their Diva moments) and feed some strays (now semi-strays as they are warming up to us) There are 2 boys who fight a lot with one guy being the alpha lol- when there is a stand-off on the porch I give them treats on opposite sides of the area and that distracts them for a bit- but I'd love to hear other people's advice as I'm always afraid someone will get hurt.
ReplyDeleteThanks Christina! I'm not sure what to do as there seems to be no clear alpha haha. I think that's the real problem here.
DeleteSpray bottle with water works. It does not hurt the cats just scares them and if he fights with Duke just spray him when he comes in the yard - he'll soon learn and will not want to come in any longer. I did this with a fighting neighbor cat that still roams around. I no longer have my baby as he passed on but the spray bottle worked. I didn't even have to spray after a couple of times - just hold the bottle in sight and that cat would take off.
ReplyDeleteThanks Brenda! I have been slightly disappointed when they scatter before I got to spray them haha. I wanted to spray that Harry cat! :D I'm so cruel haha
Deleteyour duke is super cute, and I was hoping to find the answer in the comments. I have 2 girl cats, one is 8 and the other 1. I think the kitten just wants to play, but it's very fighting-esque. the other day they were both on their back legs with the front ones on each other. it upsets me, but it's also not consistent, as they sometimes share a seat. good luck with yours!
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't worry too much about that. If female cats are getting along ever then you're doing pretty good in my experience haha. :D I wouldn't worry about mine so much either if he wasn't getting hurt, that being said he doesn't seem to mind it either.
DeleteI'm a dog person, but if I had that problem I'd do the same thing is get out the hose. Have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteI'm a cat dog person! I simply cannot be just one or the other. For me I love them both too much to choose.
DeleteHoly cow! That is just nuts! I would be all over that cat! I get protective for those that I love. My girlfriend lives in the city and she was telling me that there is a cat that waits for her small dog everyday when she walks out of her apartment...it scratches her dog and attacks coming full force out of the bushes. She was actually considering using pepper spray. I hope that you get some good tips on this one...your little guy is adorable!!!
ReplyDeleteWow that is one nasty cat!! I don't think Harry is anywhere near that bad. They're just both being normal cats trying to establish themselves, not being nasty like that though! Thankfully Duke never gets upset about any of this but when I see his ear bleeding I do get upset!
DeleteHi Kristy! I feel bad for your little one. I have limited knowledge on pet care but I guess close monitoring can work for the meantime. Setting aside your problem, let me just say that you have a lovely blog. I love the photos and I'm back reading your archives. I hope we could get to know each other better albeit online. Have a lovely day!
ReplyDeleteHi Diane! Thank you so much for posting such a lovely lovely comment. You're a sweetheart! I looked at a few of my older posts and it's great to see such an improvement in my photos! I love the ones of Duke but I was very happy with how the Harry photos came out considering I took them through a very dirty window! :D Keep in touch, hope you're having a lovely day too!
DeleteMy cat, Shadow, kept getting beat up by our next door neighbor's cat. In fact, she has been to the vet too many times to count because of infected bite and scratch wounds. We tried to make her an indoor cat, but she would have none of that. However, we tried keeping her indoors just at night (which was when most of the cat fighting occurred) and that seemed to work. She wasn't upset being in the house during the night as long as she could go outside during the day. She hasn't been to the vet since :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comment Vickie! I'm sorry to hear about poor Shadow! I sure hope Duke won't have to go to the vet. I don't think there are any infections as of yet.. knock on wood. Our Dukie is an inside cat of a night and always has been thank goodness. I can't sleep if he's not in!
DeleteThanks so much for trying again Marilyn! I will have to look into those! Thanks so much for the info!
ReplyDeleteDo you know if Duke is neutered? Non-neutered cats fight for their territory; Or is he just the neighborhood bully. Wish I had an answer for you the hose is the only thing I can think of. I've used feliway in an indoor environment but don't see how it would work out doors. They have feliway collars but they aren't break away so I wont use them. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment Linda. Duke is definitely neutered and I think Harry is too, at least I haven't seen him spray anywhere like I have other cats in the neighborhood that Duke has gotten rid of already haha. Thanks for the info about the products. :)
DeleteThere is no stopping cats from fighting outside. If they are allowed to roam unsuperivised then they are apt to start fighting with neighbourhood cats. It goes for female cats, too. The fact that Duke is neutered and most likely the other cat is too just means they enjoy scrapping and don't intend to stop. I would keep Duke inside more for awhile and see if the other cat gets bored coming around and not seeing him. Perhaps he will wander off to another area to fight. Cats are cats and they protect their territory. There are many ways to keep Duke entertained in your home by providing window seats, cat trees & lots of toys. Perhaps he can be outside when you are there but inside when unsupervised. Deb
ReplyDeleteDuke's energy is endless there is no keeping him inside haha I think eventually maybe they'll both calm down a bit. They're just scrapping and as much as I hate it I don't think aside from maybe if small wounds get infected nothing too bad is going on.
DeleteThis is what has worked for me. I've been involved with catch spay release for awhile and this is how I've been able to tame strays up enough to catch them and get them to the vet. You are waiting too long to intervene. 1. Learn some cat language so you can understand the dynamic more fully. (Google it - How do cats communicate). 2. Observe the cats and understand when and where the posturing escalates. Is he fed and sheltered elsewhere? - Show the ginger cat that YOU are the Alpha cat in this colony by - facing him and staring at him. Make unblinking eye contact until he turns his head. Do not leave food out that will attract him. Everything will change when he realizes you are communicating with him. Does he expect to be fed at your house? Does he seek shelter there? If the answer is yes - he is dependent on you and is fighting for his survival. Make sure his food and shelter is in an area away Duke's food and shelter. - both cats should have a little spot that is 'theirs'. Remember outside food shouldn't be to close to shelter. Google it - How to care for an outside cat. 4. Befriend the cat. When the 2 cats see that YOU are the alpha and they are expected to get along they will. It will take some patience but it will be worth it. There are calming sprays you can spritz on things to help alleviate their stress to move things along. Once the cats realize you are communicating and the alpha - not just their minion - they will adjust to each other because you're the head of the colony, and providing food, water, shelter and safety and affection. They may not become lovey - dovey but the intense fighting will stop. Like most conflict resolution it's about meeting needs, setting boundaries, and communicating in a way the cats understand. I think Deb above has some very good points about Duke's safety and not leaving him out unsupervised at least until the 2 cats learn to tolerate each other. Christina's comment above is good too. The pepper spray comment - Not so much. Plus if a dog got a snoot full of pepper spray it would be in worse shape than the cat.
ReplyDeleteAnyway - lovely to find your blog at SYC and good luck to you and Duke!
Thank you! Harry definitely does not see me as the alpha. If they're fighting they take absolutely no notice of me going up to them... when they're at it they simply do not care. Harry is the next door neighbours cat and feels that our backyard is his as well but Duke knows it isn't ;) Thanks so much for the advice and your comment.
DeleteWhen we got a new cat, Creme, our other cat, Fiona, went nuts. We got Creme when she was a kitten and it has taken over a year for Fiona to merely tolerate Creme. Creme has shown interest, many times, in playing with Fiona, but Fiona is a few years older and just isn't having it. They finally will walk by each other without fighting, but they still don't interact at all. I think it's just going to take time.
ReplyDeleteI understand that girls are sometimes even worse than boy cats when they live in the same home. Everyone I've ever known to have two female cats... they never get along.. simply tolerate each other eventually haha but that's just my experience I hope your girls start loving each other soon Lisa! I do know that have a boy and a girl is generally much easier (so long as they're desexed of course!!!)
DeleteI don't have a great answer for you except to keep Duke indoors. But Duke is a cutie :) Have a great weekend! ~Lorraine ♥♥♥
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Lorraine! I think he's a cutie too ;)
DeleteNot sure if there is anything you can do. Cats just fight. lol! Good thing Duke can hold his own. Hope someone else has good advice. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
ReplyDeletehugs,
Jann
At this point Jann... I very much agree haha
DeleteCat's are very territorial - especially the males - we've had this problem too because some cats have been dumped nearby - checking out the responses! I bet these are wonderful - I do appreciate you sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
ReplyDeleteKathy
Kathy hopefully the responses will help you too! Thankfully they seem to be getting on a little better at the moment but it just seems to shift from toleration to full on brawls very randomly haha
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