Nasty cat next door

Oh dear, not an easy one to solve!

It is a territory issue , I presume the other cat was there first which would mean your poor cat is threatening its territory . They may settle down once the neighbour cat has established itself as `boss` . I would not fall out with your neighbour about this as there is absolutely nothing she can do about it . Has your cat got plenty of escape routes and is able to get back in to her home easily ? Cat flap?

Have you tried to be friendly to the other cat as stroking it will transfer your scent(and your cats)to the other cat , I hear that if you have cats which don`t get on you should stoke them one after the other (scent sharing) because cats depend a lot on scent to know who is in their `family` . I hope your poor kitty will be OK x

Territory indeed. Get a powerful water pistol and 'get it' every time he comes near- and he might get the message.

I've just taken a lovely cat under my wing- he has lost a paw to farm machinery I think- and it is still quite raw but healing. I am now feeding and watering it- but he is very scared and nervous- and the cat next door is constantly trying to get at him. Difficult as I look after next door's cat when they are away- and he was very poorly last time (in July) and had to give him lots of cuddles and care- but a bit of water won't hurt him- and hopefully will help protect my lovely new Siamese friend.

I went to the vet the other day to ask for advice, and he told me to give him a chance to heal- by feeding him and protecting him- and keep an eye. If he gets sick and infected- feeding him at the same place will make it easier to catch him in catch and release cage- and do what would then have to be done. Poor little mite.

We once had this problem ( with a neighbour's awful cat) it would even sit on our windowsill, our poor cats were terrified of it,as were other neighbours cats.Anyway, a few of us had a word with the neighbour, and he agreed to get it neutered.The change in that cat! I only saw it once, after that, and it was fearfully peering at me from behind a dustbin! No more problems.Before that, as well as attacking cats, it would hiss and sidle up to you waiting to lash out.Some cats just have too much testosterone.

We have the opposite problem. Ours is the bully of the neighbourhood and even takes on urban foxes too! He is neutered. At home he lives in harmony with our other cats and two dogs and isn't nasty at all, but in the garden and over the fences he's the devil. I've told the neighbours to do whatever it takes to send him on his way, the fighting noises are horrible.

I'm not sure what you can do. It's not nice to think your cat is being picked on, but maybe it affects you more than it does her.

No grandura he won`t get the message it will just make him more aggressive . The poster has already said that she has used a hose pipe on the cat and it didn`t work . It IS a territory issue so it is reasonable to try other methods which don`t involve being aggressive . Why just suggest the same course of action which didn`t work the first time

Is the offending cat neutered? Look what it did to Soops Rory.

f77- the 'hit' from a pumped up water gun is much more direct than a hosepipe- hence advising trying one- it actually hurts a bit but not too much- and is more dissuasive.

There is spiky stuff you can get to put on top of fences. I don't know if you even have a fence between you, but if so this would at least deter. It comes in rolls.

cactus ant cat deterent

Made of hard plastic and come in strips not rolls.

Can you find how it is getting into your garden (I assume the attacks are taking place there). If you can, obviously block them but also cats don't like citrus so try putting citrus peel around the spots where it gets in.

the water pistol is a good idea but...as soon as witchy cat sees me, she nips away smartly, being used to me having the hose in my hand! The irony is that I have fed her on odd occasions when my neighbour is away..clearly she is not very appreciative!

Of course f77ms I already said that I wouldnt fall out with my neighbour over it! She is more distraught about it than me and has told me to use the hosepipe whenever possible. The witchy cat was a stray who turned up on her doorstep at about the age of 1year old. I suppose its natural that she has huge territorial issues. I'd just like to solve it effectively without any more hassle

What does catnip do?

We had a similar problem with a neigbour's cat (which was just like it's owners ) and there really was no permanent cure until he was too old to be aggressive any more - and they have all shuffled off now.

Our cat became very vocal and screamed whenever she even saw the other cat which enabled us to shoot him with our powerful water pistol. It only put him off a bit but whenever ours screamed he slinked off so I suppose that was a result of sorts. We felt like the reserve cavalry! Hard to teach your puss cat to scream for you though.

DH said that if it ever occurred again be would opt for a different kind of permanent remedy!
I don't think that will happen though as I don't think I could go through all that again so haven't got another cat now she has gone. Very traumatic!

I have found a solution! I've bought a whizzy fountain attachment for my hosepipe. I stick it in the ground near to where witchy cat enters my property and when I see her, I just calmly turn the tap to 'on'. She looks quite aghast and hasnt been near our garden since. Result!

Brilliant!

specki I have one which is motion activated so it turns on even if I'm out! It send a harsh jet of water and makes a loud whirring noise too.

If would have suggested it had I known the cat has a usual point of entry to your garden.

My son bought a pressure sensitive water spray to leave at the end of his garden because, having a beautiful lawn that he had spent years cultivating, a squirrel had started digging it up enthusiastically! He didn't want to hurt the little rascal, just scare him off, and my grandson told me with pop eyed amazement how the squirrel had hopped over the fence,and - 'WHOOSH SPLOSH!!' (his words) the problem was solved. The gadget wasn't expensive, and two soakings convinced the furry fiend that he needed to go dig elsewhere. Worth trying with the cat - they hate getting wet.

I wonder is a Feliway adaptor in the nasty cat's house would help calm her down. It may be worth treating your neighbour to one & see if it works.I know they are not cheap but I have had very good results when we used to foster kittens & had a vicious one. Mind you they were in house all the time but they do make cats much calmer &v happier.I believe they work on principle of smelling like a nursing mother cat (humans cannot smell it). I hope I have the name right- I had a dog one too so that may be what the dog one is called but your vet would know.

if all cats hate getting wet then there is something wrong with my Asian male! He doesn@t mind a torrential downpour in the least, though he does expect me to dry him off with a towel. He has joined me in the bath several times.........but then he is very affectionate!!!!

Our cat is 19 years old and very frail. She was bitten recently by another cat and it nearly killed her. She had to stay at the vets overnight and have all sorts of treatment. It cost quite a lot of money. I am beginning to wonder if I'm being fair, letting her live amongst neighbourhood younger cats. Would it be kinder to have her put to sleep. What a dilemma. Sorry I've gone off the subject a bit. I would advise the OP to try and befriend the offending cat and make it feel special.

I've had this problem in the past, but they were two neutered males who were not afraid to stand up for themselves. Eventually they carefully avoided each other after a particularly vicious ding dong which resulted in them both having to visit the vet. Both my neighbour and I resorted to water pistols to separate them - once in our nightclothes in the dead of night.
I can only recommend alert reaction with the water pistol and taking all possible actions as suggested above to prevent them meeting each other.

It sounds as though this is a feral cat, used to fighting and living wild, though now being kept by your neighbour. I really don't know what you could do about it, but suspect that if you do anything even vaguely friendly it will take it as a sign that it owns you and your property.
Perhaps if your neighbour puts a collar with a bell on the cat your own cat could hear it coming and take evasive action?

My son had a neighbour's cat that kept coming in through the cat flap and spraying in her house, terrified his two cats and one of them left home and was never seen again. Couldn't use the locked catflap with tags because his cats wouldn't keep collars on.

Can the neighbour at least keep her cat in at night (she should be doing this anyway for safety?) Then you just have to be rigorous with a really strong water pistol in the daytime!