Nasty cat next door

It is a territory issue.It is clear to me that your neighbor has nothing to do with this.The best thing that you could do is to be friendly with your neighbor's cat and like f77ms said your cat's scent could get transferred to your neighbor's cat.Watering the cat down with a hose will not help either!

Phew! Cat wars eh.

Just to put this to rest - I have to tell you that my cat eventually won the war! She now struts about her territory and witchy cat is reduced to glowering behind the wall. I do not have a clue how she sorted it but she now chases it off our property and it leaves looking terrified!

Yes I've discovered that witchy cat was a feral kitten who was taken in by my neighbour. Unfortunately, my neighbour is away at the moment and has asked me to top up witchy cat's food bowl who is living outside. I'm doing it but it gets my goat a bit!

specki4eyes Why not keep your cat indoors? She won't be bullied, run over, be attacked or bitten by local wildlife, including bugs (fleas and ticks), which she could easily bring into your house . . .

With sufficient to occupy her inside like a puzzle feeder,
various toys she can roll about, plus a cat tree but especially your company- should acclimatise to indoor life. Not forgetting a water bowl and litter box The
cost of toys and litter does not compare to vat bills.

=^--^=

My cats invited the neighbours round to get stoned on catnip. They loved it so much that they killed the plants. They also put paid to catmint by lying around on it after they got stoned!

It is the nature of cats, but I have a lot of catnip and they do seem to become quite docile around it, so maybe worth a try.

This does not really help your situation but I thought it might raise a laugh regarding bully cats: I have two brother cats who used a pincer movement on my sons border collie puppy. I watched them communicate as they launched their attack and saved the puppy just in time.

Well, he is all grown up now and he hates them. They vanish when he arrives because they know he wants to kill them . They deserve it. Maybe you should get a collie dog

RAF - a friend of mine had a similar problem and got a cat flap that only opened for her cats as it worked on the cats' microchips, so no need for a collar.

Regarding Catnip..... It is a plant that cats love. They will blissfully lie on it.

Lupin you've just given me such a good giggle picturing you and your neighbour outside in your nightclothes squirting your cats with water pistols!

Re the

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!

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?

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.

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.

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!!!!

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.

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.

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

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.

Brilliant!

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!

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!

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?

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.