Rant - tom cat harassing my cats

gettingready · 10 October 2011 at 2:42PM

I live on the first floor of a block of flats with a nice communal garden.

My cats like to go out, I take them down (mostly Teddy and Goerge, sometimes Chloe, Fred hates outside) and they stay within the garden sunbathing, catching flies and relaxing.

There is a black tom cat that come to the garden, he lives few houses away. He comes to pick fights with my cats (mostly Teddy) and I am at my witts ends to be honest.

I know theowners, been there twice now asking then to neuter their cat (this is the only cat causing problems here). The cat is covered in scabs too - told them to look after their pet.

They are Polish so no excuse about language barrier - gave them numbers for low cost neutering etc etc.

Just now heard screamiong from the garden, run down, saw Teddy being beaten up by that cak - chased the cat away, checked Teddy over, no major damage BUT

I look after my cats, I do nto want them to get some ilness from fighting with a strange tom cat who's owners can not be bothered.

The cat itself is lovely, he wants cuddles, he looks for attention, he is skinny and does not look very wekk - black, not old, no idea how old he may be.

What on earth can I do to make sure my cats are safe from fights AND to give this poor boy a better chance in life?

Any ideas?

krlyr · 10 October 2011 at 2:55PM

In reality, you have a few options
- deter the cat. I'm not a fan of water pistols etc. but could be an option to keep your cats safe. Can you make any modifications to the communal gardens, e.g. something on top of the fence to deter him? You could try other deterents - have heard pop bottles in the garden are supposed to spook cats off, orange zest is meant to be a natural repellent, lion poo around the borders, etc.
- accept it as one of those things with outdoor cats. This is one of the reasons I'm not keen on outdoor cats, you can't predict what your pet is doing if you're not there to see what it does :undecided All you can do is take responsibility for your own cats, I know you're not in the wrong here but if you can't stop it then you could perhaps just limit your cats' outdoor time to fully supervised
- take pro-active action and drop the cat off at a rescue as an unclaimed stray. Again, not really something I'd really recommend but it depends how far you're willing to go to stop this. Some cat rescues/charities will neuter strays and release them again. One thing I'd be wray of is trying to see if there's a genuine reason he's not been neutered - perhaps he has a health condition, e.g. weak heart, making it unsafe? Still doesn't justify him being left to roam and cause trouble but could be an explanation of why they haven't had it done

gettingready · 10 October 2011 at 3:23PM

Thanks, frankly this is exactly what I am thinking about:

take pro-active action and drop the cat off at a rescue as an unclaimed stray

The cat is very thin, very bad coat condition, scabs all over, not neutered - I doubt very much he is chipped or vaccinated.

My cats do not stay in the garden all day, I take them out for few hours and bring them back. As George is on cage rest following an op - it is really only Teddy going out now.

As I said, I already spoke to the owners twice, also gave them info about reduced fee neutering at Celia Hammond. Other people from my block are also complaining about that cat as he sprays onto their kids toys left in the garden etc etc.

He is not well looked after poor thing and the people just won'r listen.

Really ashamed as they are Polish (like myself). People who left pregnant Lucy behind were Polish too.... Grrrrrrrr

rising_from_the_ashes · 10 October 2011 at 3:42PM

Awwww poor wee soul - I know he's causing problems for you, but I just hate to hear of animals not getting the love and attention they deserve.:mad:

I guess it depends on whether you think it's worth another try with the owners .... if not, dropping him off as a stray may be the best - at least he'll be fed properly and hopefully find a new forever home where he's looked after and loved.:(

gettingready · 10 October 2011 at 3:50PM

I feel for him too - spoke to people from my block not to harm him... and believe me they are close as he is causing problems here - not his fault though, he is a boy, he is marking...

And he is so cuddly, so looking for cuddles - but with all those scabs and bad fur people dont want him near their kids etc....

Last time gave him food and water - went to see his owners, nobody was there but the cat followed me to his house and was purring like mad, it was 30 degrees outside, went back home and took some dry food and water for him, gave him a cuddle and that is ehwn I realised how bad his skin is

Pushed a note thought their letterbox... sigh....

paddypaws101 · 10 October 2011 at 3:51PM

The problem is that they are likely to go and get another cat and treat it just the same.
GR would it be true to say that maybe the culture in Poland is not to be so inclined to neuter animals? I have a Polish friend who I have had MANY arguments with as she allows her female cat to have litter after litter as she thinks neutering is cruel and un-natural. Now, lots of Brits may be similarly misguided but I think overall the message is out there in this country.
Anyway, I digress.
When Milo was neutered there was not a single mark on his body to show it had been done....no shaving round the genitals or front leg. I guess it depends on the vet though as poor Monty came home with a shaved area all round his privates.
All I am saying is that it would be possible to get the cat neutered without the owners knowing..... ( remember CP will neuter for free an animal that you have been feeding as a stray for 2 weeks or more.....)

gettingready · 10 October 2011 at 4:00PM

Paddypaws - you have 2 extremes in Poland.

Very, VERY ignorant people (villages, farms etc) that still chain their dogs 24/7 and feed them bread and milk (if anything) and the people I mix with that are sometimes way over the top BUT with good intentions in hearts looking after strays, neutering, doing the best they can.

When I was working, easily 1/3 of my monthly income was going towards really bad crualty cases rescued and looked after private small "charities" in Poland. It is bad, I mean REALLY bad in some places.

When they were floods where peopel had to run away from their homes with just the clothes they had on themselves - imagine those poor dogs chained with no way of escaping

Ok, sidetracked myself but yes, you are right - it is the mentality very often, depends where in Poland are they from.. those are obviously ermmmm no, won's say that.

My neighbour is Polish, she has a dog and a cat and they are both very well looked after. So as I said - you get 2 kinds really.

The guy (from the black tom cat) - apart from going to their house - I also met him on the bus several times and told him about neutering/fights etc - he made big eyes at me "I did not know". But well, now he knows, I told him and his wife - more then once. And nothng.

I guess they got a little cute kitty for their little girl and the kitty grew and everyone lost interst...

Poor cat he rally is so friendlyyyyy to people but he fights all the other cats in the neighbourhood

Fridaycat · 10 October 2011 at 4:17PM

I was going to suggest the same as Paddypaws.... if other neighbours are distressed by the cats spraying etc, could you all chip in a little bit of cash, kidnap him for a day, get him neutered (and have a general health check) and then return him discreetly?

The problems with dropping him off at a shelter are two-fold:

(1) The shelters are full already and may not have room for the cat/may put him to sleep if no new owner can be found.

(2) The people will probably just go and get another cat and the issues would then be repeated.

gettingready · 10 October 2011 at 4:22PM

I know, the idea of catnapping him and geting him neuterd is brilliant.....

I have a cat basket and a room where I could starve him overnight before the anestetics.... I dont thnk they will even realise if he is missing for a day or two...

Still, I have no transport so this is awkward - can not get neighbours involved as something like that could get back to the owners and he is one of those big bald massive guys so I rather not... hmmmm

harrys_nan · 10 October 2011 at 4:24PM

How about getting the RSPCA to have a word with them regarding its health and to get the owners to look after the poor thing better

gettingready · 10 October 2011 at 4:49PM

I doubt RSPCA would get involved...

Rant - tom cat harassing my cats

Comments

Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

🚀 Getting Started

Categories

Is this how you want to be seen?

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free