Territorial cat

bacardi66

Most female cats I have known have been very territorial and even in their later years have been willing to take on other cats - even in her late teens my brother's cat would attack other cats on her territory!

To be honest I quite envy you as Ive had neutered male cats who have been completely non territorial so I have endured years of other cats coming in the house, eating the cat food and even sleeping on my sofa and bed, while my cats either looked on or slept with them! At least with a feisty cat like yours you won't have that problem!

sparklysaver

Fridaycat wrote: »

So I am sure that things will settle - your cat may always be aggressive towards others, that is just feline nature, but the instances of her needing to use that aggression will reduce as the other cats realise that your back garden is no longer a safe place to be

Haha, yes, my garden should probably have some sort of DANGER signage up now! This is no longer the spot for a quick wee...... :rotfl:

She's outside sunbathing at the moment and all is quiet...... let's see how long that lasts!

sparklysaver

bacardi66 wrote: »

To be honest I quite envy you as Ive had neutered male cats who have been completely non territorial so I have endured years of other cats coming in the house, eating the cat food and even sleeping on my sofa and bed, while my cats either looked on or slept with them! At least with a feisty cat like yours you won't have that problem!

Oh good grief, the very thought of it!:eek: There'd be bloodshed if another cat tried to eat her food; just walking past "her" gate in the alleyway outside is enough to spark a full-scale hissing and spitting episode!

Ah well, looks like I'll just have to live with it to a certain extent, and keep my fingers crossed that she doesn't get herself into too much bother! Thanks everyone for all your advice.

DebiT

Sparklysaver:
I also had a rescue cat (RSPCA), he's a big gorgeous ginger lad and had been run over - had to have his pelvis plated. As I didnt want the same thing happening again (and with RSPCA recommendation) he has had to become a house cat. Obviously he's not happy with this, as I think he enjoyed a great deal of outside time in the past.
I have trained him to use a harness so that I either take him out in the garden myself or, the harness is fastened to the post in the back garden and he can safely nose around on his own (whilst still reaching the patio door to get in when he's had enough.

He is also very territorial. He sits on the back driveway guarding the back gate, and the side entrance, daring any moggy to show his face in his garden. When I take him round the garden myself he is rolling all over the place leaving his scent to warn others off lol:). I tried to adopt another rescue cat after I had had him 6 months, and it was a nightmare, he became a right little bully, in the end amidst much tears I had to take the second rescue cat back.

He's a lovely boy, he loves his fuss, loves humans - but hates cats, if you're worried about your cat chasing off other cats and perhaps getting lost or hurt, it might be an idea to get her used to using a harness, that way she can still be territorial - just in her own garden.

purple.sarah

I would keep her in for safety reasons, cats can catch FIV through bites and scratches and cat fighting can cause nasty injuries. And there are other risks out there such as traffic, it's a fact that indoor cats live longer. Also I doubt your neighbours will think it's as cute if she attacks them or their pets. Imagine a dog being allowed to behave the same way!

patchwork_cat

She is getting her territory. As a new cat she has no territory and is having to fight for it. Tortie's do have a rep, often called naughty tortie's! As for the picking up, some cats just don't like being picked up I have 2 that hate it.

vl2588

purple.sarah sorry but keeping a normal cat indoors is not right, it's not allowing the cat its natural behaviour. Yes there are benefits but do they outweigh making the cat miserable its whole life? Some accept it but most will not. Would you keep your kids locked up indoors so they don't get harmed?!

rising_from_the_ashes

purple.sarah wrote: »

cats can catch FIV through bites and scratches

Errrr, that's why there's a vaccination to prevent it!

purple.sarah wrote: »

And there are other risks out there such as traffic, it's a fact that indoor cats live longer.

Could well be true but I totally agree with vl2588 most cats enjoy being outside for some of the time (yes, some can adapt to indoor living, esp if in the middle of a city or disabled in some way).

I worry about mine going out but when I see them running around the garden, playing and enjoying life, then there's no way I could even contemplate trying to keep them in.

There are things you can do to cut down on the risks such as getting the cat in before it gets dark and keeping in overnight (this is the highest risk time for injury or worse).

My ex next door neighbours had a cat who was only allowed in their tiny garden on a harness for 5 mins every evening, the poor thing was so frustrated and you could see he was desperate to be out and about - I felt so, so sorry for him as every time you went past their house he was sitting at the windows gazing out looking sad (and I could hear him howling from inside my house when they took him back in every night).

vl2588

There's no vaccine for FIV, only FeLV. It's a risk you have to take, it isn't very common and the majority of cats avoid actual fighting most of the time, so it isn't anywhere near the biggest risk they will face.

sparklysaver

Thanks for the responses everyone. I know there are arguments for keeping cats indoors & I've thought about it, but decided against. There's no traffic at the back of the house where she gets out & she'd have to go a very long way to get round to the front, which is in any case a quiet cul-de-sac, so overall it's as minimal a traffic risk as there can be in a built up area. She doesn't wander far anyway, she seems more interested in maintaining her own territory rather than exploring. She's also in overnight. She loves playing in the garden and sitting outside in the sun (& particularly chasing flies - which she does inside too but then she usually catches & eats them:rotfl:), so I'm going to carry on letting her out.

I had also thought about a harness, one of my friends used one when she moved house with her cat so it could get used to its territory, and it might yet come to that but I'm going to let her carry on as she is for the time being & see if things settle when she's established her territory.