Intruder cat

50Twuncle

Last night - at 4am - we were woken by a hissing coming from our bathroom
One of our 2 - 14 yeat old cats had caught an intruder cat in the house
It was a black fluffy cat (male as it turns out) covered in sores and scratches
It legged it from the bath, to our bedroom - spraying everywhere then disappeared into the darkness
Leaving the house smelling awful - it has got in to everywhere - the carpets, towels, bedding, clothes etc etc
My wife is washing everything and using baking soda on carpets to try to get rid of the smell
How can someone let a cat get into that state ?

sheramber

sounds like it is a feral cat.

50Twuncle

I think that you are right
What can we do to discourage it from coming in again tonight ?

AndyPix

Shut the doors / windows.


Get a catflap that only allows your own cats in and out (chip on the collar)

pogofish

Sounds like its decided to adopt you..!

This is my 'intruder" - He's been trying to move-in for the last couple of years!

borkid

If as it seems to be a feral cat do you have a local cat rescue centre who could trap it and treat it so that if possible it could be rehomed at a later date. The minimum should be to get it neutered and treated.

Try vinegar as well to get rid of the smell and wash fabrics in biological detergent.

Marmaduke123

Sounds as if you need to change your cat flap to one which only allows your own cats to get in. You can get ones which work with the cats chip (if they are chipped), or with a magnet attached to a collar. If they don't wear collars that may be difficult at their age.

In the meantime keep the cat flap locked at night. You may need to provide a litter tray for your cats.

The poor cat does sound in a bad way, and I second contacting the local Cat's Protection.

es5595

This happened roc me a few years ago and i got a Sureflap. It works with your cats microchips, and might take a little while for them to get used to, but it will definitely keep other cats out. Highly recommended!

50Twuncle

Marmaduke123 wrote: »

Sounds as if you need to change your cat flap to one which only allows your own cats to get in. You can get ones which work with the cats chip (if they are chipped), or with a magnet attached to a collar. If they don't wear collars that may be difficult at their age.

In the meantime keep the cat flap locked at night. You may need to provide a litter tray for your cats.

The poor cat does sound in a bad way, and I second contacting the local Cat's Protection.

I will try to keep the cats in at night but they won't like it and may fight ..
I am considering a magnet cat flap and they already have several litter trays indoors
Thanks

tacpot12

I had a similar situation, and after having chased the same cat out of the house three or four times, I set the cat flap to "In-only" so that the intruder was trapped in the house. When it next came in and my cat woke me, I chased the intruder around the house with a mop - not hitting it, just banging the mop on the floor to give it the fright of its life. After about 60 seconds of chasing it, I opened the cat flap and chased it towards the cat flap so it could get out. It never came back.

ibizafan_2

A few years ago I had the same problem with a lovely, friendly but unneutered ginger tom who kept coming through the cat flap at night and eating my cat’s food. Even after locking the cat flap for two weeks while on holiday and thinking the problem was solved, he reappeared more or less straight away. It was if he was determined to make our house his home. He had obviously belonged to someone but Cat’s Protection couldn’t trace a previous owner after advertising, so in the end, I took him on. Ironically, if any strange cat ever dared wander into ‘his’ house or garden, he was the first to chase them away.