HELP! My cat is being bullied!

[themaddles]

My cat is 9 years old, and normally goes out a lot during the day and at night to hunt. Over the last 6 months, at least three neighbourhood cats have been preventing her from doing this - they hiss and howl all day and night, and even try and come in to the house and eat her food! I scare them off whenever I can, but my cat has become completely withdrawn, fearful, and has put on a lot of weight because she isn't getting any exercise. What can I do? Please help!

[Lilith]

I think you can only go on doing what you are doing, but being totally obnoxious to these pests. A plant mist spray, aimed under the tail, is a good way to alarm, deter, and destroy dignity! With it being winter you could always keep your girl in for a few weeks, so as to restore her confidence.

I had a similar problem a couple of years back - but it was with disgusting neighbours letting their cats into my garden to foul. I don't allow my own cats to foul my garden, which is secure (with means for any intruder to escape when my cats aren't using it.) I sorted this with an ultrasound cat deterrent - two in fact. They turn off easily when my own cats are out. Recently I haven't needed them; the pests have got out of the habit.

There will be other people along with more advice, but hope this helps for now. Good luck

[Crewella]

I did much the same as Lilith when we had a local 'bully' cat that started to terrorise my cats in their own garden. I used to chase him out myself, hissing, and also had the hosepipe handy to squirt him if I got the chance. It's labour-intensive and time-consuming, but it did eventually make him warier of coming into our garden, and eventually my little Spook must have realised that he wasn't so sure of himself because she suddenly gained confidence and went for him herself. It was a heck of a battle - they managed to knock over a concrete bird bath in the scuffle, but she saw him off and he never came back after that!

Most importantly, is it possible to make absolutely sure they cannot get into the house? If you have a cat flap perhaps get one that will only let your own cat in by reading either a tag or her microchip (if you don't have one already). It's bad enough that your poor girl is scared to go out, but so much worse if she also feels insecure in her own home.

It's horrible to see your cat scared like that - I really hope you manage to help her. Hopefully others will have more ideas. xx

[randall]

Adding to the chorus that I have discovered in the past that water is a great deterrent and changer-of cat behavior. You might want to invest in some kind of toy water-squirter in case a plant-mister doesn't throw far enough or it's difficult to find the hose and getting it going at night. You can even find cheap kids' toys that are like bazookas that you can load up with plenty of water to throw quite a bit of distance.

Some cats really don't like bright lights at night being shined at them. A powerful ultra-bright torch might add to the frightening presence you make when you chase them away.

Does your girl have a place to climb indoors? New toys might give her some exercise too until you can chase off those other cats.

[randall]

Also: Are you someplace where you can purchase predator urine? I have heard it works. You can see from these testimonials (true?) that mountain lion urine is said to work against domestic cats, but this vendor is in America:

http://thepeemart.com

Most likely your cat will not want to go outside either until the scent fades away. But maybe if you change the daily routine of the other cats they will permanently avoid your property, and a few rainy days will get rid of the scent and your cat will have the place to herself again.

But having no personal experience, you might want to do more research to see what others say.

[Crewella]

You can get this stuff based on the same principle:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silent-Roar-Lio ... B0002B7OT2