Neighbour's aggressive cat

[mimblewimble]

Our neighbours a few doors down have a very territorial and aggressive tom cat.

He was fighting with and injuring our cat so much that we had to speak to his owners. The owners are lovely so it's really awkward to bring up with them. The cats now don't go out at the same time any more - we have to coordinate with the owners on WhatsApp every day.

We also can't leave any doors or lower windows open if their is out, as he will enter our house, or fight our cat through the windows. Now this isn't ideal, but it's been workable.

However we now have the problem that he is attacking us. If he is in our back garden and we go out there he stalks and tries to attack us. DH, the kids and I are all scared to go out there on our own is we know he's out.

We have tried to shoo him from the garden, but he will either just stay put and stare, or if you get too close he turns on you. We have tried water pistols but he just moves slightly away and then returns.

It now seems to be getting even worse, as a couple of times recently he has actually chased me down the street. I have been scratched by him a couple of times, and he can't be scared off.

I'm worried he will cause one of us a serious injury, especially one of the kids.

How on earth do I go about raising this with the neighbours, and what can I reasonably expect them to do?

The cat is already neutered, and he's just a normal tabby as far as we know.

Hairspray? Spray paint? They

I'd be throwing it at the owner as soon as they opened their door and telling them that they had better keep the little fucker inside now.

"Cats don't bare their teeth so that's an odd description....please don't kick it."

Course they do. I'd kick it if it attacked me!

The suggestion for you to cat proof your property isn't fair as it's not your cat that's causing the problem!

Record what their cat is doing, send the video to the owners and ask if they can cat proof their garden to stop him getting out.

If I got a message saying one of my cats was attacking people, the cat would be kept indoors at all costs. It's not on at all. Imagine if you were a small child?!

What happens if you visit the neighbours socially? Does he still attack you? perhaps try this for a while and perhaps he will accept you. If he attacks you in the house then at least the neighbours can see him in action. Otherwise start wearing thigh length boots at all times. For the people who are not sympathetic, it is actually really heart stopping when a cat jumps you and you are not ready. And it is nearly as bad having to be on the alert at all times. Rubbish situation for you.

We have a car round here that's mean and it keeps attacking other animals but has now progressed to children. It's recently attacked the neighbour's toddler as they walked down the street! She managed to get it off him but it was a vicious attack with it wrapped around his legs, claws and teeth sunk in, even if it did only last seconds. Her child hasn't really interacted with the cat at all so the cat doesn't have beef with him or anything because of a pulled tail or anything. She's said next time she see it, it's going to learn how to fly with a boot launch.

*cat
That should say, "We have a cat round here"

Talk to the owners, they need to be put on notice that their cat is being so aggressive. My daughter was attacked by a cat a few years ago, it literally chased her down the street. I've never seen anything like it, the bloody thing would not let go of her! She was wearing jeans, but the damage it did to her legs required a visit to A&E, several stitches and a tetanus shot, followed by another hospital visit when one of the wounds became infected. Pic is of the leg that didn't require stitches.

Cat bites can be very bad particularly if it’s over a joint.
Give it a good kick next time it attempts to attack you. You are allowed to defend yourself.
Or hope it gets run over soon.

I got rid of some unwanted cats who would shit all over the patio by scattering chilli flakes in the area, that would stick to their fur - gave them a shock when they licked it. This will not help you, as you have your own cat, so maybe some chilli oil in your super soaker. I didn't have to do this for long, they soon got the message and stopped coming over.

What they do is up to them… keep it in the house / sort the behaviour so that it can be allowed out/ put it to sleep.

What you don’t have to do is put up with this.

There'll be something he doesn't like, you just need to figure it out.

The hissing Amazon spray sounds like it could be a good shout.

Having been attacked by cats (my neighbours cat was in a stand off with my old cat and I stupidly went and scooped up my cat, who went beserk and then they both attacked me!! 10 days of x2 antiobiotics and a tetanus shot!) you do need to avoid serious injury.

You must tell the neighbour how this has escalated as maybe they can offer some advice on dealing with him (he likes / dislikes)

I love cats but wouldn't be above giving a nasty, aggressive one a boot up the arse if I needed to defend myself or my kids.

The suggestion for you to cat proof your property isn't fair as it's not your cat that's causing the problem!

It may not be fair but if I was dealing with an aggressive cat I would be doing everything in my power to keep my cats safe and on my property - no matter how "unfair" it may seem.

we have to coordinate with the owners on WhatsApp every day.

I know this is a serious problem but this made me laugh 😆 Like having kids who fight!

Cat fences.

I remember a cat jumping on our family dogs back as my mum walked it down the street. Was stalking him and launched off a garden wall. I think you do get loony ones.

I’m a lifelong crazy cat lady and have a side hustle doing holiday cat feeding. Until recently I would never have believed a cat would behave like this without good reason. Then I found myself feeding a psycho Maine Coon who attacked me repeatedly. It was surprisingly frightening. I told the owners and they said “Oh yeah, he does that sometimes; the only thing you can do is hide behind a cushion.”

I have not looked after him since.

You need to be honest with your neighbour about the extent of the problem and make it their issue to solve.

Is it a Bengal? I know this has been asked before but I don’t think the OP has replied. Sorry if it’s been answered and I missed it.

What a lot of hidden cat-kickers there are. I'm surprised.

Nope, he's a large but very ordinary tabby as far as we know.

Reckon he could have some Scottish Wildcat genes or something though...

I love cats. I have a house full, including an aggressive little stray who moved himself in a few months ago. But I'll be honest, if a strange, aggressive cat was in the act of properly attacking me or my child, yes, I'd kick it. Because sitting down and having a calm discussion about how to better manage your anger and aggression does really work with cats.

Totally agree.
What if it attacked a small child? You need to have a conversation with your neighbours. This cat is dangerous and if they don’t act you will report to the authorities.

Reckon he could have some Scottish Wildcat genes or something though

Honestly, this is incredibly unlikely- he's probably just a poorly socialised run-of-the-mill ex feral.

This cat is dangerous and if they don’t act you will report to the authorities.

The authorities won't care. Cats have a legal right to roam and owners are only required to take "reasonable care" to ensure their cats don't harm people.

We have a car round here that's mean