My new cat fighting with another cat

[SayraT]

I have recently got a cat, I have had him about 2 months now I think. He has started to go outside and seems to like it, he comes back (one exception to this) when I shout so don't think he goes far.

He has begun to have fights/disagreements with another local cat which has been here much longer than he has. When they meet up they growl at each other but I've only actually seen them fight once.

The other cat is much larger than my cat and one day I heard the growling/miaowing and when I went out to look the big cat was at the top of the close stairs preventing my boy from coming back up. He has also prevented him coming back into the garden once.

I wondered what the best thing to do in this situation is, I realise that the older cat would have established my garden etc as his territory and now my cat is "taking over" but I guess they just need to sort that out. When the big cat has been preventing my cat getting in I have gone out and chased big cat away and brought my cat inside.

Is that correct/an ok thing to do or should I be leaving them to sort it out themselves. Is there anything I could/should be doing instead.

Thank you for any help, this is my first cat so not sure

Is your new boy neutered, SayraT ?

I have to admit that I've always gone out and 'backed up' my outside-going cats if there's a disagreement which I hear. They do have to work it out for themselves in the end but I've always felt that it does no harm for any interlopers to realize that there are 'big guns' lurking around if they decide to go for one of mine.

Yes he is neutered. When I go out and big cat runs off my wee cat runs after him until big cat turns around then my cat is not so brave and come running back to me!

Some people would call him a Scaredy but I think that that's just prudence.

I guess I would do two things to see if they helped. Buy a water gun and chase Big Cat from the garden if I saw him - whether or not my own cat was around. (Water won't hurt them but they do hate being wet.) Thereby making your garden a less attractive place to hang out.

I'd also keep your boy in at night in any case (dusk to dawn) if you're not already doing that. Nights are the more dangerous time for cats (cars, predators etc etc) and in my own experience are when most cat fights happen. You do need a litter tray for the house but they become used to it very quickly.

Have you registered him with a vet in case he does get in a scrap and need some treatment?

Thanks cozietoesie

I have got a spray thing which I did use to chase Big Cat, I originally got it to stop Wee Cat climbing the curtains It worked. Yes, he is registered with the vet and he does stay in overnight, the night he went missing (didn't come back for 42 hours) I heard cats fighting and went out but couldn't find him. That was before I knew about Big Cat, so now I think that Big Cat chased him away that night and he got lost/disorientated.

Thanks for your advice, now I won't feel so bad when I spray Big Cat

Does big cat appear to belong to anyone? Around here we have some semi-feral unneutered tom cats. Ask around the cat owning neighbours. The cats protection league lent us a trap to catch one which was injured. He had FIV so was neutered and sent to a sanctuary. If he had been healthy he would have been neutered and returned to our garden.

Not all cats don't like water both my bengals love it and squirting them with it would make them come back more, just saying that water might not work.

Lordy - I wouldn't say Boo to a Bengal.

(The best thing is actually a dog who likes cats hanging around in the garden but I realize that that's not a possibility (or even desirable) for everyone.)

Big cat is not a Bengal, he is just a moggy (hes just a big black and white cat, he is probably not that big, just compared to my cat).

I am pretty sure that the cat belongs to a woman a couple of doors up, it is often sitting on the windowsills of the house.

I'll just carry on as I have been and see what happens.

Thanks for all your advice.