Is there anything I can say to neighbour about her aggressive cats

[Plinketyplonks]

I have two neutered siblings. Opposite lives a couple with two Tom cats. They are very aggressive and if we leave our front door open for a second are in our house, they attack our two. Our female now refuses to go outside.

Our boy has now had two vet trips this past six months following bites from the neighbour’s cat. Not only are the vet trips (one an emergency this past weekend) very expensive but it’s so stressful for our lovely boy who just loves being outside and he’s currently v under the weather from the infected bite. The vet said he is beginning to get an irritated bladder which is linked to stress so he is being treated for that also.

The aggressive pair are nervous of me and my husband and scarper if they see us. I can’t think of anyway to deter them from our drive and garden.

has anyone been in a situation like this? What can I say to the neighbour? I strongly believe that cats will go where they want so it’s not like they can restrain where their boys are going.

Could you have a catio for your cats so they can go outside in the sun and be safe?

You can try talking to your neighbour, but I doubt it would help. So you have to discourage them from coming in.

I would be taking a very proactive approach to them coming into your house. Water pistols work well I have found - leave them near doors/windos etc and grab and shoot every time they come near your front door/windows/cat food. Ditto if they come into your garden.

ETA as it might sound liek I'm some big meanie! - we had a cat who wasn't aggressive, but he DID go into our neighbour's house and steal their cats' food. So we bought them water pistols. It worked very quickly. And their DC loved shooting him when he came in. He was still allowed in their driveway as all the cats would amusingly hang out together. Just not in their house, for perfectly reasonable reasons.

Sounds a nightmare, we have had similar territory issues but luckily our cat is a bit of a thug and sees them off eventually.

I wouldn't say anything to your neighbour, what can they do? Good suggestions from PP about discouraging the other cats. Could you get a stairgate or something so if they come in the door they can't go any further?

You might find this post helpful about the abscesses

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_litter_tray/5348051-cat-abscess-hell

And I thoroughly recommend the Vince the Vet bladder supplement for stress cystitis, our boy used to get it all the time and been clear for over a year now (if persistent and anti inflammatory and antibiotics not working ask for anti anxiety meds from the vet to clear it first).

Hope it settles down 😺

Thanks for all the advice. We did use water pistols or Chuck a bit of water but they have got wise to us and bolt if they catch a glimpse, but fear of us doesn’t seem to deter them.

the only thing I can think of is to speak to the neighbour and appeal to their better nature to have their cats neutered. It would hopefully remove the aggression. After three days of treatment our boy still isn’t better from his infected tail bite, one of them got him as he came in through the cat flap and his rear end was dangling outside.

We ended up erecting a catio around our garden, at a bit of a cost to us, but it’s been worth every penny to protect our wildlife, pets, plants and garden from the fucker cats belonging to neighbours (toms and xBengals included).

The frogs are finally making a comeback!

I wouldn't say anything to your neighbour, what can they do?

Well the neighbour could have the cats neutered.

But if they are the kind who don't bother to get that done when it should be done, they probably aren't the type to take kindly to the suggestion either 🙄

Love this 😂🥰

Neutering doesn't necessarily remove male cats' aggression. We have a large, neutered tom that lives next door and he's exactly like you describe your two neighbour's cats. He comes into our house regularly and terrorises our neutered female cat. I chase him out of the house and spray him a water pistol, but the next day he's back, fangs bared, ears back, hackles up. We call him 'that orange fucker'!

So anyway, your neighbours should get their cats neutered, because it's the responsible thing to do, but even if they do it may not solve your problem, unfortunately.

Keep sending your neighbour your ongoing vets bills and point out very firmly that their cats are causing the injuries and the problems so this is their responsibility and if they don’t pay them you will take them to court. Only way the owners will deal with their cats in my experience!
spray the cats with water or throw a cup of cold water or whatever over them whenever they are in your house/on your property

Someone who hasn’t bothered to neuter their cats isn’t going to be remotely interested in any vet’s bills - I’m not sure you can even make them pay anyway.