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Help my cat claim my backyard as his territory?
hi there, we recently took in an abandoned cat, he is a rather small size, intact male cat. (still intact).
When we used to see it outside before taking him in, he seem to be tolerant with other cats, not playful but tolerant. Not anymore. He goes outside a few times a day so he is an indoor/outdoor cat. But recently he had been fighting and losing towards another cat from the block, in my own backyard.
If i see this other cat i will scare it away now. But if i don't see it my cat will run and hide for hours until it feels its safe to come to the door, even if I'm standing right there with the door open.
So, how can i help my cat claim my backyard as his territory? Someone told me to spread the used litter around the backyard, but i don't know if this will escalate the fights or persuade other cats of coming near here. Will this help or just making aggression worst?
And just to be clear, hurting the other cat is NOT an option
Any help would be great Thanks.
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Member 1078975
on Dec 21st 2011
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in Behavior & Training
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No sane person will advise you to hurt the other cat in any way, "just to be clear".
If you are going to allow an intact male cat to roam outdoors where there are other intact male cats, there WILL be fights. Male cats will spray urine to mark their territory, so if the scent of concentrated urine doesn't work to repel other cats, then spreading used cat litter won't do anything except make a mess. The cats will fight over territory, female cats, basically anything that gets their dander up. There is a great likelihood that your cat will be injured, if he hasn't been already, or that he will pick up parasites or diseases from the contact with other cats.
My advice would be to get your cat vetted, neutered, and keep him indoors. That is the best way to keep him safe.
Ralphie & Randy
answered on 12/21/11.
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R & R's advice is so spot on it makes me want to stand up and cheer. Letting an intact male cat roam the neighborhood is wrong on so many levels. He's out there siring what, in his lifetime, will be thousands of unwanted kittens. Each kill shelter in the country euthanizes hundreds of kittens each DAY. And those are the "lucky" ones. Others starve, die of disease, or as "free" giveaways, face abuse, torture and worse. Neutering this cat will make him less likely to fight, although if he's outdoors, he won't turn one down. You cannot help him claim his territory. If he's a submissive cat, you can't buy him karate or boxing lessons to make him a more "manly" cat. One day, he'll incur the wrath of a larger, meaner cat and be torn to shreds. Seen the results of that happening and it's not nice. When you witness a fight, your only recourse is to turn the hose on them. And if you don't neuter this cat, have your vet, if you have one, on speed dial. You're going to need to use it.
Izadore (Izzie)
answered on 12/22/11.
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