Urban cat politics, help?

[ycbm]

4 months ago we moved the cats from a farm where there were no other cats to a housing estate where they have to share the environment. We have a problem with one cat and our female. There's no problem with the 2 boys, they just face it down or avoid it. But it keeps trying to follow our female (neutered) into the house (and smacking its face into a door that will only open for the right chip).

It's either a Bengal or a Savannah, a huge and very impressive beast, probably quite young from the look of it. I managed to drop a mug of water on it in the garden from an upstairs window a month ago when it was in a stand off with our 11 year old male, and it didn't come back for a month. Unfortunately, it's been back twice in the last few days. Our female runs indoors making a hell of a noise and is clearly very frightened of it (eta or very annoyed by it, she went back out very soon after), but it doesn't stop her from going out when it's not around.
Has anyone got any ideas about how we can either deter it or get them to come to an agreement?
.

 

[The Xmas Furry]

A pump action water gun as easier to direct than a mug of water?
I kept on squirting an unwelcome tom in our garden when we moved here 18yrs ago, it did the job after a few goes. That, and getting my brother to bring in one of his big dogs.

 

[fiwen30]

I’d suggest cat-proofing, and adding enrichment, to your garden, so your cats can go outside and enjoy themselves. Any neighbour cats that make it in over the fence should only do so once, after they realise they’ll not be able to get back out again.

 

[AmyMay]

Water pistol.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Super soaker

 

[The Bouncing Bog Trotter]

I have a Bengal that was a pain in the **** when he was younger. He terrorised the local cats and saw every local home as being an extension of his. We bought so many pump action water super-soakers for our neighbours or microchip reading cat flaps. The Super-soakers proved effective.

 

[ycbm]

I’d suggest cat-proofing, and adding enrichment, to your garden, so your cats can go outside and enjoy themselves. Any neighbour cats that make it in over the fence should only do so once, after they realise they’ll not be able to get back out again.

The cats do go outside and enjoy themselves. She was back out in the garden less than half an hour after it left.
.

 

[ycbm]

Soaker gun will be purchased tomorrow. Strangely, we don't currently own one ?

 

[Caol Ila]

Several posters beat me to the super soaker suggestion.

We used to blast strange cats that upset our cats. Strangers did not like that very much.

 

[ycbm]

I'm afraid I'm quite enjoying the thought of taking aim from the bedroom window that overlooks the garden. The garden is so small we should be able to get it wherever it is ??

 

[Caol Ila]

This probably makes me a bad person, but it was great fun. We knew the neighbourhood cats, and which ones ours got along with, so we didn't supersoaker everyone. Just the kitties who thought our yard should be in their territory and gave our cats a hard time.

 

[fiwen30]

The cats do go outside and enjoy themselves. She was back out in the garden less than half an hour after it left.
.

I meant more that if yours were out in a secure garden, then external mogs would be less inclined to jump into a garden they couldn’t jump back out of! Plus, it’d be like shooting cats in a barrel with your super soaker ?

 

[fetlock]

Another vote for a pump action water gun.
I’ve tried the glass of water route many a time and it literally is water off a cat’s back and, if anything, they come round all the more in spite.
aside from being highly satisfying to aim and hit the target with, the water guns do work.

 

[Keith_Beef]

Add some vinegar to the water.

Not only is it unpleasant to get wet, but to lick vinegar off one's fur...

 

[Barton Bounty]

Add sugar to the water ?

 

[Tracking_up]

We once (when I was young) had a persistent tom cat intruder into the house. One night my father set the cat flap to 'in' only, hence preventing escape, caught the cat by the cat-flap and as the downstairs loo was next door, held it by the scruff of it's neck, dangled it in the loo and flushed the loo! And then promptly out the door!

That cat never came back......

 

[Shady]

Soaking a cat with water is one thing but adding vinegar to the water is not a nice idea no matter how much somebody wants to deter a cat from a garden.
Cats eyes are really sensitive and if it gets in them it will cause a lot of discomfort and you could end up with an angry neighbour banging on your door when their cat returns soaking wet with running eyes and reeking of vinegar.

Dunking one in a toilet is equally abhorrent to me

 

[ycbm]

Water gun is on the way, I hope it works.

 

[AmyMay]

Soaking a cat with water is one thing but adding vinegar to the water is not a nice idea no matter how much somebody wants to deter a cat from a garden.
Cats eyes are really sensitive and if it gets in them it will cause a lot of discomfort and you could end up with an angry neighbour banging on your door when their cat returns soaking wet with running eyes and reeking of vinegar.

Dunking one in a toilet is equally abhorrent to me

I agree. Thankfully, as we know, ycbm is far more sensible than that!

 

[Shady]

I agree. Thankfully, as we know, ycbm is far more sensible than that!

Yes indeed x

 

[fetlock]

This thread reminds me of my previous cat, or rather when she was a kitten, and was ruining my curtains with claw marks, as she did what kittens so - shooting up and down them constantly as though attached to the pelmet by a piece of elastic.

So someone suggested a water pistol, so I could zap her from the comfort of the sofa, and without her realising it was me doing the zapping.

A few days after receiving this advice, I was at a team meeting in Blackpool - the perfect place to acquire a water pistol, with all the nik nak shops there. So I went into one, and enquired with the owner as to whether he had any water pistols for my kitten. Off he went to the back of the shop, returning with the biggest water gun I've ever seen in my life. Complete with a belt to strap round my waist, to hold about a dozen full water cartridges. I didn't get it. I never liked those curtains anyway.

It was a water gun of Rambo proportions though and a beaut for deterring bullying feline trespassers (whilst also watering most of the lawn...)

 

[ycbm]

This thread reminds me of my previous cat, or rather when she was a kitten, and was ruining my curtains with claw marks, as she did what kittens so - shooting up and down them constantly as though attached to the pelmet by a piece of elastic.

So someone suggested a water pistol, so I could zap her from the comfort of the sofa, and without her realising it was me doing the zapping.

A few days after receiving this advice, I was at a team meeting in Blackpool - the perfect place to acquire a water pistol, with all the nik nak shops there. So I went into one, and enquired with the owner as to whether he had any water pistols for my kitten. Off he went to the back of the shop, returning with the biggest water gun I've ever seen in my life. Complete with a belt to strap round my waist, to hold about a dozen full water cartridges. I didn't get it. I never liked those curtains anyway.

It was a water gun of Rambo proportions though and a beaut for deterring bullying feline trespassers (whilst also watering most of the lawn...)

I did see a few of those while I was on ebay! I've bought a medium sized one of a recommended brand, reduced as water gun season has ended ? Range of 30 feet, which should be more than enough. We're looking forward to some target practice with a few tin cans around the garden.

We already know that he hates water, there will be no vinegar involved!

 

[SussexbytheXmasTree]

I remember once throwing the soaking water from a pasta dish at a cat bullying my old girls. I totally missed the cat but threw it all over my neighbours window including the remaining bit of pasta that had been stuck to the dish ?.