# How to keep a strange cat out?



## Cam (May 6, 2011)

Hello
Recently a neighbourhood cat has been coming in our cat door. Bertie uses the cat door to go out to do his business in the garden, and also to keep him entertained during the day. 

This other cat is big, and mean-looking. We saw it sat in our garden last weekend. We also heard a cat-fight under our house a few weeks ago - not certain it was Bertie cos there wasn't a mark on him in the morning. Last night I was sat on the couch and I heard a cat eating in Bertie's food-bowl - obviously I thought it was Bertie so I didn't go investigate. When I did get up a few minutes later, I saw the back end of the much larger cat disappearing out the cat door! Bertie was cowering under the plant pot just outside!

I locked the cat door last night so it wouldn't come back, but Bertie really did not like being locked in. He cried and scratched at the door a lot, and when we came through this morning we saw he had done 3 poops on the carpet beside the door to the hall! He has a clean fresh litter box where it has always been in the cat-room, and the only time he ever did this before was the first time we went out all day. So clearly he was annoyed with us for locking him in. 

The food bowl is quite near to the cat door so we will be moving it to the utility room today, in the hope that the other cat won't come that far into the house. It obviously knows it's doing wrong cos it bolts as soon as we move towards it.

There's no option to alter the cat door cos this is a rental house and we're lucky it came with one! So we can't put in a tag- or microchip-recognition cat door. 

Are there any other ideas of how we could keep this cat away? It's clearly the neighbourhood Tom, not sure if it's stray or not. I accept that outside might already be its territory, but inside is Bertie's and I want to keep it that way!
If anyone has any ideas or suggestions please let me know! It's getting more confident coming into our house! 
Thanks in advance guys!


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## Greenport ferals (Oct 30, 2010)

You could try adverse conditioning - like a squirt gun in the face when he pokes his head through the door. 

I have the same problem, only my neighbor's cat is sweet and my cats like him. He comes and goes through the cat door just like they do. 

If iit is a stray tom you're dealing with, TNR will alter his behavior for the better.


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## Dace (Apr 16, 2011)

I have a similar issue - we live in a row house and there's a cat who would come and sit on our backyard shed almost every night, and this makes our cat totally mad. Fred hates other cats in his territory so every other night we have a hissing/growling show - performed by Fred, the other cat just comes and stares at him, and runs away if we come closer. A few times the other cat has actually jumped in the backyard and this resulted in quite terrible fights. 
Soon we are leaving for a three week holiday and Fred is staying home. There will be cat sitter coming every day but at nights he will be alone, so I'm a bit worried about possible fights while we're away and no one can intervene. Locking Fred out of the backyard is impossible as he does his business there.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

What about something like this? Amazon.com: PetSafe Staywell 4-Way Locking Magnetic Cat Flap, White: Kitchen & Dining

With the magnetic collar, the door will only work for your cat.


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## Cam (May 6, 2011)

Well glad to know I'm not the only one with this problem. We've moved the food bowls away from the cat door now so they aren't in the sight-line when it pokes its head in, and it would have to come through the living room to get them. So far it hasn't come in while we've been in, though who knows what happens while we're at work or asleep!

@Greenport ferals - we would try that if we could get close to it! My boyfriend has tried to throw water at it but always misses cos it's too quick getting back out the door. Also, the door the cat-door is in doesn't open so we have to quick access to that side of the house to chase it off. 

@Praline - I know looks can be deceiving, but it's the cat's actions that make me not like it - the first time I saw it it was dark and all I could see was a really fluffy large cat. In the daylight I could see its ripped ear and mean looking face! 
As far as I know it hasn't hurt Bertie, but I don't think he likes it. When he sees it put its head in the door, he goes stiff and freezes and stares at it. He doesn't hiss or anything, but he looks quite scared.
We heard a cat fight a couple of weeks ago which woke us up. I think it might have been Bertie and this cat as it's the only one we've seen around and my boyfriend thought the high-pitched one sounded like Bertie. He didn't have any marks on him in the morning, so he either won or backed down. Backed down is more likely given the size difference!

I think once Bertie grows up he will be able to hold his own, but I'm a bit worried in the meantime, especially since he's getting fixed tomorrow! I don't know if the other cat is fixed, and I don't know if they do TNR here. I don't even know if it's stray - my boyfriend thinks it isn't cos it's so huge, but a neighbour said a similar-sounding cat comes and eats his cat's food too, so it could just have this theft down to a fine art!

@MowMow - we can't put in another door or alter this one cos it's a rental house. 

Thanks for the support guys - any more suggestions of how to deter it let me know! I'm short of ideas that won't adversely affect Bertie...


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## Greenport ferals (Oct 30, 2010)

I have had stray toms cats fixed. One actually belonged to a neighbor, I found out later. In both cases, once the cat was fixed and released, it didn't come around again.


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

We have the same problem... the food bowls are by the cat door in the backroom, that's why a feral cat comes in to eat and bolts out the door before you can ever see it. I call it a feral because it only comes in at night (10-4 am) and it's so scared of us we've only managed to see it a few times; I don't think a house cat would come inside when it's that scared of people just to eat another cat's food unless it was starving.

At first we tried moving our cat's food but we didn't really have too many locations in the house that seemed appropriate, so we just put up with it. We let the feral eat the dry food (I don't want it to starve) and we often cover the wet food, although it's very good and knocking over almost anything covering the food. When we remember to we put the wet food in the fridge and then wait for our cat to ask for it.

Even though the house is a rental, I think the only real solution is one of those cat doors that will only open for your cat. You could make a request to upgrade the cat door. Sometimes in rental units if it's an upgrade for the better they'll agree and allow you to install it. If you're planning to live there for a few years, I think it's worth a shot.


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## Cam (May 6, 2011)

*update*

So we have kept the cat food in the other room where we moved it to, and the other cat has not come inside again while we've been around. Obviously I don't know if it comes later at night, but it seems like it's been discouraged for the meantime anyway!

As far as upgrading the cat door goes, it's not worth it cos the house will be demolished soon. We live in the Christchurch Red Zone, which means the land isn't viable after earthquakes and they will be knocking down all the houses in those neighbourhoods in the next year or so. We're only here til the end of our lease in October. 

I contacted a cat shelter about TNR, but haven't heard back from them. I'll have another go, cos if it is someone's cat they will contact them about it anyway. 

Fingers crossed it stays outside anyway!


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## jusjim (Jun 30, 2009)

Carmel said:


> We have the same problem... the food bowls are by the cat door in the backroom, that's why a feral cat comes in to eat and bolts out the door before you can ever see it. I call it a feral because it only comes in at night (10-4 am) and it's so scared of us we've only managed to see it a few times; I don't think a house cat would come inside when it's that scared of people just to eat another cat's food unless it was starving.


When I had Zenobi, she liked to sit out on the sundeck on warm days, but because she always used the litterbox, I'd leave the back door open. One day a ginger tom marched in and across the kitchen to her food dishes and started eating. I think he was the cat from the corner who was left out when his 'caretakers' went on holiday. I mean, a cat can always hunt for its food, right!

I chased it out and then gave it food at the downstairs door.


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## Cam (May 6, 2011)

I spoke too soon! It was back tonight, and came into the house  Not all the way to the food bowl, but still... it seems to still be quite confident. Urgh!


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