Expert: Ali - 6/9/2009

Question
I have two female cats - Lady B is middle aged, the other (Wild Child) is a little over a year old. Both have been spayed for some time. They like to hang out in our backyard, and they get along fine (so far) with neighborhood cats that stroll into the backyard too. About 3 weeks ago a threatening HUGE grey TOM cat started coming by the backyard. He comes by almost every evening now. He chases little Wild Child and last week he sprayed urine all over her. Last night he went into my neighbor's backyard and attacked Buster, the male cat who lives there (Buster has visited our yard for the past 3 years and although kind of entitled, has been respectful to my girls thus far). He really scared Buster and his owners had to pull the TOM off of him. I have chased the TOM out of my yard and hissed at him, and he stands his ground and hisses back at me. I have also turned the water hose on him, which does make him run away. I am concerned for my two cats' safety. And I know its the animal kingdom and human rules don't apply, but I am concerned that this aggressive Tom will sexually assault my younger girl.He seems to have marked her in some strange way. Do you have any recommendations on what to do? Someone suggested I buy coyote urine and put that along my fence line to keep TOM away. The hose works, but I'm not outside all the time, and I don't want to have to keep my girls inside all summer.

Answer
Gina,

While this is indeed the animal kingdom there are some important things to consider. First, and most important - your girls depend on you to keep them safe from any kind of harm, this includes a free roaming intact tom cat with a bad attitude and a desire to dominant every other cat in the neighborhood. I understand your desire to ensure that your girls don't have to undergo drastic changes in their daily routine, but this situation is already escalating quite seriously and there's a chance this tom might seriously injure one or both of your girls.

If I was in your situation I would try to find some way of regaining control over the safety of the cats regardless of what was required to do so. You could try asking around and finding out where this tom lives so that you could have a non-judgmental, non-confrontational chat with him/her about the recent problems their cat has been causing, but I have to warn you - chats like this can get ugly in a hurry because most people don't like to have anyone comment on or suggest alternatives to how they care for their pets. In this case neutering the tom would definitely reduce his territorial behavior and aggression towards other cats in the area, but if the cat's guardian isn't willing to consider the surgery to my knowledge there's no way to force them to take responsibility for their pet unless there is some by-law in your area that requires pets to be spayed/neutered if they're allowed outside. Some folks think that spay/neuter surgery is unnatural, cruel or simply a way for vets to make more money. Since your cats are both spayed I'm sure you're well aware of the benefits of spay/neuter surgery, but if you'd like to speak with the tom's caregiver I can send you some information about the medical/behavioral benefits associated with the surgery as well as resources in your area that may offer financial help to cover all or part of the cost. It sounds very much like this tom is quite dominant, and since he's larger than your girls it's possible he'll try to mate with them even though they've been spayed - I've seen it happen a few times over the years. Neutering him would be the only way to stop or reduce the chances of this happening and after surgery it can take a few weeks or even a couple of months for testosterone levels in his body to drop enough to significantly reduce or entirely eliminate the territorial and dominant behaviors he's been showing with other cats in the neighborhood. Coyote urine is far more likely to offend you and your neighbors than it is to stop this tom from coming around - it's incredibly pungent and offensive to say the least.

This is a touchy situation because while I understand your reluctance to keep your own cats indoors there's really not much you can do to ensure their safety other than only allowing them out under strictly supervised conditions. I'm not sure what options you're willing to consider in order to ensure the safety and dignity of your girls - ultimately the easiest option would be to keep them indoors, that way they wouldn't have to deal with things like being sprayed with urine, chased around by this tom or even assaulted.In my opinion the non-confrontational option would be to keep the girls inside. You could leash/harness train them and only allow them outside on leash, that way you can be right there with them during outdoor excursions.

Another alternative would be to build a sturdy cat run. It would be best to install a cat flap on the back door and attach the run directly to that door so that your girls could let themselves into or out of the house at their leisure. I'm not sure what you would be able to spend on this project, but you could certainly build a decent cat run using some wood (2x2/2x4s would probably work best) chicken wire or metal screening relatively cheaply - just be sure that you enclose the run on all four sides to prevent any escapees or unauthorized visitors. You may want to consider building the entrance to the run with the materials described above and attach it to one or more large dog kennels made from chain link fence so that the cats have more freedom to move around. I'd suggest including some shelves that allow the cats to get off of the ground and watch their world comfortably from a higher vantage point in your cat run. A cat run doesn't have to be boring and the cats don't have to feel confined, with a bit of ingenuity and work you can make their run a wonderful place to be. Planting flowers to attract butterflies and hummingbirds or installing some bird feeders and a bird bath in your yard near the run provides the girls with endless hours of entertainment and you have the comfort of knowing that they're safe from this large tom or any one of many less obvious dangers in the area.

I really wish that I could offer you more, but unfortunately in most places there's no law requiring people to have their cats neutered or confine them to keep other cats in the neighborhood safe. Hopefully I've given you some alternatives that will still allow the girls some freedom, but ensure their safety as well...I'd hate for this tom to hurt either of your girls, and from what you describe it sounds like things are heading that way fairly quickly.