I know this is a REALLY stupid question but I'm fit to be tied!! We had our barn male cats "fixed" and they have become family pets. The problem is - the neighbors barn cats!! You'll hear these awful cat fights after dark now and one of our cats will run to the house bleeding and terrified. Poor guy!! The other cat is ALOT bigger so will naturally beat the snot out of mine. I know this happens alot and the noise they make is sometimes worse than the fight. Wierd thing is, we don't have any females. Anyone for suggestions? I'm not too keen on shooting after dark and I know my neighbor will just brush it off. Thanks for answering!!

-- Pat Mikul (pmikul@pcpros.net), April 05, 2000

Answers

Sometimes male cats don't know the other cat is just a fixed male and may try to breed it.And also if an animal was fixed after a bad behavior started "fighting" they may still continue to do it .If possible it should be done before 6 months. I don't blame you for not wanting to shoot , how about a have a heart trap .Once caught you can go to the shelter or a ride .

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), April 05, 2000.

We are pretty keen on training our cats with a super-soaker water gun. If you can get close enough, that is. It will break up the cat fight, and they might learn.

-- Rachel (rldk@hotmail.com), April 05, 2000.

Taking the cats "for a ride" just makes your problem someone else's. Don't.

-- AM (Marshwiggle1@aol.com), April 05, 2000.

A friend in Arkansas had a similar problem with dogs bothering her emus when you could still make a dollar with exotic birds. She spoke to the neighbor and got no response. She called it the 3 S approach:shoot, shovel and shut up. In your case, I think the Hav-A- Hart would be a better approach than the shooting part but the rest is feasible. If the people aren't neutering their cats, do they get other vet care like rabies shots each year?

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), April 05, 2000.

If you use a trap, please, oh please, don't take them "for a ride" and dump them. We have nice kittys who do a wonderful job but we have a terrible problem with people taking their problem kittys "for a ride" and dumping them at or near us. Others think, "Oh, this looks like a nice farm. Have a good life dumped kitty!" We have shot many strays because we can't catch them in a trap - maybe they remember their last experience. We have had this same experience with dogs and mother dogs with large litters of pups. If people are having a problem with an animal, why do they dump it at someone elses door? Others think they are doing a good job because they dump the animals out in no man's land to allow it to starve or die of thirst. We have caught cats, dogs & pups and paid to have them put to sleep. We used to take them to the shelter but the shelters are spilling over with unwanted animals.

I think setting a trap is a good idea, we have done it ourselves but please don't dump your problem. Take the cat to the shelter and pay them to put it down. The shelter will do it for a lot less than a vet. Better yet, does the shelter have a low cost spay/neuter program? For $25.00 our shelter will fix a cat. Maybe your neighbor will have his cat fixed if you offer to pay for it. I realize that might not fix the fighting problem but if your neighbor's cat just disappears, he will probably just replace it. You can always hope the replacement will be smaller than the current cat. Or maybe when you hear the sad story from your neighbor about how his cat just disappeared, YOU can replace it with a nice neutered cat from the shelter.

-- Yesteryear Cottage (oberg@watervalley.net), April 05, 2000.

I will second the opinion on giving it a ride, my farm is currently overflowing with the results of other folks doing just that, and the vet bills to do something about it are unbelievable. I would recommend making an appointment with your vet, and getting the cat fixed yourself, if the neighbor refuses to deal with the issue. If it dissappears, It will more than likely just get replaced.

-- Connie (connie@lunehaven.com), April 05, 2000.

Legally you cannot take someone elses animal in to the vet to be fixed without there permission.I guess I was to vague about "take it for a ride" I meant to have it put down ". You may know someone who needs a barn cat ?

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), April 05, 2000.

Maybe we should set up a trap (Like a sign that says: Please Dump Your Kitty Here) and then shoot the a**holes who dump the cats! I vote for that! Darn, it's illegal, isn't it?

We got our neighbors to fix their tom (thankfully) just in time to get a tom (dumped....grrrrrr) delivered right to our "doorstep" a few weeks later. We took him in, took him to a Spay/Neuter/Vaccine clinic. He got "fixed" for $20. Of course we got him all his shots so it upped the total by another $30. Good insurance if you have healthy cats (we have four plus this one now).

I still think you should ask your neighbors for help. Tell them you will gladly pay the neuter bill, or ask them if they would rather help you with the vet bills! If that doesn't work, try the Havaheart trap and while he's (cat!! LOL) *in* it, spray him real good with water and let him stay wet for a while (unless it's really cold where you are). Let him out later, and repeat daily/hourly/weekly until he goes away. Keeping your cat in at night should help, too. Best of luck to you!

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), April 05, 2000.

Am I hearing you guys right?? A neutered cat will not fight like these toms'??

-- Pat (pmikul@pcpros.net), April 05, 2000.

It depends on the cat and the age .Neutering takes care of the hormones that cause some problems.But as the saying goes it's hard to teach an old "cat" new tricks !If he's been fighting for years I doubt he will totally stop .Some of you have good vet prices , sorry to say up here there are no cheap clinics.We've even offered to let them have space for free to set up a spay/neuter clinic .There isn't enough vets in the area so they can charge what they want .

-- Patty Gamble (fodfarms@slic.com), April 05, 2000.

Hey sheepish, I like your idea about the sign......but it would get you in trouble with the law, darn it! What about making up a sign that says "Please dump your unwanted pets on my doorstep" AND THEN FILL THE SIGN FULL OF BULLET HOLES! That should be a reality check for the city slickers who (dah) think they're sending their pets on a 'vacation' to a kindhearted farm family with unlimited funds to provide 1st class accomodations for their problem pets! Jane

-- Jane Gauch (Sewbears4u@aol.com), April 06, 2000.

Sheepish, liked the sign, we have the same problem here. It is just far enough away from the big towns that people feel comfortable about opening the car door and shoving poor fido or tom out into the world. I have even seen potbellied pigs dumped out. It' the pregnanat litle cockapoo types that break my heart. I have had to kill several of those in my chicken house. I'd at least talk to the neighbors, you might be surprised. Of course if you plan on getting rid of the cats it is best to avoid telling them. But, remember, they can always get more cats! karen

-- Karen Mauk (dairygoatmama@hotmail.com), April 06, 2000.

Having many cats for many for many years; I vote for live trapping the cat and having it spayed/neutered. If your neighbor isn't interested in the health of their cat, then they most likely won't miss them for the 24-48 hour vet visit. You might even use a vet that you normally don't use...

-- j (jw_hsv@yahoo.com), April 06, 2000.

I was suprised as to how many people responded. Thanks for all your input!! Not sure which route I'm going to choose. THANKS AGAIN !!

-- Pat (pmikul@pcpros.net), April 06, 2000.

Karen, we have had a few show up here that the people didn't even bother to slow down and open the door, just chucked them out the window. The poor things show up crying on my doorstep, with a nasty case of road rash, and scared to death. Makes a person almost willing to take a chance with the the shotgun.

-- Connie (connie@lunehaven.com), April 06, 2000.

I had that problem, a big cat beating up my little mouser in my yard. After a $90 vet bill, I used the live trap and with the cat still in it, I beat the cage with a wiffle bat for about 10 minutes. That big orange tom never came back to my side of the road again.

-- Laura (gsend@hotmail.com), April 07, 2000.

Once on my way some were I saw a kitten crawl out of a box next to a freeway , When I went back there was a mother cat and 4 kittens in the box[ she stayed with them even though she was scared]so I got to take them to the animal shelter [ kittens put down right then, mother probably never left either]so I vote for open season on animal and child abusers.

-- kathy h (saddlebronc@msn.com), April 07, 2000.

There ought to be a stronger education program for potential pet owners. My oldest daughter brought home a very pregnant cat that had been dumped near the rural convenience store where she was working. I would have put her (the cat, not my daughter) down, but of course that got ruled out. We had to raise the kittens and find homes for them. Since then the same daughter has dumped a dog on us that she and her husband couldn't care for, and I couldn't keep the dog either -- I had to pester the humane society into taking her. They had a waiting list, and said dalmations were very hard to find homes for . . . people -- including my own daughter, I'm sorry to say -- don't think ahead. They are going on emotions, and that just won't do for the long haul. That's why so many people end up divorced, too.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), April 11, 2000.