9548 Bully boy

Big water pistol (Super Soaker or similar).

That's provided that you can get the intruder in your sights.

I recall hearing about magnetic cat doors with individual "keys" (attached to collars) such that your own moggies only could get in/out. A quick google confirms that this is possible, you could do some more searching for a local or web based supplier?

[url=http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=2248]Cat Door: Staywell Magnetic Cat Door at Drs. Foster & Smith[/url]

I assume the cat is entering to gain acess to the other cats food?
If so do not leave the food out,once the cats have eaten,hide the food.

It will then,get bored and look else where.

Thanks for suggestions, but my cats wont wear collars, Oscar can get one off in 20secs, and because they climb trees alot we feel that they are not safe, both cats are micro chipped.
Caught the bully boy yet again in the kitchen this morning, but he is gone before we can water spray him, it is really becoming a nuisance and Oscar still refuses to go out. Any more ideas?
A

a big box and a 20 minute car ride............thats what I am thinking about doing for the same problem...............

Hi Agnie, you could always borrow my dog, she wouldn't hurt the cat, has two of her own, but she would certainly give it one hell of a shock!

Actually Steve’s idea of the water pistol is very effective and I have used it myself very successfully in a similar situation. If you really can't move quickly enough to catch it then confine your cats to barracks for just a couple of days and leave a big bowl of water on the inside of the cat flap. He won't get wet twice!

Thanks Neilo, I think I am getting a glimmer of an idea here, big water pistol, Robert lies in wait by the cat flat (all night if necessary) but dont tell him yet and then Mr Tom gets a big shock and hopefully gets the message and leaves.Watch this space.Now where can I buy a big water pistol from?.Love the dog idea, wonder if Geo will lend me his Maramana?
A

No problem Angie, will bring her over!!!

If you can't find a water pistol get one of those spray bottles, which are easily available in most feramentas or garden centres, they work pretty well and then you can still use it for misting your plants or dampening the washing before ironing, very useful little things!

Hopefully my last post on the subject as dont want to bore non lovers of cats.Oscar has ventured out and now climbed a very tall tree, he feels safer and is anyway half Norwegien Forest cat so wont get stuck.Water sprays are primed and at the ready, just now need to convince R to sleep by the cat flap tonight!.
A

Hi we have had this problem. We also have a neutered male and had to deal with the problem(s) of a cat bullies, both here in the countryside and also in the middle of Rome!

I am afraid after trying absolutely everything we have had to resort to 'catbox' gardening gloves and a long car journey. My husband is getting very good at catching cats!! In Rome we ended up keeping one but the rest we captured and took to a cat home, here in Umbria we ensure we release them back into a similar green area to where we live. It may seem cruel but it really is the only option.

Best of luck

Nicola

Yes I see it also as a moral problem. Robert says the monster cat here is probably someones lovely boy?. But after cleaning the house,protecting our cats, and seeing him have nextdoors cat screaming when he had him on the ground, it is a difficult choice
I do understand that you dealt with the problem in the best way you could.If I could catch him (how did you do that?) I might consider the same action.Oh and to compound his problems our neighbour says he came in
and killed his kittens.
I wish people here would neuter their cats, but it seems alien to some of the Italian way of thinkingA trip to the vet is not an option that is considered especially in a rural community.
A
A

Oh angie - I feel your pain - we have the same prob here with a couple of unneutered bullies and my old boys who will not wear collars for the same reason as yours. From time to time I catch em in the house and hurl abuse as they leap through the cat flap. God knows how you catch em without perhaps luring them in and have a big box secured so they are caught when they leave.
Rather than drive him a few miles away could you poss take him to a vet and get him neutered. His owner may be surprised but surely happier than having no cat. Thats just awful about the bastardo killing the kittens.
Good luck..

M xx

Well you have to be really sneaky!!

Firstly stop hurling things, spraying water etc. you need to gain the culprits confidence as much as is possible.
We then put our cat box next to the kitchen door with cat food inside. Our box is quite large (meant for a med. size dog, perhaps you can borrow one, if you lived near us you are welcome to borrow ours). Eventually the cat started going in the box for the food, albeit very gingerly.

After a couple of days of this we put the food in the box when we knew cat was around and my husband hide beside the door with gardening gloves on and once cat entered the box slammed the door shut.

We then drove miles out into the countryside until we found a really quiet spot near a farm (about a 40 min drive from the house as you don't want him returning) and released a very angry cat.

You need alot of patience but it can be done.

You could have him neutrered but you will still have to catch him and he will still be a problem, although he will not spray he will still try and steal food.

Any way best of luck Nicola

Very practical solutions, but would you really steal/kidnap someone's pet?

Is this legal in Italy?

[quote=Neil T;89676]Very practical solutions, but would you really steal/kidnap someone's pet?[/quote]
Ummmm... Yes!:masked:

Mainly because, in this situation, I doubt that 'pet' is the right word for the animal pestering Angie and Robert. Or at least it's not a pet in the way most cats are in the UK.

There are a lot of completely feral cats around here and my observation is that many (perhaps most) cats that you see near farms and houses are just tolerated by the people they live nearest to. They're normally not allowed in the house (the catflap I installed shortly after arrival was the cause of great hilarity amongst neighbours) and they aren't regularly fed, but they are allowed free range of outdoor buildings and they aren't shot (or worse) just for hanging around the place.

They are, in short, working animals expected to make their own living by killing rodents, birds or whatever they can get their claws on and one small step away from being feral. I doubt if many Italian country types would do more than shrug if one of 'their' cats went missing.
[quote=Neil T;89676]Is this legal in Italy?[/quote]
Interesting question. I recall hearing years ago that cats in the UK cannot be 'owned' in the way dogs can. I think the logic of this is that cats are never completely domesticated and so owners cannot be held responsible for their actions.

Al

You are spot on Al with your comments re rural cats. Whilst our neighbour (Mario who knows everything we dont) has cats and feeds them, he would never take them to the vet, we did that for him when the two kittens were obviously very ill, both would have died without our vets attention. So we now have one outdoor Italian cat, and one indoor (he learnt how to use the cat flap). Both are sweet boys I would prefer to have them neutered, but Mario still considers them his cats, although one sleeps on our bed every night, if they come back ragged and torn I will ignore his finer feelings.
A
They are both terrified of the big bad tom cat.