Stray

Hello  I have been feeding and having in my house for a few weeks a cat that we think is a stray.  However, a few days ago he started to attack one of my other cats who is very fragile and small.  I have now had to keep the little stray outside. I am still feeding him and he can go into the laundry room.  I am going to have him neutered.  Do you think this will solve the problem, he has also scratched me badly on many occasions but can also be quite affectionate.  I think he may be part feral.  I do not want to take him to a sanctuary as I think he would be very unhappy in a cage.  He is in much better condition now than when we started to feed him.  However, I have been told that personality problems between cats do not always improve.  I feel really sorry for the little stray but cannot have my own cat forced away from the house and property.

Welcome to The Cat Site, and thank you for taking care of the stray.
Yes I think neutering him will certainly improve things, no guarantee that the two cats will be buddies, but the relationship should improve.
He'll be healthier for it, too.

Hi Thank you for this advice.  It is nice to feel that there  is support out there.

Most assuredly, neutering will help calm him down. So glad you can keep him in the laundry room. He can be recuperated in there and you can use it as a staging area for re-introductions after his surgery.

Thank you for stepping up to help him.

Yes, it is useful that we have the laundry room as it would have to have been a shed.  He looks much better since we have started feeding him.  He still looks a bit wild at me and has scratched me badly in the past but possibly because he is a bit feral.  At least he is being fed so he won't die of starvation like some do.  Is this a UK site or an American one?  It is certainly very friendly and informative. I live in the UK and its lovely to know so many care for cats, they do seem to have a lot of bad luck in their little lives.

We're an international site, we've got members all over the world. Quite a few in the UK I think.

Here's a link that you might find useful once you've had this cat neutered and are going to introduce him to your resident cats.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats

It's never to late to reform a feral cat, all of mine started out completely wild but they're all very loving and affectionate to me and each other now.

Keep us posted on how everything goes with your cats.

Hi  Today Styx is being neutered.  It was very upsetting because he was throwing himself against the cage and made his nose bleed.  However, he was fine with the vet.  I do hope this helps to make him less aggressive to one of my cats.  At the moment he has to live outside, we have a laundry room and are getting him a nice warm kennel tomorrow but his little face wanting to come in really upsets me. 

He will need to stay calm after the surgery for at least 24 hours, so keeping him in the laundry room will be helpful.  The shed will do if it isn't too hot.

Thank you for acting quickly on this.

Hi the shed and summer house would be  a little warm.  When my little cat Dilly is upstairs and Dilly  loves it on our bed I can have the little stray in for short periods but I will not feed him  in the house as I think this may still prove troublesome.  I feel awful having to keep him outside but I have no choice. Apparently he has some broken teeth which will have to be done but we will let him get over neutering first.   I get really angry at the people who let this kind of thing happen, Over here in the UK people who can't afford it can get vouchers for neutering but these irresponsible people do not even do that.

Thank you for taking such good care of him.

Next time you need to take him to the vet keep his cage or cat carrier covered with a blanket. They're much calmer when they can't see out and they think no one can see them. You can also get a Feliway spray to spray the inside of the cage and the blanket you cover it with. Spray it an hour or so before he gets in as it will need time to dry. The spray smells the same as the pheromones mother cats give off and will help keep him calm.

Hello,  Well as I told you I had Styx neutered on Monday and he is fine.  I am still ensuring that my little cat and the stray do not meet as he did go for my little one on a few occasions.  He is such a loving and affectionate cat and does not go for me at all now.  It breaks my heart to think of him living outside.  He does have a summerhouse, shed and laundry room all with cat flaps but he really does want to come in.  I suppose I have to be patient because of my other little cat.  I do go out and give Styx the stray a cuddle quite often which he really seems to like.

Once he has recovered from being neutered and had a few weeks for his hormones to rebalance he'll start being friendlier to your cat. Un-neutered males are aggressive and territorial because of all the testosterone in their systems. They usually become a lot more cuddly and chilled out after they've been fixed.

Hi Think  we have had a couple of Eureka moments.  He was in the dining room with my cat Dillon and didn't go for him and again they came face to face on the lawn and they didn't have a problem. Fingers crossed it stays like this.  I think the trouble may have started when Dillon went over to the stray's dish a week or so ago and the stray was very protective of his food.  Dillon is used to eating out of the other cats' dishes but we keep feeding them completely separate now in another room.

Yeah, the stray may have been intimidated by the idea of someone eating HIS food. As he gets used to having food available, that behavior should stop. Thanks for the update!

Hello  I have now had Styx the stray and Dillon my little cat in the dining room and so far Styx has not gone for Dillon again  But a friend of mine says I should not have Styx in the house and make him comfortable as he will start to take over again.  Is this true? because  if he behaves himself I don't want him to be left outside and surely we have got to take a bit of a chance.  My cat Dillon is allowed upstairs where he remains most of the time but the stray is not allowed up there at all so Dillon always has a quiet refuge. Dillon is not a particularly sociable cat but the stray is very loving and affectionate. Sometimes people can give conflicting advice and I get very confused as I am not an expert on cat behaviour.  Can you advise please what you think?

I would let the cats tell you. If they are co-existing, leave them alone.  If they fuss at one another, they may need to be separated and re-introduced.  It doesn't sound like you've had too much of a problem yet, so you can leave things status quo for now.

I think keeping him inside is the best course for him.

As long as Dillon seems happy and he has his refuge to retreat to I'd let Styx stay indoors. Male cats usually get along well together once they've established their boundaries. As Styx is the friendly sort he'll see Dillon as a buddy rather than competition.

Do you have a Feliway diffuser? If you keep the windows closed one diffuser is enough for the whole house. They do help to keep the cats all calm.

Hi  I'm really grateful for all of your advice.  Dillon I am afraid is and has always been a bit of a neurotic cat, he came to us from a neighbour's house because he did not like it there, too many cats, a dog and two young children.  However, he has been back and forth past Styx without any problem at the moment so I am letting things stay a they are.  Dillon has the whole of the upstairs to himself so I think that should satisfy his need for solitude!