? Re: Cat Injury And The Birds& The Bees

We have several tom cats on the property and I have a question. I notice that when a female is in heat the male mounts her and bites her neck.

Well, we have two particular toms here that seem to be getting into scraps lately, but I notice it always the one tom laying on the ground in submission to the other Tom. The same one powering over the other.

Today I was outside and noticed the one tom (that is always the one laying on the ground) has a huge chunk of fur out of its neck right down to the skin. Its neck is red and pretty raw. Is this something that might occured during their fighting ?? This is my thinking, because its in the exact same area I see the male cats biting the females.

We do have a puppy on the property, a rottweilder...yeh, I know the issue there. Its a family members dog who also lives on the property. I noticed more of the cats having injuries lately and it just makes me wonder if he is the culprit or if I am falsely accusing him. By the way, because of certain events that have happened to the owner of that puppy, we may need to find him a new owner very soon.

I have to wonder if you are so attentive to what is going on with these tomcats, why are they still tomcats? They should be neutered and quickly, trapped and taken to the vet where they will be checked over and neutered. After the surgery, re-release them onto your property and watch the aggression go away gradually. If you can't get the females spayed, at least get the males done as it is relatively cheaper SpayUSA will point you towards the nearest low-cost spay and neuter clinic.

Unless your puppy is aggressive, usually the way a puppy hurts a cat is to step on them. If a puppy gets a cat around the neck, the cat rarely will survive.

Oh dear ... hrmmm ... well, let's try to process all of this information in such a way as to get you some answers and let's see if we can all be really, really nice about it, shall we??????? *glaring at those who know who they are*

OK, first things first - can you handle the male you believe to be injured? If you can catch him then you should have him be seen by a vet and treated for the injury - and while you are there at the vet with him, arrange to get him vaccinated and neutered.

As for it always being "the one tom laying on the ground in submission to the other Tom. The same one powering over the other", this is the male cat's way of asserting dominance over the other, essentially telling him, "Hey YOU! Back off of my girls here or I am gonna bite you on the neck and mount you to show you who is boss of THESE parts!" My suggestion to you is simple: Have all of the males neutered and then spay all of the girls.

And lastly, as to the Rottie - if you have such a dog on your property and you even think it may be causing harm to the cats, then it is your responsibility to see to it that he is confined in such a way that he cannot cause harm to the cats or to anyone else for that matter. Put him in a secure enclosure with a roof over it so that the cats cannot or do not get in there with him (not that I think your cats are stupid, but you never know with cats ... better to be safe than sorry, right?)

Hope this helps!

~gf~

Thanks for seeking help!

I would suggest that S/N'ing all of these animals would help reduce the aggressive behavior. Some of it is normal, though.

Does this puppy obey basic commands? Sit, stay, etc. I would not mix cats and dogs unless the dogs are trained to accept basic commands from all the adults in your family.

Yep, I agree with everyone else. Take the injured male to the vet IMMEDIATELY and have them all spayed and neutered. If it is too much money for you, search the web for a low cost clinic or call a good humane society near you and ask if they know of any. Or you can pay to have them fixed and then find them new homes and charge the new owners the amount it cost for you to have them fixed.

Originally Posted by Jen

Yep, I agree with everyone else. Take the injured male to the vet IMMEDIATELY and have them all spayed and neutered. If it is too much money for you, search the web for a low cost clinic or call a good humane society near you and ask if they know of any. Or you can pay to have them fixed and then find them new homes and charge the new owners the amount it cost for you to have them fixed.

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Boy, oh boy. You can really get come people rowled up on here! Im not certain as to whether I had may question answered....you know, whether a male cat can injure another one in this way?

Well, anyway, in regard to the spay/neuter thingy....Let's see, Ive been on this site for months and months. The reason I began WAS to seek and find help in getting these strays on the property spay/neutered, either through a local humane society, clinic or perhaps a TNR group. I walked into this overpopulated situation through marriage less then a year ago when there were only 4 (now 11). Funds are low to non existent because we leave solely on SS..months and months of searching, calling for help. Even applied to SPAY America months ago, filing out papers, never receiving back the final doc to get help with (not that we can afford even with the low cost to have all these taken care of) Latest, is that I AM in the process of getting all females spayed (we are half way through and rest go in next Monday) through some dear lady that called me and has a sincere desire to help.

Yes, the vet....well I just discovered this one Tom just yesterday looking like this. Believe me when I say that if I had more than $5 in my pocket right now he certainly would be there !

I think we tried but to get very specific:

Yes, two unneutered males fighting it out can cause these type of wounds. A bunch of non-S/N animals are going to get rough and tumble with each other a whole lot faster than a group of animals who have been S/N. Getting them fixed will make them less aggressive which will eventually result in less serious injuries. While it might be something or someone else on your property causing these problems, right now it sounds like cat-on-cat aggression. As hissy said, if it had been the dog then you would more likely have dead cats instead of injuried cats.

Originally Posted by Nano

I think we tried but to get very specific:

Yes, two unneutered males fighting it out can cause these type of wounds. A bunch of non-S/N animals are going to get rough and tumble with each other a whole lot faster than a group of animals who have been S/N. Getting them fixed will make them less aggressive which will eventually result in less serious injuries. While it might be something or someone else on your property causing these problems, right now it sounds like cat-on-cat aggression. As hissy said, if it had been the dog then you would more likely have dead cats instead of injuried cats.

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Considering the fact that Ive been on here since the beginning attempting to locate spay/neutering help...obviously it has been my ultimate goal and I really dont need to be continually beat over the head with that.

I walked into this position less than a year ago when I relocated here from MD. It was not my intention to be caretaker of 18 cats (we are now down 5 due to the fact that homes were found for an elderly cat and her 4 kittens), especially being newly married. BUT, because of my love for animals, I couldnt bear to see them starving as prior to my arrival there were only 4, no vaccinations and their diet consisted of table leftovers, mostly country biscuits.

Ive been striving very hard to get things under control here, but considering prior to this time I had for the most part an indoor cat AND just one at a time, this wild, outdoor cat thing AND the attitude of the majority in this part of the country is that they only have one purposes, to catch mice and keep down the snakes is all new to me.

I have seen many things going on with these cats and many different situations that Ive never experienced before. That is why Ive had so many questions. I AM attentive to what is going on, however I cant be sitting outside doing cat watch 24/7, as I have an husband to take care of not to mention a 94 yr old mother in law.

That one cat by the way, I looked at him again and he has both a raw mark on the side of his neck AND underneath ! As if something was trying to bite its head off. You all dont realize how much I want to get help for these guys, but where in the heck does the money come from when you are living on a small ss check?? Its taken all I can just to buy cat food each week. Ive inquired down at the vet as far as cost of shots, etc. Neutering the males is $40 each and forget Spay America, they must be overwhelmed because Ive put in twice filled out the info and no response. This one low cost clinc I got the price at said she never even heard of Spay America.

Finding homes is NOT an option. Ive exhausted that scenerio also. Since we dont have any caring organizations in this county (ive checked them believe me) , they tell me they are not adoptable material, or they tell me to place an ad in the paper (I was told by one HS down here not to do that because we are having a problem with the use of cats in dog fights), all the no kill shelters are full (and most of them told me they wont even call me when they have room because IM NOT THEIR COUNTY) AND besides that EVERYONE has a cat problem here. Its just a real mess. Ive had some success with self doctoring, but to tell you the truth I believe that prayer has gone a long way here.

Friendforlife it must be so hard for you because i know your doing your best and because all the resources near you are snowed under and not in a position to help.

dont get disheartened, something will come along to help you soon enough. i'm still praying for you!

Try not to get discouraged - I know how hard it is when you can only do a little, either through lack of money or lack of will on the part of everyone else. Just think positive -that everyone you have helped is one less to worry about and one more cat that is safe. I'm sorry I have no more practical advice to offer - you sound like you are doing everything you can. Just don't let it get you down.

No one was jumping on you, or beating you over the head. Oftentimes, people are posting at the same time and saying basically the same thing so it looks like an attack when it isn't. Without knowing the whole story (that you just shared) I just answered on the strength of your first post. I understand what you are saying about how expensive it is to spay and neuter because I do it out of pocket as well. I just took a new feral in this morning to get neutered, but sadly he tested positive for FeLV and we opted to put him down. If you have an animal shelter near you, sometimes if you call them and explain the situation they will send you a low-cost spay and neuter certificate good for a vet in your area. That's how I work with these cats that come here.

As far as home remedies for bites, there really aren't a lot of options because the cat needs antibiotics to stop the infection. And the meds are based on the weight of the cat and severitiy of the bites. It sounds like your group has a clear alpha male and the other cats are subservient to that one. If you can capture the alpha first when you can get a cat neutered, you will stop most of the aggression. He will still remain alpha after neutering, but will be less inclined to bite and fight.

I thought that when a cat lies on his back during a fight, it's not in submission, but to enable him to use his back claws to tear at the opponents soft belly? Or is that in only certain cases, not when 2 tomcats are fighting over a girl?

I thought for certain the aggression must have been coming from my mother in laws tom, as Ive seen him more then once lingering over this particular tom. BUT TODAY, I caught a glimpse once again of another tom cat that recently appeared on the property...he is huge! I was outside looking for Midnight and I saw him peering out from under the trailer.

I had seen him before as it got dark going into the feeding area. I thought for certain he had left here, but there he was. Im wondering now who is the culprit of all this trouble. Whereas all the cats except one will let me pet them, I know this guy will never submit where I can get my hands on him. One thing I dont need is another tom!!

Im sad for the orange Tom that was beaten up as he has been here a long time, even before my arrival and when my mother in law was doing better and able to walk he would always be right by her side. Im keeping a watch on him and hope that somehow I will be able to find a way to get him looked at. And to think that I put off getting myself to the docs because I dont have insurance....geez.

I may be wrong, and if I am please someone correct me....But we were very poor when I was growing up and we had a neighbors dog attack one of our rabbits. We didnt have enough money to take her to the vet so mom (being a R.N.) confined her cleaned the wound and put a little neosporin (spelling?) and wrapped it (using gauze and self sticking (like to its self, not to the skin) ace bandages crosed like an X through her front arms (not really tight, just enough to hold the gauze on!) to try to ward off infection. We put her in a carrier for a few days with food and water and checked the wound daily. after 3 or 4 days it looked considerably better. A vet is always the best option, but since you are in a bind maybe this would be a plausable option for you. Also seperating the cats for a while might cut down on the fighting and give you a bit more time to find something to do.

If this is a very bad suggestion, please someone say so, but I figure something is better than nothing.