how to deal with overly aggressive stray cat

tekonus

tekonus

...meh?
Nov 20, 2008
471
1
16
Long Island, NY
So, my family and I have had our new puppy long enough that she has gotten all her puppy shots and we have started taking her outside for walks and outside time on a dog-run.

Problem is we have a lot of stray cats in my area. The mother of the owner of the house next door lives with him, has mental problems (dimentia or something, not sure honestly) and she feeds the stray cats as a hobby of sorts. They crap in our flower beds and all over our lawn, its quite disgusting. For the most part its not been an issue aside from being disgusting and probably unhealthy. Now, however with the new puppy we have concerns about it.

The largest problem is that it appears one of the cats is very very aggressive. My father and I were out on the front lawn and one cat came on the lawn and looked like she was stalking the puppy. I brought the puppy in the house and my father proceeded to try and scare the cat away and it didn't budge, in fact my father was concerned the cat might even attack him! I think this overly aggressive behavior may mean the cat has rabies. I'm not sure what we should do. Has anyone ever dealt with something similar?

Also, here is a picture of our puppy! Her name is Missy and she is a Yorkie-Poodle mix. No, I won't call her a Yorkie-Poo, darnit!

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The only thing you could possibly do is trap the cats and bring them to the shelter. As far as that cat is concerned, you would need to bring him to the vet to be tested cfor rabies. Unfortunately, the only way they can positively test for rabies is from testing a piece of their brain.... which means the cat would have to be put down.

It sounds to me like the cats are possibly feral/tame. By trying to scare the cat away, what exactly was your father doing? How did he conclude that the cat was going to attack him? The cat could have looked as if it were sstalking the pup because it may have seen it as a play thing, no idea... have you called animal control?

the pup is very very cute :hearts:
 
Dangerdoll said:
The only thing you could possibly do is trap the cats and bring them to the shelter. As far as that cat is concerned, you would need to bring him to the vet to be tested cfor rabies. Unfortunately, the only way they can positively test for rabies is from testing a piece of their brain.... which means the cat would have to be put down.

It sounds to me like the cats are possibly feral/tame. By trying to scare the cat away, what exactly was your father doing? How did he conclude that the cat was going to attack him? The cat could have looked as if it were sstalking the pup because it may have seen it as a play thing, no idea... have you called animal control?

the pup is very very cute :hearts:
Click to expand...

Dad was being aggressive, waving arms and yelling and such. Typical things that would scare away any other stray (in our experience). No, we did not try and hurt it if thats what you were wondering. As I said, this lady thinks these things are her pets. She'd probably call the cops on us if we threw a stick in one of the cats' general direction. The cat was definetly stalking the puppy. There is not doubt about it. The cats back was raised and was hissing at us very aggressively when it realized we saw it. As far as trapping and taking them to the shelter is concerned... the shelter doesn't want them. We trapped one already and tried. They are "too full of strays to take anymore in". So we just let it loose in another neiborhood to make it not our problem anymore. (which of course didn't help anything, but it won't be crapping on our lawn anymore.)
 
your list of things to do:
1- dont take action yourself, you can get hurt
2- call your local animal control - they will trap the stray cats and take care of the person feeding the cats and take all appropriate courses of action. (please note that depending on the town, animal control group, etc their might be a fee associated with this service)


In most areas feeding 'stray' cats is considered illegal, animal control will take care of the problem with your neighbor feeding the cats the best they can. Most animal control officers have the ability to summons, fine, arrest an offender the same way a police officer can.

how to contact your local animal control: phone book. most towns have an animal warden or animal control groups that they use to contact them, call your local police using their non-emergency number.

how i know all of this: 3 years of animal control work.
 
I hadn't even considered your father was trying to hurt the cat, I was just wondering if your father was simply yelling, and waving his arms around or if he might have taken a broom to sort of push the cat off the lawn (which is what I would have tried to do.

Thinking more about it, I am with coach, you should call animal control even if you slightly suspect a rabid animal in the area. Whether the shelter wants the cats or not, they are obligated by law to come and assess the situation when there is the least bit of suspicion involved.
 
this is what i would do....

1.) locate the owner of the neighbors (not the mental one preferabley) and explain the situation...tell him that the strays are harrassing your puppy and messing with your garden.

2.) if she continues to feed the cats....shoot on sight.



i know if some crazy cats were around my house and messing with my pets....i would kill em..

(although i have a 17 year old cat that RUNS this neighborhood, a pitbull that would have fun rippin a cat to shreds, and a little cocker spaniel thats faster then insert cuss word here)




#2 might not be a great idea....but i would consider it.
 
ok please have a sense of humour when you read this























stir fry anyone :Angel:
 
Time to get some traps or get animal control out there to remove the feral cats. Or if it comes down to it, goto walmart and pick up a cheap air-rifle.
 
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