[Cavendish]

hi all, need some advice regarding a neighbours cat that keeps entering our house, has a fight with our cat and pee's all over her stuff while we are out, we have had to lock the cat flap so that he cannot get in while we are out, and only let our cat out when we are in.

we think he has won the fight as our cat, as she only seems interested in hiding and sleeping up stairs which is really unlike her.

we have made loud noises and chase him out of the house when we have seen him walking round like he owns the place, is there anything we can do to get him to realise he is not welcome?....

[Bionic]

Cavendish,
I feel for you. You have described the situation that we have exactly and one we haven't yet found a solution to.

If you get to see the cat I would suggest a water pistol.  The cat that comes into our house is so smart that we only ever see his rear end escaping and haven't managed to get close enough with water.

We have been looking into cat flaps that are controlled by the microchip in the cat.  They are quite expensive, about £60 I think.

Our puppy arrives this weekend so I am hopeful that will put an end to the issue but if not then it will be the microchip cat flap for us.

Sally

[Cavendish]

Hi Bionic, thanks for the advice, I have discussed about getting a microchip cat flap, I think we will be investing in one in the near future but as you say they are not cheap.
We to are looking to get a dog, a boy black lab but due to our work arrangements its not something we can do at the moment and probably not for another couple of years so a new cat flap it is.

I dont like being nasty to cats but we can't have him coming in and making his self at home, we found him sleeping on our couch yesterday evening when we returned from work. the cheeky bugger!.

[Tiva Diva]

In the short term I would suggest locking the cat flap and keeping your cat indoors with a litter tray, to allow her to re-establish your house as her territory. Shouting, water pistols etc. are no use unless you're at home all the time. The other cat will avoid you but still come into your house when you're not there.
In the longer term a puppy may well help (though it will be even more short term stress for your poor cat), but I would recommend one of the microchip-controlled cat flaps. If your cat wears a collar you can also get ones controlled by a magnet that attaches to the collar