MAKING YOUR GARDEN SAFER FOR YOUR CAT.

If cats enter your home you may have to shut the cat flap and only let your own outside when you can bodyguard him. Otherwise your frightened your cat may start spraying in the house.
If necessary, block your cat's view of the garden using a glass spray like Humbold Etchspra, a sticky Fablon plastic or try www.keylinegraphix.co.uk window films.. Staring is a method used by cats to intimidate others. Somehow you have to block off the sight of the cats that are intimidating your cat.
To prevent a cat intruding into your garden, some people recommend using anti-burglar plastic spikes called prickler strips but these may be illegal, as they might cause harm to a burglar or (worse) a child climbing over the wall. It is essential that if you do want to try these, you consult your local crime prevention officer first. What is legal is the use of prickly plants like berberis planted next to the wall and allowed to flop over.
“Make your own cat some high up sitting places, like a shelf in the branches of a tree, where he can sit and look outward across the garden,” says Jon Bowen vet and behaviour counsellor of the Royal Veterinary College. “It is important that these are made facing away from the house, with the view into the house blocked, so that the bully cannot use them to stare in.”
If you think the bully is spraying on the wall near your own cat flap, or on the garden door, then clean up thoroughly by scrubbing with biological washing liquid followed by surgical spirit. Then put some plant pots or garden ornaments further back in the garden so that these get sprayed on rather than the house wall or door, thus keeping the bully’s scent marks further away from your cat’s core territory in the house. “It may also help to make a series of cat latrines round the edge of the garden,’ says Jon Bowen. “Dig a two foot deep hole, fill with one third gravel and then top up that last third with soft playground sand. You can flush away urine but you will have to pick up poo regularly.” Put your own cat’s poo there first to establish whose territory it is.

DETERRING THE ENTERING CAT
The RSPCA used to recommend a long distance water pistol to ambush the intruding cat. I am uncertain if this is against the code of practice in the Animal Welfare Act . A better bet may be to make sure that there are no food bowls available near the cat flap so as to make it less attractive for the intruding cat. If it is a stray then consult your local Cats Protection or cat rescue charity and help them neuter and rehome him. They are very hard worked and need donations during the recession so offer them a generous donation for their help.
If the tom is coming in during the day, or both day and night, then get your cat a litter tray, get rid of the cat flap, let your cat in and out by yourself making sure you don’t leave it out too long. You will have to become your cat’s bodyguard. Secur-A-Cat garden cat proofing will cost around £1,000 to cat proof an average garden. It will stop cats coming in. More details from 01487 815909 or www.palacesforpets.com . The only disadvantage is that squirrels can eat through the netting, leaving a hole through which a determined cat can push through. Other possibilities can be found  on www.PurrfectFence.com PVC drain piping on top of a wooden or chain link fence can be used to prevent escape – www.corporatevideo.com/klips/index.htm  Metal fencing - steel painted like wood – www.colourfence.co.uk
If doing it yourself, consult – Fencing your Garden on www.fabcats.org or send an s.a.e. and small donation for it to Feline Advisory Bureau, Taeselbury, High St, Tisbury, SP3 6LD.

IF YOUR CAT IS THE BULLY
If your cat has not been neutered, get him fixed quickly. Neutered cats are less likely to be bullies. Finally, give this information sheet to your neighbours to help them take precautions such as not leaving food down and keeping the cat flap closed at night. Try and work out a timeshare arrangement if all else fails.
It’s worth trying to be nice to your neighbour about this. Retired lecturer Peter kidnapped his neighbour’s cat, Tiggy, and drove him six miles before letting him out into the countryside. First he put him in a cat box and phoned the owner to say he had him but she was out, and then he dumped him. Then he tried to get him back by putting an advert into the local paper. He was angry because Tiggy kept being aggressive to his own cat, Monty’s Double . The RSPCA prosecuted him and magistrates ordered him to pay £100 compensation. (Daily Mail Sept 17 2005)
Please forgive me for not coming up with a solution. I haven’t got one. I wish I had. Sometimes cats will work out their own timeshare with the local top cat using the best hunting times such as evening and early morning and the less assertive ones using mid-day (when the dominant one is taking a lunchtime nap).