Oliver loves being an inside kitty at night. He's usually eager to come inside. And even though he spends nearly every night inside, he still manages to get into fights. Last week he got into a particularly nasty scrap. Who's he fighting with?
This guy:
This black cat has been coming around for several months. He only comes at night, and being that he's a black cat, it's been difficult to distinguish him from Oliver's family. Oliver's not fooled by his appearance though, he sure knows that he's not a member of the family. The other night, when I went to bring Oliver in, I heard Oliver caterwauling. I hate that sound. I ran outside as fast as I could and tried to break up the fight. Oliver and this cat were going round and round. The new cat tried many times to run away but Oliver wasn't having any of that. I was beyond freaked.
These are images of the new cat having dinner in the feeder. Low light and poor camera resolution make the pictures fuzzy, but I've been trying to look for an eartip and I'm not seeing one. This guy must be homeless if he's willing to risk fighting Oliver for access to food.
This was the scene last night, as we got home. Oliver was up on the feeder ledge, having cornered the new cat in the feeder. When I distracted Oliver, the new cat made a run for it. Oliver darted in quick pursuit but thankfully I was able to tackle a very unhappy and poofy Oliver before anymore damage was done.
It's time to trap this new guy, but then what? I release him back in the yard and Oliver's not going to start sharing his yard with any cat, he's very territorial.
Right now, I've got more questions than answers. I'm at my whits end trying to figure out how to solve the Oliver dilemma. I can't leave him inside all the time because he urine marks (even more now that he knows theres an intruder on his land). Theo is getting more and more anxious about having Oliver inside. Theo has the sharpest memory out of all the cats. He remembers that he once had access the back porch but doesn't anymore because Oliver's there. Now, he has lost nighttime access to the office room, because that's where Oliver sleeps. Theo is not happy about losing more and more territory to Oliver.
If I leave Oliver outside all the time he fights every neighborhood cat or newcomer cat around the neighborhood. I've entertained thoughts of trying to relocate him to a barn somewhere. He's very bonded with me, would do anything with me, but he only tolerates contact with Laura and doesn't tolerate any contact with any other humans. That and his persistent urine marking behavior make placing him in another home not workable. He loves being inside and loves being cuddled. With me, he's a very sweet, affectionate, playful and silly boy. I don't know that I could willingly give him up, I'm so very attached to him.
Oh Oliver, what am I going to do with you?!??
