Big Ginge is on the warpath again. Last night, he terrorised Leo, Fat Lily AND me.
We were all hanging out in the kitchen, cosy-like. Leo on a chair, Fat Lily sphinx-like on the pew and me tapping away on the laptop and listening to Kurt Elling on You Tube when something crashed against the cat flap.
I was startled because at first I thought it was Lily trying to go through sideways or some other inventive new way but she was standing with her tail up like a poker and there was a blood-curdling “Yeeeeeeeeeeeooooooowwwwwwwww” from outside the flap, which fortunately is a secure cat flap which reads my cats’ microchips.
Jeez it was chilling. Pure evil. We all just stared at the flap and could just see his big ugly mug in the gloom. I thought perhaps I should do something. As I opened the door I heard the clatter of claws on a fence as Ginge made good his escape.
With visitations like that, it wasn’t surprising that Leo did a poop on the kitchen floor while we were away. My cat-sitter Ange, thought perhaps he was scared of going out. Too right.
As their owner and guardian it’s now incumbent on me to take them into the garden and so it came to pass that at 10.15pm I was standing in the dark, wet garden with a fleece over my head against the rain, waiting for my cats to have their last comfort break.
It’s ridiculous. I used to let the dog out last thing and he knew when to do when I hissed the urgent instruction (think Michelle of ze French Resistance in Allo Allo) “On the grass!”
The cats, on the other paw, have not got the faintest clue because I have severely neglected their “toilet on command” training. Now, it seems, that kind of convenient habit will be necessary.
Leo was at the vets again last Saturday because of more infected bites from Big Ginge – this time on his legs. He’s got scabbed wounds on his head too but I can only hope he’s beginning to fight back.
The trouble is Big Ginge is a predatory bruiser. No-one seems to know who he belongs to. Next step is to get Cats Protection to trap him – which shouldn’t be difficult – a big basket outside our back door should do it – and label him with something like “If the owner of this cat doesn’t get him neutered, we’ll remove his balls. Yours truly, Cats Protection” I’d do it myself if only they’d let me.
He was fighting another cat in a neighbouring garden only yesterday. They were having the usual growly whiny stand-off then a spat which the Other Cat actually won. Big Ginge slunk off. Perhaps the only cat he can bully is my Softy-Walter Leo.
Janh1: Mainly fair with occasional rain. 
Thank yu for the first smile of the day.xx
You’re welcome Sabina. I’m sitting in the kitchen again – on my own this time – eyeing the cat flap with some trepidation.. 😉 xx
Ah the joys of cat politics. I’d get him neutered. It sounds like he is a stray or abandoned cat. Neutering will probably reduce some of the aggression and make him a more attractive proposition for someone to rehome as he should be less smelly.
When Cat was in his last winter I did a lot of late night and v early morning chaperoning in the garden standing there with a coat over my pyjamas.
We have a stray ginger and white. Seems v pretty and definitely wants a home. MasterB has decided he can take it on and rushes at it. This is a turn around as previously it had my boy trapped under a parked car.
Good luck with Leo’s wounds. It’s a painful and expensive business dealing with cat aggression.
I’d like to get him neutered. Leo’s such an affectionate softy, I don’t like to see him stressed by Big Bully Ginge. One of those wet mornings lately I opened the back door and there was a distinct whiff of cat pee, so I reckon he’s been leaving his mark to intimidate them. Wounds-wise these are not as visible as the head and face wounds and thankfully he takes his antibiotics wrapped in cheese! 😉
I’m glad Master B is asserting himself, though I wonder how cats decide their ‘pecking order’? Reading Celia Haddon made me realise how little I know about their behaviour. My vet Derry said it gets very complicated in multi-cat households and routes have to be created so their paths don’t cross as they are essentially solitary animals. It might explain why Lily likes going in and out of the upstairs study window!
Horrible for Leo and Fat Lily – and you! I remember the problems I had with Pushkin that had me pursuing him with a bucket of cold water on more than one occasion to protect my charges and he wasn’t even a fighter; instead he had a menacing presence around them, and a propensity to sneak into the house when I wasn’t looking and stink the place out. Microchip cat flaps are a godsend.
After the repercussions of our reign of terror from Pushkin, I’d be very tempted to pay to have Big Ginge neutered whether he belongs to somebody or not. Cheaper than treatment for bites in the long term, I imagine
Hi Sophie. Yes, the microchip cat flap has saved us from total Big Ginge takeover. Of course the cats don’t know and after a scary encounter, Lily can be found on the upstairs landing, looking anxiously down into the hallway!
You’re right. This is the fifth visit to the vet. One for Lily and her bitten tail, four for Leo. 😦
We have a similar problem with the neighbour’s Bengal. Everyone says “what a beautiful cat”, but he’s not so beautiful after several hundred pounds of vet bills and a traumatised moggy. These days the hosepipe is on stand-by (which may not be so effective as apparently Bengals like water, Damn them!) and our cat is being kept in at night.
Good move, D, the keeping in at night. Sorry to hear you’ve had the same problem. It’s horrible seeing your cat (s) stressed but they set their own boundaries. At least a dog knows which garden is his! Yes I’ve heard Bengals like water. They are also be quite “chatty” to the point of getting on the owner’s nerves, I’ve heard… ;-D