That looks like a proper evil bast**d. My god what a situation to have to put up with. That cat is badly in need of a new home. Far far away.
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Oh poor poor puss. I’ve got to say the cat does look very chunky.
I’ve had the same issue over the past year / 2 trips to the vets with my little cat, plus the antibiotics and the stress.
I’m more the Fhill end of Devonshire and cannot say I’ve seen your beast / my two offenders are black and ginger.
I’ve squirted the offending cats , chased them out of the garden and even had to chase one very aggressive cat out of my house !
You have my full sympathy. It’s a frustrating situation, but I cannot see how it can be manned.
Cats that like the outdoors will wonder. God knows I’ve had to rescue mine from the neighbours trees enough. If your cat , like mine is determined to go out and play, no matter the danger, it’s a bit of a lost cause I’ve found.
They are a territorial species and I must confess I’ve seen my little cat chase of others, including foxes.
Just to play devil’s advocate, could it be that your cat is wondering into the other cats garden also ?
The other cats still come in my garden, up my steps and if able into my house, water cannon threats or not.
You’d be surprised what the cats get up to when they think we are not looking … I’ve even caught my cat rousing from tarpaulin with the offending cats , some days they are friends some days they are enemies. What can you do.
You could go down the route of Celia Hammond , I hope that helps , the neutering may help with the aggression and it certainly would help with any unwanted kitty pregnancies. Though , if I owned a male cat I may be a little disgruntled at it coming home with the chop ! My sister had her boisterous cat neutered and it made the world of difference to his aggressiveness.
I’d second the idea to put up local signage, see if you can find the owner. I know as a cat mum I would want to know if mine had been causing upset.
Full disclosure and pics of our little cat 
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Sorry to hear about your cats been attacked this cat his is a regular visitor in Devonshire Road Nature reserve seen it a couple of times was informed by a volunteer that is can ‘eat’ a hedgehog whole also seen tackling the local fox, it is a pest and I try to schoo it off without harming it has a negative effect on the local wildlife. Please just get it a quirt with water and nothing else or call the RSPCA so they can trap it and scan the it. I would NOT encourage any other action against it. I am a cat-lover myself
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I know I suggested spraying it with dog pee, but if you think that’s too gross how about buying some silent roar ad soaking the pellets in water, then loading your supersoaker with that? If he comes to associate your garden with being sprayed by an invisible lion he might go elsewhere.
But then he’ll just attack someone else’s cat, or as @Ernest_J_Thomason says, wildlife. Or heaven forbid, a baby. I still think Celia Hammond needs to chop his wotsits off.
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Just seen that you can get electric cat deterrent fencing. It would be a shame to have to resort to this as it might deter wildlife - but that said, hedgehogs go under, rather than over fences and it would protect garden birds. Squirrels I suppose would be about the only form of wildlife in our town gardens that might be affected. I imagine if you could work out the cat’s route in you might only have to install it on that boundary.
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The same topic keeps popping up in Nextdoor. The general consensus is that if a male cat is neutered he won’t wonder looking for a mate, & as you say he cannot father more kittens.
A man posted on there though that his cat (he seemed to recognise this particular one) was allowed to wander as he pleased & that he was definitely opposed to getting him ‘done’ or as he put it “his bits will be left dangling, thank you”. Wonder though if he would say the same if his cat got badly attacked like the other poor cats.
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Hi James,
This cat is called Hugo. He has been living in our garage over the past few months, we’re in the middle of Devonshire Road, next to the Nature Reserve. In all honesty we were happy to have him, he is timid but very loving and gentle with my three year old. I managed to track down his owners who live a few streets along and came and got him last week. Hugo has been happily living around the corner unnoticed on Devonshire Road for a number of years with his brother (the same breed but black). His owners bought a third cat, a small breed about 2 years ago who Hugo didn’t get on with and which has lead to him spending more and more time away venturing towards the Nature Reserve hunting, hence why we thought he was homeless and took him in (to our garage).
His chip number is: 956000006306543
You should be able to get in contact with his owners via any Vets with his chip number.
Best wishes
Natalie
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Thank you Natalie
I’m afraid we’re going to have to take action here because just this morning “Hugo” chased my cat up a tree and started attacking her. If it wasn’t for the fact I was working in the living room and could rush right out to start shouting at it I hate to think what the result will be.
He may be gentle with your children but one day he’s going to kill my cat or my next door neighbours cat in their own garden just for the crime of minding their own business and it’s just not on.
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Has Hugo been neutered Natalie ?
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Yes, he has been neutered.
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It sounds as if you are now his ‘keeper’ as opposed to his ‘owner’, is that how you see it ?
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Cats don’t have owners, cat have people!
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He is back with his owner. We no longer feed him but he visits us most days and we are happy to see him when he does. His owners love him and want him back.
I’m not really a cat person but my understanding is that cats fight. Our neighbours have cats and they used to have vicious fights. The difference is that Hugo (we call him Sparkles) is so big, it makes him look scary and he will always win in a fight. I know lots of people are having trouble with him. Unfortunately I don’t see a resolution, cats will be cats and actually Hugo could do a lot of damage to another cat but typically chooses not to.
I’m pretty sure that the fight with this particular cat was especially vicious because around that time Sparkles came back with a big scratch on him face and stayed close to our home for a few days.
We didn’t used to like Sparkles and tried shooing him off and spraying him with the hose but it didn’t seem to bother him. He wore us down over the past few years and now, mainly because he’s so good with our daughter, better than any other cat that i’ve seen, we think he’s kinda great.
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Sorry, yes I can see that you did say that his ‘owners’ now have him again. You mention that you know that lots of people are having trouble with him, do you know whether his ‘owners’ are aware of this ?
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They are, I explained the situation to them. However, they have two other smaller cats and apparently at home Hugo is the underdog so they can’t believe what I have told them. I’m sure a number of people will contact them, our neighbours included and they might look into it a bit.
From what I understand they are going through a difficult time with ill health and therefore unless it becomes a serious issue for them I’m not sure they will make any changes.
Yes, I see what you mean. If you have explained it to them and now that they know that some of their neighbours have incurred vets bills and are anxious, it makes me wonder what else it would take to make it a serious issue for them. I have two cats, and I think that if it came to may attention that my neighbours lived in fear of my cats and were out of pocket, it would right away become a serious issue for me. You seem like a very responsible sort of a person Nathalie, and I am sure you would feel the same way.
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Vets bills are always unwelcome and we take them in our stride, but it’s worth bearing in mind that for some people, especially at times like the present an unexpected bill can knock a real hole in the monthly budget. I think James said that he had to go to the vet twice in one week. Now, if it happens once, that’s one thing but I think twice makes it a serious issue. But then, if it seems open ended and potentially without limit, then that’s a different league altogether isn’t it ?
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Right, rant incoming. Sorry if this is wordy, but I really am cross.
The single attack in question resulted in 4 vets trips as the wounds were so bad they didn’t heal, and the antibiotics weren’t strong enough to tackle the infection at first. My cat was sick for some time afterwards. Each trip and course of drugs cost money, and obviously while the toll on my wallet while I was furloughed wasn’t welcome I have to really point out here that the health and well being of my cat is absolutley paramount. I must also point out that this attack was the second of that day. It’s not an isolated incident. I am seeking no financial retribution.
“Hugo” is now causing me to keep my cats catflap locked permanently and I only allow her out into our garden when I am present and with the back door open. One, this is annoying because I spent money getting a double glazed pane replaced to fit this flap but more importantly my cat has no idea why suddenly her outside access is restricted.
I’m sorry that his owners have other issues in their life right now, I really am. I am not an unreasonable person but at the end of the day the fact that Hugo’s home life has pushed him away from his own home because he doesn’t get on with their new cat is their problem. I am more than a little miffed that it seems they don’t care what their cat is doing.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not naive. I understand fights happen. But this cat is agressive, powerful and large. It’s not a fair fight with my cat, or my neighbours cats - and let’s remember hugo has sent their cats to the vets as well.
If the fights were caused my cat wandering into his territory or may cat chasing him I would have no qualms whatsoever in keeping my cat indoors. But the simple fact is Hugo comes into my garden and chases my cat around when she’s minding her own business. It’s not as if they’re just running into each other. Yesterday he rushed up a tree for the sole purpose of attacking my cat while she was at the top of it. She had nowhere else to go - if I wasn’t there to chase Hugo off she’d have either fallen out of it or been bitten again. Either would have resulted in injury or worse. She’s not provoking him in any way other than simply existing and playing in her own garden and I’m fed up of it.
But it’s not just that. I mentioned earlier Hugo came into my house and defecated on my carpet. Again, if I knew my cat did that in someone elses house I’d be horrified and I’d keep her indoors. I certainly wouldn’t respond with “cats will be cats” - that’s not normal. Again, it seems like the new cats in his house are causing Hugo to lash out elsewhere. This is absolutely their problem and they need to fix it. Hugo is clearly not happy.
I will be contacting my vet with Hugo’s chip number. So will my neighbour (their cat is now terrifed of wandering more than a couple of feet into the garden) I am sure, however, that data protection laws will prevent me from getting any further details but i am going to be seeing what I can do or asking the vet to pass on a message.
I do not wish any harm on Hugo. If I see him in my garden passing through I’ll continue to squirt him with water, but if thre’s an attack in progress on my cat I will do whatever necessary to defend my cat.
I simply want Hugo’s owners to note his behaviour and figure out why he’s so aggressive all of a sudden, since it would seem this isn’t normal for him if what you say is true (and this is a big “if” because all the behaviour i’ve observed is to the contrary). If he’s causing continual problems, then maybe he needs to be kept indoors. It seems wrong that Hugo has free reign to attack who he pleases and when, and everyone else just needs to deal with it because “cats will be cats”.
Rant over.
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I think James is right not to accept the idea that ‘cats will be cats’. There must be more to it than that. The RSPCA website has some interesting information on the subject. Link below. In particular this section caught my eye.
'There are many different reasons why cats can be aggressive towards other cats. To be able to successfully treat the problem, it’s essential to work out what the underlying cause, or trigger, is. To do this, we recommend that you consult with a qualified veterinary behaviourist (your local vet can refer you). They will ask you lots of questions and may also visit you in your house so they can observe your cat in their own environment and their interactions with other cats in the household.’
According to Nathalie, Hugo Sparkles has owners/keepers who are aware that there are issues with him. If they care about him and they care about their neighbours then the least they can do is to take him to the vet and seek advice.
A domestic animals keeper ( as opposed to the legal owner) is responsible in law for the conduct of their animal and in certain prescribed circumstances can be liable for any loss or damage caused. Perhaps the right thing to do is for James to write to the owners and bring the matter to their attention. It may be possible to meet them and persuade them to seek advice on how to deal with Hugos’s anti social tendencies. Failing that, then a solicitors letter is often effective. If that does not do the trick, then a claim for the loss and damage and an injunction to compel them to keep Hugo inside may be possible, but one would sincerely hope that it would not come to that.
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