A Surprising Sound: Our Observation of an Outdoor Animal Clash

That sounded like a catfight! Rocko and I both looked up at the small window when we heard the ruckus.

We were in the basement. By the time I made it upstairs, the fight was over.

I could see Pork Chop on the sidewalk headed towards the backyard.

He kept looking back over his shoulder like he was checking for the animal he fought with.

Or maybe he was confused if the fight was with Midnight or Charcoal.

I will never know if the other animal was a cat or maybe a raccoon or some other animal.

Maybe a new cat wanted to come to the yard looking for food or shelter.

Or we know of three indoor/outdoor cats that live several houses away down the street. Maybe they come for a visit, and Pork Chop didn’t want them around!

I’ll never know which scenario happened.

Fortunately, there are not many catfights now that we’ve done TNR (Trap Neuter Return) for the neighborhood cats. Cats usually roam and fight less once they have been spayed or neutered.

The outdoor catfights before TNR

The above story is from 2020.  Before we took on TNR for my neighborhood in 2017, I would hear and sometimes see cats fight in the street.

Or, during the night, I would awaken to hear cats fighting.

I don’t like to see or hear cats fighting. I want cats to be happy and get along!

The most notable catfight took place very early on a Saturday morning.

This was back when we had a straw fort on the deck for Other Buster (his story is part of Violet’s), a feral cat that looked very much like Buster (they were probably related, but Other Buster was not interested in coming in).

We had tons of snow that winter. And since we were putting out food every day for Other Buster, it seems that more cats found his fort.

On that night, the sky was clear, and I heard the worst catfight ever on the deck.

I was very concerned about Other Buster, so  I went outside to check on him.

In the moonlight, I could see Other Buster and two other cats. I think one was Fluffy, who became a regular visitor in 2017.

That was the last time I have saw Other Buster. I am presuming he was scared out of the territory by the other two cats.

I like to believe that he made friends with some other human who made him an indoor cat, but that’s another unsolved outdoor cat mystery.

What’s the point of this?

If you hear outdoor cats fighting, then Trap-Neuter-Return can help. Sites like Alley Cat Allies have many resources and explain how TNR can help cats. 

And if you are feeding outdoor cats, getting them all fixed can improve cat relationships.

Maybe Other Buster would still be around in my yard (or moved into my house) if I had learned about TNR in 2014 (or sooner), instead of waiting until a feral cat had kittens in my yard.

There would have been fewer kittens born outside in my neighborhood, if I had gotten involved sooner.

Please get involved and learn how to do TNR if notice outdoor/feral cats in your neighborhood. If more people helped just their neighborhood, the impact could be huge in helping with cat overpopulation.

Related Posts:

• Helping a sick or injured outdoor cat