How can I deter my cat's unwelcome guest from coming inside?

Question

This week, my neutered middle age male cat called Garfy brings home a 'guest', who is a much smaller cat. I guess it's very young, but not sure of the gender or origin, so let's just call it Taby. I saw Taby a couple of times hanging out in our garden with Garfy. They seem to be good playmates.

The problem is that Taby often sneaks into the house through the flap door after Garfy. Then not only s/he eats Garfy's food, but also makes a lot of noise during his futile exit attempts, because opening the flap door is a bit tricky as it opens only towards inside. So I have to wake up early on and let Taby go by opening the entrance door, which is obviously not my favorite morning ritual and deprived me of sleep several times.

I'm not sure what Garfy feels about Taby's sneaking in, but I know that Garfy is so passive that he is frequently being bullied even by much smaller cats. Garfy's only line of defence against intruders is to scream. So I imagine he just tolerates Taby's entrance, or even encourages it as an act of philanthropy!

To make it clear to Taby that it is not welcomed inside, I rush to the entrance door and make some threatening noise and gestures before letting him go. But that was not effective and I suspect s/he will be back tomorrow.

So I'm wondering how can I deter/dissuade this unwelcome guest with the least harm/hassle?

Answer 1

I think there are a few things you can try:

If Taby seems docile (sounds like it is), consider taking it to a local vet or shelter to scan the cat and see if Taby is microchipped. If Taby has a microchip, you could then contact the owners and have them keep Taby indoors, or generally help keep her on their property (enticing with food, etc.).

As an altered version of completely locking Garfy in as Bella Swan suggested (which is still a viable option), consider keeping Garfy in only at night. Guard his goings ins and outs to ensure he's the only cat entering and exiting the cat flap. They also make cat flap doors that activate with a sensor you place on your cat's collar, so the flap will only let your cat in.

Here's my favorite option - Have you considered owning one more cat? It's apparent Garfy and Taby are friends, and having two kitties is always more fun. They can keep each other company, and it's not that much more expensive to keep two cats over one. Some vets will give you multi-pet discounts. Taby may also feel more comfortable in the house and let you sleep instead of panicking to get out. And consider re-naming Taby to Nermy ;)

Answer 2

I'd suggest you to keep Garfy indoors for a few days. Also, close any ways of entrance Taby uses to get into the house. Even if he does, force him out or try to scare him. Animals usually stop repeating the acts where they don't find any advantage for them anymore. If Taby can not get the food, company, or entertainment he finds at your house, he'll eventually stop coming. It will take a few days or weeks, depending on the nature of Taby, but soon he'll be gone.