Why is he acting so territorial?
 

My family has two cats who have adopted us and come over for food. They are stray outdoor cats, affectionately nicknamed Number 2 and Number 3, and my dad made a little shelter for them for the cold weather. Ambre has never been with another cat in our house. He's been an indoor cat since he was AWOL for thee days.

A few weeks ago, he saw a strange cat, and he went NUTS! My dad was holding him and trying to calm him down (big mistake I think), but he bit and scratched him as he tried to get out to confront the intruder. Dad's doing okay now after a trip to the doctor who gave him some medicine (he had a tetanus shot earlier, so that's no problem, and Ambre is up to date on his shots, including rabies).

Why is Ambre acting like this? He even chased his own brother out a few years ago on Father's Day (shame on you treating your own brother like that!) and we're all hoping Creamy has since found a nice home since he doesn't come by anymore. Why is Ambre being so territorial?

I'm not sure how many cats we're talking about. Four? Ambre and Creamy are inside cats and #2 and #3 are outdoor cats? Or are Ambre and Creamy outdoor cats with nicknames of #2 and #3 and there are only two cats in total?

Maybe you could clear that up but in the meantime, it's not at all unusual for cats to be VERY territorial and if a strange cat entered the picture, either inside or outside, at least one resident cat might decide he/she has to go.

The clawing of your father is known as "redirected aggression." If they can't get to the cat who offends them cats will sometimes take out their hostility on the nearest available being, your Dad, maybe your dog, maybe even another cat they used to get along with. Breaking up hostilities with the offending cat, whether they can get to the other cat or it's just outside the window, will sometimes elicit the same reaction of redirected aggression.

explanation
 

Ambre is the only cat my family has. Creamy, his brother, belonged to our neighbors (yes, those neighbors, the ones who owned Buddy!). Since the neighbors showed more interest in Buddy than Creamy, Creamy came over for food and attention. This continued until the Father's Day where Ambre chased him off. This was when Ambre was an indoor and outdoor cat.

A few years later, after three days of being AWOL, we decided that Ambre would become an indoor cat, and all had been quiet until this most recent winter. We were adopted by a new stray cat that we affectionately nicknamed "Number 2". My dad fixed up a feeding station for him so he could stay out of the cold and be fed all winter. A few months later, another new stray cat we affectionately nicknamed "Number 3" came along, with the same ideas as "Number 2".

[QUOTE=Longblades;1076771]

The clawing of your father is known as "redirected aggression." If they can't get to the cat who offends them cats will sometimes take out their hostility on the nearest available being, your Dad, maybe your dog, maybe even another cat they used to get along with. Breaking up hostilities with the offending cat, whether they can get to the other cat or it's just outside the window, will sometimes elicit the same reaction of redirected aggression.[/QUOTE]

100% agree with this :thumbs up

In addition the cat may also redirect on the owner...the don't do this on purpose, it's a reflex. Therefore family members should not take this personally.

We had an indoor cat that got out and got into fights while out. When my wife found the scared cat, the cat hissed at my wife - almost as if he didn't recognize her.

Main point is not to take this personally. :goodvibes:

For the future, don't try to soothe a freaked out cat...let the cat calm down on its own - away from you. :2cents:

news on Number 2
 

My family recently learned that Number 2 is a female, with kittens. Ambre still freaks out when she comes by. She's come onto the concrete slab in our backyard a few times, and this upsets him, since she's so close to the house. Today, he screamed at me when I tried to pet him as he came in from being out in our breezeway. I wasn't doing anything; I just wanted to pet him to be nice. He's calmer now, but I'm wondering about something. Why is Ambre so territorial about a female? He's been fixed for years, so there's no worry about him having children with Number 2. I don't even think I've seen the father around.

He's likely not upset that there's a female cat in his territory--just that there's [I]any[/I] cat in his territory and he can't get to it.