Neighbor Cat Terrorizing

Question
My 3 T-N-R ferals that I moved with us out to the country on 5 acres have been living in a safe building for going on 3 weeks that we've been here to best successfully acclimate them to their new surroundings.  I'm planning on opening the door this next week, but just yesterday, one of the 3 neutered males from the property next to us came over and I need to know how best to keep him, and others out.  He was sweet-sweet with me and other 2-legged's, but when I took my small dogs out to TT, he attacked them and me in the process of defending.  I'm now afraid he will be tearing up my ferals as they venture out into their new surroundings.  Help!  I thought everything was going so well!

Answer
Hi Melissa,

This is a difficult situation as any cat deterrent product that you use to keep this cat off your property will also affect your own cats.  If you know the owner of this cat, it may be worth having a friendly word and explaining that you plan to let your three ferals outside soon and wonder whether they could keep him inside for a couple of days while they get used to their new surroundings.  Once they feel comfortable being outside, they are unlikely to be too threatened by this cat as they have both the size of their group and their feral roots on their side, but it would certainly be beneficial for them not to have to deal with him straight away.  Be prepared that the owners may not agree to this change in his routine and you may therefore need to supervise visits that your cats make outside in the first few days.  If you see this other cat approaching, a harmless way to deter him would be to spray him lightly with water from a spray bottle, which cats find frightening but not painful.  This should be sufficient to keep him off your property at least in the short term.

Very best of luck with this!
Take care
Annie