Catting around causes fur to fly

Dear Amy: My wife and recently learned that our cat “Pumpkin” has taken to entering a neighbor’s house through their cat door and picking fights with the neighbor’s cat — inside!

We are, of course, appalled by our cat’s behavior, but we are at a loss as to how to stop it, short of keeping our cat inside. Keeping him in full time would be awful, because when he wants to go outside, he yowls most pitifully and is aggressive and destructive.

Our neighbor has respectfully communicated the trouble Pumpkin has caused, requesting most recently that we keep him inside on a night when she would be out of town and unable to break up fights between them.

Either we have to keep Pumpkin inside, or our neighbor needs to give up her cat’s ability to go freely through an open cat door.

We know we need to communicate respectfully with our neighbor to find a solution. Any ideas? — Peaceable Neighbors

Dear Neighbors: First of all, I want to thank “Pumpkin” for providing fodder for the most unusual question I’ve ever tackled in this space. Secondly, you should take your cat to the vet immediately to be neutered, chipped and tested for disease.

Your “outdoor” cat might not ever adjust to being inside full time, but it must be stated that cats are easy prey for coyotes, cars and feline leukemia, to name a few hazards.

The solution here is for you to invest in a new cat door as a gift for your neighbor. You want to get the kind that has a computer chip on it, matching a chip on that cat’s collar, so it will only open when that particular cat approaches.

Until you can make these arrangements, you should ask if your neighbors would be willing to adhere to a basic schedule and latch their cat door closed, perhaps at night.