Thread: When neighborhood strays become a problem

The stray is a smaller cat, but he is not neutered and thus is a raging testosterone bomb on four legs. Sampson is 20lbs or more and is not afraid to confront him. He is our guard cat and is known by all in the neighborhood, even dogs will not approach him. The local shelters charge $30 or more to rent a trap and then additional money to neuter strays. I would do this but I just cannot afford it right now. We had been feeding the stray and trying to build trust, but get too close and the stray vocalizes loudly and is aggressive. I don't believe he is feral because he does not flee at the sight of humans, but he's been on the streets too long and can't escape his alley cat mentality.
Merlin will no longer go in the back yard and limits his outdoor time to the front yard and driveway. This stray was also harassing Bengal Brat on the same morning but she is too fierce for him. Mandy is our only strictly indoor cat, mainly because she has zero street smarts and no capacity to defend herself in these situations. The boys have sprayed their yard many times and you'd think this would deter the strays, but not this one. We are not feeding him anymore, so maybe the lack of a free lunch will send him packing!