[tijlover]

I live in a 55+ community and we have some stray cats in the community. Someone outside the community, across the street, feeds them every night. The community is surrounded by Oleanders and a chain link fence, but she feed them under the fence. She feels sorry for them.

I'm a night owl, up all night, on my outside deck, and a night doesn't go by and I hear this terrible screaming going on somewhere, with 2 cats.

I'm bewildered as to what on earth they'd be fighting about? Territorial fighting? It almost sounds like they're going to kill one another.

We can't take them to the Humane Society as they'll reject them, reason being, once a stray cat enters the community and has been fed and lived there awhile, the Humane Society won't accept them, so we're stuck with them.

[Parnassia]

Why do you think any free-ranging animal fights with others of its own kind?

Territoriality
Competition for females, food, other things of high value.

Animals rarely fight for stupid reasons. It costs energy. "Fighting" can be vocal, visual, and/or physical. Most will try visual and vocal tactics before physical. Lower risk of injury. Injuries reduce survival.

[Metlakatla]

Maybe let her know about any trap-neuter-spay organizations in your area that will trap and fix them, which will cut down on the fighting and help prevent a fully blow feral cat colony from developing. This organization in Tucson might be able to help:

https://tucsonferalcat.org

[Snackmaster]

Okay, I looked it up. If you're not in a position to separate them, it doesn't look like there's much you can do about it.

Reasons Why Cats Fight at Night

There are five main reasons why cats fight at night. These most commonly include things like fighting for dominance, defending their territory, and protecting their food. However, cats are also known to fight other cats when defending their kittens and when they are mating. Here are the five reasons why cats fight at night.

Fighting For Dominance
Cats are more active at night than they are during the day, so this is when some cats will fight with other cats over dominance. This is especially common for feral cats in the wild. As for house cats, this can occur if a new cat has just been introduced into the home.

While the fight for dominance is evergoing for cats, it’s particularly problematic when it’s happening at night. This is because you can’t monitor the situation as well and stop a fight before it truly gets bad.

They Are Defending Their Area
Cats are highly territorial, so they will often fight other cats to protect their territory. This territory could include a stretch of land outside your cat’s favorite spot on their cat tree. This is a natural behavior in cats, and considering that cats are most active at night, they are more likely to need to defend their territory from other cats during the night.

In most cases, this doesn’t happen with domesticated cats, but rather feral cats.

They Are Defending Their Food
Cats also like to eat and hunt for food during the night, and they can be pretty protective over their meals. As a result, some cats will fight over food during the night. However, this is more common for outdoor cats than it is for strictly indoor cats.

This is because indoor cats are much more likely to be fed by their owners during the day and not in the middle of the night.

A Mother Cat Protecting Her Kittens
Mother cats are extremely protective over their kittens, so they are likely to attack strange cats that get too close. This is why it is recommended that you keep mother cats with kittens separated from other cats in the home. It is not only safer for the kittens but the other adult cats as well.

Sometimes Cats Fight When They Are Mating
Cats often fight when they are mating, and this is a very normal behavior in mating cats. Although the fight can seem extremely loud and frightening, both cats come out of this interaction unscathed most of the time.

https://faqcats.com/why-do-cats-fight-at-night/