Should I help my cat defend her territory?

Question

We have an older cat who almost never leaves the house. Our house is fenced but open, if you go to the kitchen during rain you'll get wet. So occasionally other cats turn up in our living room.
Usually they growl at each other and then the other cat leaves. This repeats for a few nights and then they don't come any more. The other day there was screaming and I found pee on the kitchen floor, although I didn't witness how it got there.
Now I wonder, when I see them growling at each other, should I rather clap my hands and chase the other cat away or let them negotiate on their own? Is there a risk that our cat might lose her territory and feel forced to move out?

Mandemon · Answer

Do not actively help the cat. Clapping or chasing can lead to aggression as both parties are surprised.
As it sounds, there is easy access to your living room. Your cat probably considers this to be her home territory (as opposed to hunting range or wander territory) and will aggressively defend it. Perhaps better option in this case is restricting other cats access to the living room, although your description of the housing arrangement is slightly confusing to me.
If restricting the access is not possible, alternative is to slowly enter the view between the cats, so that your cat doesn't lose the sight on the opposing cat, and shoo the intruder away. Actively chasing them won't really help. Your cat might pee on things to mark them against future intruders.
As said, best option would be to make access the house harder for the other cats, rather than attempt to drive the others away. By the sound of things there are new cats around that are establishing their own territories and your older cat is holding onto their own. Cats are very unlikely to abandon what they consider "home".

Should I help my cat defend her territory?

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