Cat Fighting

I moved into a new house about 5/6 months ago and, up until we moved, my two cats had not been outside. They're a year old and started going out in December but are both wary and won't go far.

The previous owner of the house was a little old lady who used to let the neighbourhood cats come in and a couple of them even had their own special chairs!

My two are very good with most other cats and we have had no problems with the neighbourhood cats coming in. However, there is one particular cat that keeps picking on my little boy and he has bitten him several times. After talking to our next door neighbour it seems that he is well-known as the meanie of the street but everytime this happens, my little boy won't go outside for several weeks, sometimes he won't even go into the conservatory.

We do try and chase this cat off when we see him in the garden, just to try and warn him that it isn't his space anymore. I know that my two have to learn to defend themselves but I just can't bear seeing them in pain and they've both had a fight this morning and come in with shredded claws and bleeding paws

Does anybody have any advice? Not only do I not want them hurt, I can't afford anymore vets fees for antibiotics!

I too have moved and my cat has been going out for the first time since December. I am really over-protective so I always go out with him so I can keep an eye out. I have been known to walk him around with a brolly on wet days we have had a few cats in our yard, but I scare them off, and I haven't seen them lately.

It's really hard to deter cats, so let us know if you find a solution. Xx