Strategies For The Outdoor Cat Who Can't Be Outdoors

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Our cat was found in a feral cat colony a year and a half ago. When he was trapped and brought in, it was found he was already neutered and passed some behavioral tests, so they decided he was previously owned and adopted him out to us.

It's clear our cat LOVES the outdoors. He is a super hunter and wants to be outside all the time. There's just one problem. He can't.

We live in a suburb of LA, and while it's fairly populated here, there is ample predatory wildlife. We've seen coyotes in our yard multiple times. There's an owl that eats local dogs. And hawks are in the backyard regularly.

Not wanting to deprive our cat of anything, we leash trained him and started taking him outside twice a day, which he LOVED. But frankly, the outside is like an addiction to him. We couldn't bring him back in. He would hiss and growl and bite and attack us (the only time he's ever done so). He does everything in his power to get off the leash. And when we bring him back inside he screams all day to be let out, even when we're on a clear walking schedule. He just seems MORE miserable when we walk him regularly because he has to then return to the house.

We're trying to wean him off walks right now and it feels awful. He just cries at the door all day long and his herpes is flaring as a result of the stress.

I tried getting one of those mesh tents to put him in outside to see if we could do that all day long and he had a panic attack and started hyperventilating because he couldn't get out of it. Multiple tries with that have failed. It seems clear that a small outdoor enclosure will not do.

I sort of feel like I have two possible paths left to me. Never let him outside (which just seems like a cruel fate for the cat who loves it so much) and hope he stops asking at some point, or sink $5k into an awesome catio. I've found a builder and have a quote. But I'm concerned that even the catio will not be sufficient for this little guy who just wants freedom and the ability to hunt. I'm guessing that he'll just meow at the door of the catio all day long to be let out of that.

Anybody have any suggestions? I am stuck between wanting my cat to be happy and wanting my cat to be alive. Thanks peeps.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hey! How about a catio that has a passage-way from a window - that way while he is still confined to the space of a catio, he would feel the freedom to go in/out at his leisure, so to speak. Giving him at least that option might help some.

Here is just one example (there are tons out there, involving a window/cat flap door/door):



Also, the more elaborate the catio, the more likely he will feel some of the 'freedom' of the outdoors he is yearning.
 
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Hey! How about a catio that has a passage-way from a window - that way while he is still confined to the space of a catio, he would feel the freedom to go in/out at his leisure, so to speak. Giving him at least that option might help some.

Here is just one example (there are tons out there, involving a window/cat flap door/door):



Also, the more elaborate the catio, the more likely he will feel some of the 'freedom' of the outdoors he is yearning.
Thanks for the pic! The catio we've gotten a quote for is something exactly like this. Total dream house for a cat. :) I'm just concerned that we're going to sink 5k into it and he's still going to be unhappy and meowing to get out non-stop. I suspect that it's freedom to hunt that he wants, and not really sunshine and fresh air. But maybe I'm wrong and other people's cranky outdoor cats respond well to the catio?
 

FeebysOwner

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I will have to let others who have transitioned their cats from outdoors to catios answer that question. But, I will say that to let him get used to a catio over time vs. making him indoors only would seem to be a better route - at least in my mind. Maybe, you won't agree after months and months have passed and he is still driving you nuts - LOL!

Maybe during the transition you could use some calming products on him just to help relieve the initial stress of realizing he's stuck in a catio? Something like Bach Rescue Remedy drops that you can rub into a cat's ear to help calm them? A lot of people use these before they take a cat for a vet visit. There are tons of options out there, you could try several until you find one that works for him (not all work on all cats).
 

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We adopted Olive who was an abandoned stray. She was about 3 years old and loved outside. We lived in a busy neigborhood next to a major street, so we didn’t want her to be outside. She is also a total lap cat, and craves human affection and food which really helps.

For us and for her, cold turkey worked best. The first night we brought her inside, I slept in the downstairs safe room and anytime she went to a window I played with her. I think it helped. We tried to give her lots of playtime, tall cat trees. She still cries at the windows - especially in the spring - but she’s not screaming. Over time the whining lessens and she kind of forgets about outside. She has escaped out windows a few times, which spikes the whining and running around to find windows but eventually that fades.

I’d love to leash train her but I’m afraid of what you describe - a cat that can’t get enough and is constantly yearning to get out. I haven’t tried a cardio yet, but we will see in the future when we own our own place.
 

ArtNJ

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I know your in LA, which is probably even more expensive than northern jersey, but still, 5,000 for a catio that looks like that is absurd. You just need shop around for a handyman would should be able to build that for 1/10th the price.

Personally, I'd just convert the cat to indoor only. Even a lovely catio doesn't offer the chance to run around and hunt stuff, which is what he really wants to do. Cat will be unhappy for a bit, but they get over it.
 

maggie101

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I know your in LA, which is probably even more expensive than northern jersey, but still, 5,000 for a catio that looks like that is absurd. You just need shop around for a handyman would should be able to build that for 1/10th the price.

Personally, I'd just convert the cat to indoor only. Even a lovely catio doesn't offer the chance to run around and hunt stuff, which is what he really wants to do. Cat will be unhappy for a bit, but they get over it.
Yes! Adult cats like to hunt. I have lots of hideaways and wand toys. They hide then pounce. Cubes, shipping trash. Scratch beds, tall scratch towers and cat condos. Mines 72inches high!. Catify and play with him then he will be a happy cat. If you take him on walks, throw some treats in the room. Clicker train. when I play with a wand toy with a mouse, she hides, chases it and ,jumps high. Cats like to look out the window. And take lots of naps
 

radarlove413

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Our three current cats were all previously outdoor cats, and we found that going cold turkey seemed to work the best. After a few months, they all settled down and are content enough with indoor life, but sometimes try for the door. Donatello would probably still love to go out on a leash, but our neighborhood is full of alpha males and I don't want to risk a cat fight. (We sleep with foam earplugs - they're lifesavers with midnight "let me out meows!")

My childhood cat, Lucky, was the only cat we had who would scream if he couldn't go outside like yours. (Do you have a fenced backyard?) We had a happy medium where we'd let him go out on a harness and long staked leash in the backyard. He had set times that he'd go out, and it kept him happy. Our yard was fenced, so we'd just have to check every once and a while to make sure he wasn't tangled. And occasionally, run out with a broom to break up a cat fight (he was a huge alpha male and did not like other cats wandering into his yard haha)
 

basschick

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can you get a variety of self-moving toys? or a fish tank he can't get to but can watch the fish?

also have you tried letting him watch some of those youtube videos or a DVD of birds for cats to watch? with youtube, your cat may have to watch a few commercials, but other than that, something like this could keep a hunter cat engaged

 

Catlover579

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That is a tough one...I know how hard it is to keep a cat indoors once they have got used to the outdoors.. it's a completely different situation for a cat that's never been outside. My opinion is to just let him stay outside.. Honestly cats are very smart and capable of taking care of themselves out on their own even from predators. They have great instincts and can run and climb trees. You could make a cat door for him in case he needs to run home. There are many cats living outside and do just fine and he has an advantage, he does have a home to come to and food . Also, I have read that coyotes are not likely to hunt cats. They did a study and an ecologist followed a radio- collared coyote at night and saw that it passed up 15 outdoor cats without hunting one. Is there any way you could just let it out during the day and get it into a routine to come home at night and them let it back out in the morning? That would make it less risky for him outside.. That's what I do with my cat. He's allowed outside only in the daytime. But I know many cats go out at night and do fine, I also had a cat before that went out at night and came home in the morning.
I think your cat would live a much happier life being able to go outside and explore and hunt especially since he's used to it. It would be torture for him to go from that to now locked inside for the rest of his life..and that would also make him want to dart for the door as soon as he gets the chance.
Good luck and hope you figure out the best choice for you and your cat.
 
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