Hello,
We rescued a stray last fall. We had been feeding him for a short while before bringing him in when the temperature dropped and he had developed an infection that clearly needed treatment. We tried hard to find his home, to no avail. He has become part of our family (introductions with the resident senior cat are ongoing).
I have noticed that he seems truly obsessed with the outdoors. I have had cats all my life, and I can say with confidence that his level of obsession is beyond what I would normally expect. He is constantly grappling to get to the window whenever he enters a new space. He can hear a window open from a different floor of the house and will almost always come running, nose in the air, eager to get to the open window as quickly as he can. He spends most of his time on a cat bed/perch which is by my desk, and which is pushed up against a patio door. He watches the squirrels and birds for hours and hours, all day. He is essentially looking at his former territory, as we used to feed him on our patio just on the other side of that same patio door.
He is increasingly running toward doors when they open, and seems keen to get out. He has not tried to push past us yet, but I do think it is coming.
My concern is of course, that he is going to escape.
We have children who love him, and will try their best, but I know they will be running in and out those patio doors all summer, and I am worried a door will be left open, or they will be so focused on their own fun (as children will be), that they will not notice him run past them.
We live near a valley and have a lot of wildlife in our area. There are raccoons living in or near our backyard (I think they live under our patio), and a family of coyotes living nearby (I see them all the time near dawn). I am concerned for his safety if he gets out.
He has a collar with a tag identifying him as an indoor cat and providing our phone number.
If anyone has any advice on how to keep the little guy from escaping, or how to address the situation more generally, I would be very eager to hear it!
We rescued a stray last fall. We had been feeding him for a short while before bringing him in when the temperature dropped and he had developed an infection that clearly needed treatment. We tried hard to find his home, to no avail. He has become part of our family (introductions with the resident senior cat are ongoing).
I have noticed that he seems truly obsessed with the outdoors. I have had cats all my life, and I can say with confidence that his level of obsession is beyond what I would normally expect. He is constantly grappling to get to the window whenever he enters a new space. He can hear a window open from a different floor of the house and will almost always come running, nose in the air, eager to get to the open window as quickly as he can. He spends most of his time on a cat bed/perch which is by my desk, and which is pushed up against a patio door. He watches the squirrels and birds for hours and hours, all day. He is essentially looking at his former territory, as we used to feed him on our patio just on the other side of that same patio door.
He is increasingly running toward doors when they open, and seems keen to get out. He has not tried to push past us yet, but I do think it is coming.
My concern is of course, that he is going to escape.
We have children who love him, and will try their best, but I know they will be running in and out those patio doors all summer, and I am worried a door will be left open, or they will be so focused on their own fun (as children will be), that they will not notice him run past them.
We live near a valley and have a lot of wildlife in our area. There are raccoons living in or near our backyard (I think they live under our patio), and a family of coyotes living nearby (I see them all the time near dawn). I am concerned for his safety if he gets out.
He has a collar with a tag identifying him as an indoor cat and providing our phone number.
If anyone has any advice on how to keep the little guy from escaping, or how to address the situation more generally, I would be very eager to hear it!