Advice With New Kitty

[Ravenrogue]

Hi all, I adopted a 1 year old cat yesterday, so far he seems to be doing well, he is still a little scared and has been sleeping under our bed for most of the day, but comes out to eat/use the the litter box. When I sit next to the bed he will come out and he seems to want attention and will rub his face against my hand and purrs, but as soon as he hears a noise (I have a toddler that can be quite loud ) he runs under the bed again. I'm hoping with time he'll get used to the noises around the house and be more comfortable.

What I really need advice on is whether to keep him as an indoor/outdoor cat, I planned on keeping him indoors for at least 3 weeks and then letting him go outside supervised until he is used to it. The thing is I don't know much about him or how he lived before he was put up for adoption. He was found with 3 other cats in an empty house when the new owners moved in a few months ago, they guessed that he's about a year old. I don't know if he had owners before that abandoned the cats when they moved or if they were on the streets and seeked shelter in the empty house. I'm scared that if he didn't have a home before he will just bolt if I take him outside and that he wont come back, or won't understand that this is his home. We had him neutered, vaccinated and microchipped, and he has been living at the shelter for about 2 months, so hasn't been outside for a while.

All my previous cats had been outdoor cats so I'm not sure how to go about keeping him indoors permanently. I'm going to keep him inside until he is completely comfortable, just not sure if I should let him go out after that or how to do it in a way that will keep him safe?

 

[ArtNJ]

I'm not totally sure what you mean asking "how" to keep him indoor only without more context. Is he meowing at the door constantly or trying to slip out? If cat is being a PITA about it, you have to ignore it. Eventually, they stop being so annoying. If the cat is trying to slip past you when the door opens, you need to learn to be watchful, to crack the door first when coming in and stomp your feet to gain space if needed.

If you do want him to be indoor/outdoor, its premature to set a time like 3 weeks. Right now, the cat is still highly nervous, and may still be pretty nervous in three weeks. If you let him out before he is totally settled in, however long that takes, he might not come back. I know you said you would supervise, but if a cat is going to bolt from a dog barking or something, it is going to bolt and being outside won't help you catch up to something both faster and more agile.

 

[Ravenrogue]

Hi, we got him yesterday so he is still a little scared, he hasn't tried to get out so I don't know if he would even want to go outside. With the "how" I kind of meant changes we would have to make in the house to make it easier. (I live in South Africa and it gets quite hot in the summer so would need to sort something out so we can keep the windows open etc.) I also have a young child that may forget to close doors/windows.
If I do take him out I will wait till whenever he is comfortable, I agree with what you said that he might bolt, that's what I'm most afraid of, I've heard of people using a kitty leash/harness, but that would depend on whether he would tolerate it..

Since I don't know if he was an indoor, outdoor or stray cat previously, it's hard to know how he will react to being kept inside.

 

[ArtNJ]

Window screens are common in the USA because of bugs, and cats generally don't bother them, but I'm not sure your windows are set-up to accommodate them. A young child forgetting to close doors can be a problem of course; no magic solution to that.

Some cats show no interest, but once a cat does show interest, if given the slightest success, they can be *very* persistent. Once they are outside, I'm sure you know this already, chasing doesn't work, it just teaches them to run from you. So once they are outside, you have no choice but to call them, be patient, maybe even use treats, which just reinforces it. So if you are trying to make sure your cat is indoor only, its best to try and prevent the slightest taste of the outside for as long as possible. There are a few minor "tricks" like stomping your feet if your cat comes near the door, which can help discourage your cat from interest but nothing I know of will help if windows and doors are getting left open.