Confused About What To Do About Female Cat

[Chantellbevan]

Hi so my female cat who is about 3 years old has stopped coming in my house, apart from after dark, i have 2 other cats, both younger than her, one not much younger other is only 6 months old.. shes stopped coming in the house even though, by her choice, she was pretty much a house cat... for the past 2 and half years iv had her shes never been exactly domestic, she was part feral when i bought her but i didnt get told anything about that i bought her for £100 from a woman who had huge dogs shut in the garden and other kittens that 100% was not fr9m the same litter, she claimed to be a rescue person but my mallie(maleficent) or mallie cat, she prefers mallie cat as i have a millie also who i had to rename millie moo so they could tell the difference. Anyway long story short(and trust me this is a hell of a lot shorter) i really dont want to rehome her but i also dont want her to be outside this winter as we have the whole beast from the North East coming qt the weekend...and if we(being torquay, devon,england,) couldnt even take it snowing earlier this year and she used to be a house cat then i couldnt take it, i just want whats best for her, i have an appointment at a rehoming centre to sign her over to them but im in bits over what to do. Also she got worse after she got spayed and also my other cat, millie, has just been spayed and shes acting very strange too.. not quite so severe as mallie but she is now jumpy and trying to attack dogs and whichever cat that tries getting in through our catflap... iv caught the stray male that likes to break through my cat flaps at nights so could be him but might be mallie i dont know... iv had to buy a few cat flaps now, xxx

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
Are you sure that the stray male, or another stray cat, isn't scaring her and keeping her away?

The other female also sounds a lot like she's redirecting stress and/or fear aggression on to the dog and all else.

I don't believe any of your females' behavior has anything to do with being spayed. I believe that they are being frightened and threatened by another cat or animal.

If you can determine what cat is causing your cats to be so upset, your mallie will probably come right on home.

 

[di and bob]

I agree with the above. Get rid of the cat flap, you will be getting all kinds of wildlife coming in. I would bet another cat came in and scared them so badly they don't want to be cornered inside now. Just eliminate the flap and keep them all in. I know this will be annoying fo a while, but eventually they will revert back to being house cats. It's just not worth the heartache of finding them in the street or killed by predators/cat haters.
They both may be upset in the newcomer, the six month old, too, it takes a long time for cats to get to be a family unit. I would just keep them all in a and give it 6 months and see how it goes. If she doesn't let up, build/buy a enclosed cage for her so she could go outside and be safe. Those new chicken coops are nice and getting bigger and less expensive.

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS. With winter coming, it sounds like a good idea to keep all your cats inside. Some might fight the idea more than others, so here's a TCS article that might have some tips for you:
The Five Golden Rules To Bringing An Outdoor Cat Inside

 

[Kflowers]

As Di and Bob said, cat flaps aren't all that safe. Foxes and other creatures can come in through them. Your cats should be frightened of foxes and raccoons can come in through them. Our current cat is the only survivor of a litter that was attacked by raccoons. They killed her mother as well.

 

[kissthisangel]

I know Torquay quite well, certainly on the harbourside there are a lot of strays, they live out of the restaurant bins and scraps. I would keep your cats indoor over the winter at least. I know indoor cats are not really "a thing" where we live ( I heard a man across the road say "LOOK AT THAT!!! have you ever seen anything like that a cat on a lead" ( I don't live too far away from you, Saltash). So, wait until both of your cats are home safe and close up your cat flap, at least for the winter. The thing is it will be cold on the coast anyway, it's much better IMO to keep them in. It's also getting very dark earlier now, whilst that's no concern for the cats it does increase the risk of drivers not being able to see them. Personally I would just bring them in unless you live on a farm well away from anywhere and you have acres of space surrounding you.