How do I transition my cat to indoors? I'm desperate.

[ZacTheCat]

Sorry for the long post, but I need help.

I am at a complete loss at what to do with my cat. He is 3 years old, indoor / outdoor cat which is the entire issue...
He is my first pet and it's been a big learning curve for me in terms of how expensive it is to own an animal and the outdoor part of it.

Zac has his own routine:
- He is inside anywhere between 4:30am-6am
- Requests his breakfast to be served
- Goes to sleep in the house
- If it's a sunny warm day he will be outside catching the sun until about 3pm/5pm
- Otherwise, if the weather is not great which it hasn't been he will just sleep in the house until about 5pm for some dinner
- Has his dinner
- Goes out to the toilet and explore
- Depending on weather again, if it's really cold he will go to the toilet then come back in the house and go back to sleep
- Otherwise, he will explore or lay in the dirt somewhere & dad always finds him hanging around the house or under the bushes on the property (we don't have a big property, it's a 60 year old suburban house)
- He'll come back inside around 8-10pm for a little nap
- Then demands to go back outside
............ And then it repeats...........

As I was writing this it was in the evening
as he was not inside as I had just heard him fighting outside with another cat.
Zac hangs around the house & property, there is always another cat that comes and sits on our property and waits for him, we always hear that cats bells and it's meows are different to Zac's.
Now, morning he's in my room, on my heater under my bed which he only ever does if there's something wrong.

He got a bite wound on his tummy and maybe his foot, his insurance covers which I'm thankful for but this is a pain in the you know what because it keeps happening and I don't know what to do.

I work 3 days a week starting in mornings, my siblings who is also in the house works full time, so it's difficult there to shut off his cat door and let him meow all night like we've tried, because nobody gets any sleep. My parent just finds it hard to discipline and keep persistent on keeping him inside so it's really left up to me.

I've bought him numerous toys, foil balls, and cardboard boxes. Catnip.

The house isn't suited entirely for a catrun, running from a window for example to the back yard, so he can come and go as he pleases... is a very tricky job.

I don't know if buying a cat run with a smaller space, that's not attached to his catdoor will be an idea?

We have a large clothes-line cemented in the ground, dead in the centre of the yard, the yard is round with a 2 meter rectangular area which might be good for a 2 story catrun maybe?

I really need help and any advice I can get because my vets are telling me to keep him inside because constant course of antibiotics all the time, not only for these bite wounds but he also has a pre-existing condition of dermatitis, so they need him to avoid antibiotics as much because he's only 3 years old and the long term effects of long term medication isn't ideal, it will only cause him more issues when he's older.

How did you transition your can to indoor?
Are cat runs a good idea?
Since he goes out in the night, should I put him in the cat run at night time and get him in the morning for example?

Any advice, I'm desperate!

 

[Xena44]

What happens if you don’t give in to his demands and let him out? Him out fighting is not good. Obviously you know this but he can end up getting seriously wounded. He doesn’t have to be out at night. Its a cat thing but that mind set can typically be changed. With time. And adapting to your schedule. Putting him out at night in a cat run I don’t think is a good idea. My fear is he will be taunted/agitated by the other cats he is scrapping with. A cat run during the day attached to a cat door that leads into his (your) house seems reasonable to me. He will need stimulation indoors. Cat trees, toys, even cat climbing shelves on the walls if possible.

 

[Talien]

Is he neutered? If not, get that taken care of and he should want to go outside less. Either way, yes, a catio or cat run is a good idea, it will let him have his outside time without the risks.

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS. Sorry, though, for the reason that brought you here. Poor kitty.

Sending vibes that his wounds heal quickly.

It does sound like keeping him inside only is the right decision.

You haven't mentioned if he's neutered or not, If not, discuss that with your vet. Neutering will lessen a cats desire to go outside, and can lessen territorial aggression. However, even neutered cats can be territorial, and get into fights. So, again, keeping him inside is the only way to ensure his safety.

At first, he probably will not be happy. But remember even feral cats, who were born outside, can adjust to inside only living. So as long as all the humans in the home are on board, it can be done.

Here's a few TCS articles that might be helpful:

The Five Golden Rules To Bringing An Outdoor Cat Inside – TheCatSite Articles
How To Prevent Your Cat From Darting Out The Door – TheCatSite Articles
How To Make Your Home Bigger (at Least For Your Cats) – TheCatSite Articles
Bored Cat? What Cat Owners Need To Know (including 10 Actionable Tips) – TheCatSite Articles

Good luck.

 

[susanm9006]

First thing to do is to make sure that he is used to using an inside litter box. I would position one right by the door to outside and start with a very fine litter and if he doesn’t use that, they a mixture I’d sand and dirt at first.

 

[KarenKat]

Our kitty Olive was outdoors only when we adopted her. We moved her inside only and she definitely bowled at the windows and doors a lot. Every time she wanted to go out we would take out a wand toy and played with her.

She still occasionally gets spring fever and howls to go out (even after moving) but she gets over it. It might be slightly harder to transition since your cat is used to being let out.

If you have a soundproof room, you can try kitty jail when everyone is trying to sleep. We occasionally use that for Olive when she gets super bad at night. It’s one of her favorite rooms to sleep, she has a litter box and she tends to go to sleep.

 

[rubysmama]

First thing to do is to make sure that he is used to using an inside litter box.

Oh, yes, good point. If he's not used a litter box before, and doesn't seen interested in using it, you could try Cat Attract Litter.
Dr. Elsey’s Cat Attract™ Cat Litter - the litter cats love™

 

[ZacTheCat]

Is he neutered? If not, get that taken care of and he should want to go outside less. Either way, yes, a catio or cat run is a good idea, it will let him have his outside time without the risks.

Yes he is neutered. Thankyou !!!

 

[ZacTheCat]

What happens if you don’t give in to his demands and let him out? Him out fighting is not good. Obviously you know this but he can end up getting seriously wounded. He doesn’t have to be out at night. Its a cat thing but that mind set can typically be changed. With time. And adapting to your schedule. Putting him out at night in a cat run I don’t think is a good idea. My fear is he will be taunted/agitated by the other cats he is scrapping with. A cat run during the day attached to a cat door that leads into his (your) house seems reasonable to me. He will need stimulation indoors. Cat trees, toys, even cat climbing shelves on the walls if possible.

If I dont let him outside, he will meow all night. I was up and down with him last night about 8 times throughout the night before he'd got the idea and fell asleep until it was breakfast time. Now it's just a case of repeating it or TRYING too. Same thing with day time. Except i feel really cruel not allowing him to lay and roll around in his favourite dirt spots in shade/sun which he's used to doing.

Thankyou for your response, I'll be looking into suitable catruns for him that can connect to his catdoor & catruns on their own, and a new cat tree which he will love.

 

[ZacTheCat]

First thing to do is to make sure that he is used to using an inside litter box. I would position one right by the door to outside and start with a very fine litter and if he doesn’t use that, they a mixture I’d sand and dirt at first.

He has two inside, one right by his catdoor and one in the bathroom. Regularly cleaned. I stick with one cat litter, that's very fine but its clumping, better on his paws too. Ill try the dirt thing as well because he will not do #2 in the box and cries at the door.. (I have tried numerous cat litters also). He as a kitten always used the litter box and never went out so trying to get to that stage again would be great .

 

[susanm9006]

If He is already using a litterbox to pee then I would go for it and just not let him out anymore despite his protests.

 

[Xena44]

Just be super fastidious about monitoring the bowel movements though. You don’t want him to end up constipated. She says he yammers to be let out to poop. Although I do agree with you about just keeping them in at this point. It’s going to be a transition for both of them. And she is definitely going to end up with some sleepless nights until he gets the hang of this.

 

[Xena44]

Our kitty Olive was outdoors only when we adopted her. We moved her inside only and she definitely bowled at the windows and doors a lot. Every time she wanted to go out we would take out a wand toy and played with her.

She still occasionally gets spring fever and howls to go out (even after moving) but she gets over it. It might be slightly harder to transition since your cat is used to being let out.

If you have a soundproof room, you can try kitty jail when everyone is trying to sleep. We occasionally use that for Olive when she gets super bad at night. It’s one of her favorite rooms to sleep, she has a litter box and she tends to go to sleep.

Yes kitty jail is an unfortunate necessity sometimes. But if he hast to be in kitty jail I would a calmative, Like composure or something like that? There are natural products to help take the edge off. It could be very Traumatic to go to kitty jail with no support.

 

[Xena44]

Our kitty Olive was outdoors only when we adopted her. We moved her inside only and she definitely bowled at the windows and doors a lot. Every time she wanted to go out we would take out a wand toy and played with her.

She still occasionally gets spring fever and howls to go out (even after moving) but she gets over it. It might be slightly harder to transition since your cat is used to being let out.

If you have a soundproof room, you can try kitty jail when everyone is trying to sleep. We occasionally use that for Olive when she gets super bad at night. It’s one of her favorite rooms to sleep, she has a litter box and she tends to go to sleep.

The “call of the wild” is always there.

 

[Xena44]

First thing to do is to make sure that he is used to using an inside litter box. I would position one right by the door to outside and start with a very fine litter and if he doesn’t use that, they a mixture I’d sand and dirt at first.

Yes!

 

[KarenKat]

Yes kitty jail is an unfortunate necessity sometimes. But if he hast to be in kitty jail I would a calmative, Like composure or something like that? There are natural products to help take the edge off. It could be very Traumatic to go to kitty jail with no support.

Yeah, she gets a bit anxious, but the kitty jail room is where our other cat sleeps all night and she sleeps in the afternoon. So she was begging to leave and he was begging to get in, so we let him in and they both calmed down a bit.

I might look into some type of natural calming aid. I don’t want to medicate her but something that takes the edge off may help.

 

[Xena44]

Yeah, she gets a bit anxious, but the kitty jail room is where our other cat sleeps all night and she sleeps in the afternoon. So she was begging to leave and he was begging to get in, so we let him in and they both calmed down a bit.

I might look into some type of natural calming aid. I don’t want to medicate her but something that takes the edge off may help.

I want to tell you, but I love your tagline.

 

[susanm9006]

Yeah, she gets a bit anxious, but the kitty jail room is where our other cat sleeps all night and she sleeps in the afternoon. So she was begging to leave and he was begging to get in, so we let him in and they both calmed down a bit.

I might look into some type of natural calming aid. I don’t want to medicate her but something that takes the edge off may help.

There are products you can purchase specifically for calming like Feliway, but sometimes a little bit of catnip can work to settle a cat down.

 

[KarenKat]

I haven’t had much affect from Feliway, and our cats definitely get animated from catnip. Maybe CBD or melanin treats ...

 

[Xena44]

I haven’t had much affect from Feliway, and our cats definitely get animated from catnip. Maybe CBD or melanin treats ...

Composure Feline Bite-Sized Chews. ive had good luck with composure for my dog. Vetri science is a company I trust.