My husband and I are trying to transition a young male cat who's been around the neighborhood for a few years. We left food out for him when we had two elderly cats indoors, but now that we've had to say good-bye to them, we're in a position to help the porch kitty. At least a month ago he started approaching us, talking a lot and asking to be petted. Started sleeping sometimes on the porch chairs and coming inside for a brief exploration. We started feeding him indoors two weeks ago, got some treats, catnip, and a toy, and premium fresh food to tempt him--plus calming spray, pheromone spray and calming treats (which he doesn't seem to like). He still only stays in for 10-15 minutes, but this morning he spent 15 min in the basement by himself. He's also felt comfortable enough to jump on a table to look out the window. He's been neutered/ear-tipped, and we think he's part of a nearby feral colony, but he exhibits behavior of once being a housecat--waits at the door, goes up and down stairs, follows me around. We can't take him to a vet unless we are sure he'll be around when we have an appointment. but are concerned that's he'll just go nuts if we keep him in. To complicate the situation, we just listed our house for sale and might be moving within 60 days, and we don't want to abandon him now that he's made the brave effort to be friends.
-
Too many ads? Join our community of cat lovers now to reduce ads by 90%! Click here to join for free!
More Stray-rescue indoor-transition questions
- Thread starter CarmenTV
- Start Date
The Five Golden Rules To Bringing An Outdoor Cat Inside – TheCatSite Articles
How To Move With Your Cat To A New Home In A Safe Way – TheCatSite Articles
I have often brought in former ferals (although your boy may not technically have been feral, but an abandoned pet). At first most have been upset, sat by the door, or hid for a period of time. Once they are in, the door closes forever though so they all transition. Most, after their life on the street, have not wanted to go back out, oddly enough. That includes ferals whose life had not been that bad outside. My avatar and her sister were born to feral parents under my neighbor's house and I have known where they were for every minute of their lives. Absolutely nothing bad happened to them personally, but their parents and sibling were all killed by coyotes, so I have always thought that was the tipping card for their decision to happily live inside. The sister I literally grabbed from the back porch during a rainstorm and slammed the door. My avatar had been indoor/outdoor, not so much as a pet, but doing what your boy is doing which was to come in and visit and then leave.
Since you are an experience cat owner, you know that you can make the indoors interesting for a cat.
If this were me, I would see this boy as a cat who could not be left behind under any circumstances. He may not have moved inside yet, but you are his source of food, safety, and companionship and he depends on that. I think that you probably have to plan a way to safely get him secured when you move, or before, so that he can go with you. If you move without him, for some reason such as chaos ensues when the movers get there, I think that you have to go back after the fact for him.
He may not be thrilled at first ( or he may be much more thrilled than you imagined) but it is for his own good that he become your pet, and probably for yours as well.
The fact that you are moving to a new house may interest him enough that he will settle in. If you have any thoughts of letting him out at the new place, remember to keep him inside for at least a month so that he bonds to the location.
How To Move With Your Cat To A New Home In A Safe Way – TheCatSite Articles
I have often brought in former ferals (although your boy may not technically have been feral, but an abandoned pet). At first most have been upset, sat by the door, or hid for a period of time. Once they are in, the door closes forever though so they all transition. Most, after their life on the street, have not wanted to go back out, oddly enough. That includes ferals whose life had not been that bad outside. My avatar and her sister were born to feral parents under my neighbor's house and I have known where they were for every minute of their lives. Absolutely nothing bad happened to them personally, but their parents and sibling were all killed by coyotes, so I have always thought that was the tipping card for their decision to happily live inside. The sister I literally grabbed from the back porch during a rainstorm and slammed the door. My avatar had been indoor/outdoor, not so much as a pet, but doing what your boy is doing which was to come in and visit and then leave.
Since you are an experience cat owner, you know that you can make the indoors interesting for a cat.
If this were me, I would see this boy as a cat who could not be left behind under any circumstances. He may not have moved inside yet, but you are his source of food, safety, and companionship and he depends on that. I think that you probably have to plan a way to safely get him secured when you move, or before, so that he can go with you. If you move without him, for some reason such as chaos ensues when the movers get there, I think that you have to go back after the fact for him.
He may not be thrilled at first ( or he may be much more thrilled than you imagined) but it is for his own good that he become your pet, and probably for yours as well.
The fact that you are moving to a new house may interest him enough that he will settle in. If you have any thoughts of letting him out at the new place, remember to keep him inside for at least a month so that he bonds to the location.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #3
Thanks for this good advice. I am going to try to have him stay inside within the week so that we can get him to the vet for a checkup, shots, and a manicure. I just discovered that I can pick him up and deposit him on a table or chair without getting any reaction, so that's another step, and I've been ignoring requests to go out for 30 min.-- a new record. We will be able to secure him or take him to the new house before the movers come--I have a small-dog-size crate, but a 2 hr car ride might be interesting!. We wont be letting him roam outside once we get him transitioned to indoors--plus the new house has a great basement that will allow for an extensive cat playroom. My husband an I are retired and were hoping to adopt 2 elderly cats, but this youngster needs a second chance.
That sounds wonderful! He is lucky to have found you and your husband.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #5
He made it! And he looks pretty darn happy!
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #7
He's still just visiting, but a little more reliably each day. We have to be out of town overnight tomorrow, so there may be some ground lost, but we may try a night indoors on Friday. Just heard from neighbors that he's been around for years, so his attempt to socialize are admirable.
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2018
- Messages
- 4,171
- Purraise
- 12,686
I agree also that you take him with you when you leave, and transition him into a indoor house pet should you finally decide to. All my cats (except one) have been plucked from the streets. Barley and Pepsi have settled in well. Bourbon, on the other hand, still has this urge to dash outside when given the chance. But I have kept them strictly indoors since I took them in, and my husband made a mini-catio for them so they can breathe fresh air without me getting worried they'd be hurt or lost outside.
Thank you for caring for this cat. It is obvious he already trusts you.
Thank you for caring for this cat. It is obvious he already trusts you.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #9
Thanks for reply. Did all of your cats know how to use a litter box when you took them in? This kitty seems to remember being a housecat, but I haven't tried putting him in the litterbox yet. I think we're going to transition him this weekend.
Even my wildest ferals typically use the litterbox. I put dirt and leaves from their outside litter area on top of the litter and keep the box partially hidden behind boxes - they like their privacy. I also close off under beds and behind furniture but provide assorted caves from which to establish "base camp".
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2018
- Messages
- 4,171
- Purraise
- 12,686
Yes, I think it is their instinct. Even my other temporary cats knew how to use the litterbox immediately outright, so I had no problems looking for new homes for them.
Just make sure that there are enough litter boxes around the house. One of my cats do not like to use a litterbox that has poop/pee on in. So I had to scoop everytime. She is a real time diva. LOL.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #12
Thank you -- this is really helpful. We may be trying the transition this weekend, so we can get Porch Kitty settled in and go to the vet soon for a checkup, shots, and a manicure.
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2018
- Messages
- 462
- Purraise
- 1,312
I have been following your story and just wanted to chime in with a quick "thank you" for taking care of this guy! A few years ago, after feeding and providing shelter for a semi-feral cat for three years, I decided I couldn't keep worrying about her all the time (and couldn't keep seeing her gifts of dead bunnies outside my door) so I brought her inside, along with a stray cat who had become her friend.
Long story short, it all worked out really well! They have used the litter boxes faithfully except on the first day when one of them peed on the little rug I had under the litter boxes. They also never cried or howled or clawed at the windows or climbed the walls or tried in any way to escape! The transition took a while and included introducing them to the two resident cats, but right from the very start, they were just fine being indoor cats and have not been outside again. Hopefully, your experience with Porch Kitty will be similar! (By the way, is that his name?!)
Good luck and please keep us posted!
Long story short, it all worked out really well! They have used the litter boxes faithfully except on the first day when one of them peed on the little rug I had under the litter boxes. They also never cried or howled or clawed at the windows or climbed the walls or tried in any way to escape! The transition took a while and included introducing them to the two resident cats, but right from the very start, they were just fine being indoor cats and have not been outside again. Hopefully, your experience with Porch Kitty will be similar! (By the way, is that his name?!)
Good luck and please keep us posted!
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #14
Thanks for this reply -- maybe I've been over-thinking the problems with bringing kitty inside. We haven't thought of a good name for him yet -- besides the obvious ones for black cats. Our dearly departed cats were Luigi and Cosette, so we have to come up with something creative for this guy too. I think we finally found an irresistible food -- fishy canned food, which we avoided in the past because of smelliness. He's now napping in the basement, which he's never done before. The only place in the house that can be closed off with no peril to furniture or rugs (our house is listed for sale) is the basement laundry room 9 X 10 ft with an adjacent large store-room, so I'm happy he seems to like the area.
I'm glad I found the Cat Site, and really appreciate all of the helpful advice.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #15
I'm not quite sure how to ask related questions --new thread? reply? -- but I can't find anything specific about how long to leave a former stray cat by himself in the sanctuary room. Should I bring him in during daylight and visit every few hours? is it too stressful for him to be in the room by himself overnight or do I need to visit at night too? He's got two adjacent rooms in the basement--laundry/ storage rooms-- with boxes, rug, pillow, climbing places --plus food, water, litterbox, favorite catnip plant and chair from porch.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #16
Your room setup is ideal for a cat. Since you are trying to transition him to a pet, it is not like you are planning on leaving him in a room forever by himself. I have done this more than once and my record is three very young kittens in a large bathroom for 5 months. It was the only way at the time and the option was that they would have been dead on the street. Yes, they were siblings and had each other, but I was in and out of the room all the time. I have also used spare bedrooms for adult cats with a very comfortable setup, as you describe, but with frequent visits and interactions. Since you are retired, it is not like you will be leaving the house for 8 hours a day every day. I would frequently go into the room to interact with him though and work on transitioning him when he is ready to the rest of the house. As you are moving, and in the near future, his safety is of primary importance so it is better that he be in his nice safe space than at risk of running off or going missing.
I have never visited any cat overnight in any safe room, the exception being a young kitten who was alone who was taken from her mom unexpectedly and was very upset.
You can start new threads at any time. Mostly what you want to try to avoid is having two threads which are very similar which will cause people to respond to one or the other or both and make things confusing.
I have never visited any cat overnight in any safe room, the exception being a young kitten who was alone who was taken from her mom unexpectedly and was very upset.
You can start new threads at any time. Mostly what you want to try to avoid is having two threads which are very similar which will cause people to respond to one or the other or both and make things confusing.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #18
Thanks -- your advice has been invaluable. We're going to bring him in tomorrow morning. He's been visiting reliably 3 x a day now, showing up by 7:30 for breakfast, 4 p.m. for a snack, then around 8 for some petting and more food. He's almost socializing himself, but we need to accelerate the process. I'll post his progress.
Please let us know how this all goes! He definitely sees your place as home.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #20
We brought [insert name here] our new pal indoors for good on Sunday 9/12. My fears about his freaking out or not using a litterbox were unwarranted. (Thanks to everyone on The Cat Site who talked me down off the ledge.) He came out of his "sanctuary" room by mid-afternoon and was kneading my stomach and head-butting me as I was laying on the couch that evening. By Wed. he'd mastered the 2nd floor, and was making himself comfy on the beds by evening. His obligatory time whining at the porch doors has gotten shorter every day and he seems to have figured out the benefits of eating as much as he wants to, having lots of safe sleeping spots, and getting pets all the time.
He's had to go into a crate and be shuffled next door with us when the house has to be shown, and he's amazingly fine with that. And right now he's snuggled next to me on a chair as I watch TV. He still has some problems with swatting when playing, but he's exceeded our expectations in becoming an affectionate house cat. Vet visit next week for shots and a manicure will be the next milestone. Thanks again for all the good advice.
