Outdoor cat becoming indoor cat?/ Advice

[Sunnyryuji]

Hello everyone! Maybe a couple weeks ago a young cat started appearing on my balcony. Immediately she was very friendly but a bit skittish. However, over time she has really grown to like me and is very loving toward me. At first I thought she may belong to someone due to her being in better condition than other neighborhood strays, but the past three days she has demolished food I've given her and she's practically spent all three days hanging out on my balcony, so I'm starting to think she isn't owned. She will come into my apartment and is interested in the environment but will always very quickly go back outside after entering the apartment.


I guess I'm wondering if it's possible to convert an outdoor cat to an indoor one? If I take her in I'd rather not let her wander outside because there are several strays in my area and sometimes the neighborhood children are questionable as well. But I don't want her to spend all her time crying at the sliding door to go back out. I also have an adult male cat already. He doesn't seem to care much about her but she will almost always hiss at him.

Sorry for the long post, thank you for reading and any advice!

 

[Meowmee]

She can be trained to be indoors, the fact she is tame and comes in for a while is great. I took Merlin in last August after he bit me. It was a long few months process complicated by him getting chronic diarrhea. He was more skittish and had to be trained not to bite etc. He spent a few weeks in a cage, then in his own room and slowly my other kitty got used to him, and he got used to being inside. Quinn had liked Merlin through the door and but he became aggressive to Merlin when he was inside. M did escape once but he came back and it was due to food. I feed other strays outside, he was one of them. Last night I was worried that he tried to run out again, again he wanted their food. I have to start being more careful again. He is constantly hungry, he is overweight and I am trying to get him to eat less etc.

I would put her in a room by herself, let her get used to being indoors and slowly introduce to your guy. Good luck!

 

[Sunnyryuji]

She can be trained to be indoors, the fact she is tame and comes in for a while is great. I took Merlin in last August after he bit me. It was a long few months process complicated by him getting chronic diarrhea. He was more skittish and had to be trained not to bite etc. He spent a few weeks in a cage, then in his own room and slowly my other kitty got used to him, and he got used to being inside. Quinn had liked Merlin through the door and but he became aggressive to Merlin when he was inside. M did escape once but he came back and it was due to food. I feed other strays outside, he was one of them. Last night I was worried that he tried to run out again, again he wanted their food. I have to start being more careful again. He is constantly hungry, he is overweight and I am trying to get him to eat less etc.

I would put her in a room by herself, let her get used to being indoors and slowly introduce to your guy. Good luck!

Thanks for sharing your experience. That's great of you to work with Merlin and to help him out. I wish you luck as well in working on his hunger. I will definitely try putting her in her own room and hopefully she will get used to being inside.

 

[Meowmee]

Thanks for sharing your experience. That's great of you to work with Merlin and to help him out. I wish you luck as well in working on his hunger. I will definitely try putting her in her own room and hopefully she will get used to being inside.

Yw They are very adaptable, I remember taking in several of my furries over the years and thinking it would never work out, but little by little at each step it did most of the time whether it was a personality clash or adapting to being inside etc. I look forward to seeing how she does Thanks for helping her. It was very, very stressful when M bit me, but now I tell him it was a good move, lol, because he is here with me
Merlin and Quinn below...