Outside to Inside

[The Goodbye Bird]

I've always kept my cats as indoor-only. However, in my experience there is simply no way to make an outside kitty an inside kitty. He will always insist that he should have outside privileges, no matter how long you keep him inside. I would go so far as to say trying to transition one is cruel.

Has this been your experience?

Or is there some trick to getting them to accept it?

If I'm right, at about what stage is the "I am an outside kitty" firmly implanted in his brain? I don't imagine a 4-week-old kitten is developed enough to care but sometime after that it at least seems to be in there pretty good.

I'm not thinking of getting an outside cat; it's just something that's happened to me in the past and I thought it would make a good topic. Sadly the result was that I let the poor thing outside and he was eventually crushed by a car. I believe it was a catch 22 and it would have been just as bad to keep him inside. He was a neutered male and I rescued him from some punk kids who were using him as a pool toy, playing catch with the poor thing and dunking him under the water.

 

[ArtNJ]

Ive transitioned 2 cats to indoor only, one a stray and one an indoor/outdoor cat, and plenty of people have transitioned wayyyy more. From my experience and what I've read, its normally easy, at least in concept:

(1) keep the cat in;

(2) ignore the whining during the transition period;

(3) do not let the cat escape during the transition period, or the transition period will become lengthier.

And your done. Usually totally. Cats are very adaptible.

 

[The Goodbye Bird]

(2) ignore the whining during the transition period;

I kept him inside for almost six months. It didn't stop.

Now this may be down to the individual, and it may be because he was probably a middle-aged cat, but I always use the airlock method and he would still sit by the door and cry. All the time.

 

[Willowy]

I think there are some cats, not a large percentage, who would never be happy if kept indoors. We had one when I was a teenager who would have been miserable.

But most outdoor cats are transitionable. I live on the highway so all my cats have to be indoors. If a stray/farm cat shows up, I just. . .bring them inside and ignore the whining and destruction. They get used to it.

 

[ArtNJ]

Oh wow, six months of whining with no escapes is brutal. Do you know the history of this cat? Was he someone's indoor/outdoor cat that had to whine to be let out? I could see where that would make the whining really ingrained. My indoor/outdoor cat we let out freely, so he didn't really have much history of needing to whine to get let out, which I think helped him transition. About a year after he completely accepted being an indoor cat, with my daughter getting a car that was kept in front of the house, he started escaping as she would go in and out the front door, and once he got the sense that escape was possible, he gradually became a dedicated escape master. But he had totally accepted being an indoor cat before that, or so it seemed.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Sadly the result was that I let the poor thing outside and he was eventually crushed by a car...I always use the airlock method and he would still sit by the door and cry. All the time.

I don't know what the airlock method is... Nonetheless, whenever a cat does not seem to want to give up the outdoor life, they MAY be able to accept a semi-outdoor life. Aka - catio/cat enclosure - attached to the homestead dwelling. Of course, not everyone has the means to accomplish this, but if they can, the good news is that I have heard many, many cases where it turned out to be the solution. When the cat could come and go from their enclosure, they did so - but, a lot of them as they aged, ended up spending more time inside than out.

There will always be exceptions to any suggested methods, I am sure.

 

[fionasmom]

I do understand your point about making a cat who really wants to go outside an indoor only cat.

I might have been lucky with the ones I moved inside, but the steps that A ArtNJ listed always worked for me. Once the door shuts, it never reopens.

 

[The Goodbye Bird]

Oh wow, six months of whining with no escapes is brutal. Do you know the history of this cat?

Not in the slightest. And it may have been only four months because I was in jail for what I did to those punks for two of the months, though my mother swore up and down she never let him out and her story confirms exactly what he did when he was with me. Just sat at the door, all the time, crying almost constantly.

I don't know what the airlock method is.

An airlock, like on Star Trek. Only the air is cats. If you're coming or going from the house, you use the airlock, always entering the airlock and shutting the door behind you before opening the next door.

Big cat owners do it and I've extended it to housecats as well.

They are air. If there is a breach, consider them gone.

 

[FeebysOwner]

An airlock, like on Star Trek. Only the air is cats. If you're coming or going from the house, you use the airlock, always entering the airlock and shutting the door behind you before opening the next door.

Got it! Doesn't change a thing, except for helping to prevent them from actually escaping. So, still stand by my recommendation for a catio/cat enclosure!!

 

[rubysmama]

I've always kept my cats as indoor-only. However, in my experience there is simply no way to make an outside kitty an inside kitty. He will always insist that he should have outside privileges, no matter how long you keep him inside. I would go so far as to say trying to transition one is cruel.

Has this been your experience?

Or is there some trick to getting them to accept it?

I think there are some cats that will be very unhappy if forced to be inside only. But I think most can live happy lives as indoor cats.

Many years ago our family cat was killed by a car before it was even a year old. We were all devastated, and it's something I've never forgotten.

Our next family cat was another of those ones that needed to go outside. She was luckier, and became street smart, and lived to almost 20 years, but it was not without several mishaps and emergency vet visits, and worry from her humans.

So when I adopted Ruby there was no way I would consider letting her be an indoor/outdoor cat. Luckily for me, she shows no interest in going outside.

Many TCS members have brought feral cats into their homes, and the cats transition to indoor only. On member in particular has brought more than 20 feral cats into her home where she has socialized them. Of those cats, only one of them shows any interest in going outside, and when she does, she's with her human mom and wears a harness..

As for the trick to getting them to accept it being indoor only, here's the TCS article The Five Golden Rules To Bringing An Outdoor Cat Inside – TheCatSite Articles

 

[klunick]

I had one cat who had been outside a while before we claimed her as our own. We could never get her to be fully an indoor cat only. As much as we feared when she'd be gone a day or two before returning, we had no choice. The last four we've adopted were babies when we got them so transitioning them to indoor only was easy. I don't think we'll ever adopt another cat who has been outside for a long time even though we don't live on a busy road. Too much worrying involved.

 

[KittyFriday]

My cat was an outdoor barn cat for 10 years and is now indoors. He went almost an entire year of being indoor-only before he decided he wanted to go outside again. I caved and let him go out. However, only in my fenced yard and only when I am out there with him. When I go back inside he does too. He hates the cold so I imagine he won't be wanting to go out much in the winter, but he does like to go out and munch on grass and just roll in the dirt.

 

[AmyFluffyMom]

My first cat was a tom cat and pretty feral. He was the neighborhood stray and I took him in after seeing him hopping around on a broken leg. He totally adjusted to being an indoor cat. I made a crate for him and let him have his tantrums in there. Once the hormones were out of his system he settled down in a few days . I then started on having him learn manners, and he came around pretty quickly. He would walk on a leash for outside fun. The only time he ran outside was a few days before I had to put him to sleep. He had FeLV. It broke my heart, but I was glad I was there for him. Miss you Tiger. . Now I’m bawling.

 

[Bolts]

Its gotta be partly due to a cats history if they will adapt , ive only ever had 2 cats..i used to be a dog person. Pilch was the neighbours cat, they didn’t miss treat him as such but never let him indoors, he used to hang out in my garden and just moved in one day and they just said oh I’m glad he’s got a good home lol. I had him over 10 years and he probably went out 5 times.
New rescue cat len a ex feral, they were sure he’d never be a lap cat or be a indoor cat ..well wrong on both counts, he’s still a bit dodgy around food, but loves cuddles.
The big moment came to let him out for the 1st time, he just sat on the door step watched the birds for a bit then went back inside, that was 3 weeks ago I’ve opened the door every day since and he’s having non of it, he’s enjoying his home comforts for the 1st time in 5 years, I shan’t stop him from going out but I’m not encouraging it either.