Training a cat to stay inside after being outside/inside

[alana0011]

I guess I just need some good tips from people who have been through this! I am living with my mom now. Dad is gone, and their 13 year old cat has been used to going in and out as he pleases. That is going to change after he was gone for over 24 hours. He gave me a really good scare, and I'm not dealing with it anymore. I have brought some of my cats and my little dog over, and for the most part, everyone is getting along, but I think Gary might have stayed gone day before yesterday because he's a little perturbed, which is understandable. He was their only cat and was used to all the attention.
Any tips on keeping him happy during this transition are welcome!

 

[LTS3]

TCS has a good article with tips:

The Five Golden Rules To Bringing An Outdoor Cat Inside – TheCatSite Articles

 

[Alldara]

That's a difficult situation and I'm sorry for your loss.
My only suggestion is to try leash training to take him out to get some space from the now much more busy household, or use a catio or enclosing a porch so that he can go out on that is an excellent idea and much safer than free roaming. Good for you for trying to change the situation for him!

Keep an eye out for subtle signs of stress or depression. The 13 year old cat lost a person and now has "some cats and a dog" and another person living with him! Whew. That's a lot of change. Keep some $ aside for a vet appointment that may happen due to all the changes.

 

[tyleete]

You're going to have to both keep him entertained as well as have hidey holes for him. 98% of mine came from outside, they're all adjusted quite quickly & now all but 1 are afraid to even be near the door when it's open.
Don't leave the door open even if you have a storm door. Want him to not miss and look out longingly. Whenever you have to open your door, make scary noises to chase them off first. Cats can get out that door faster than you can imagine. Make them happy inside, five catnip. If you don't have enough cat trees or cubes, you can even create dark, hiding places out of regular boxes

 

[betsygee]

We transitioned two older kitties to indoor only. It did take some time. As tyleete mentioned, make sure you don't let Gary near an open door, they do get out quick! Is there space to build a little catio?

As others have suggested, plenty of indoor stimulation, trees, and attention are good, along with places to hide out and call his own are important if the new pets are too much more him to handle.

Good luck!

 

[ArtNJ]

The two main things are: (1) be patient with the whining; and (2) don't allow escapes. Escapes lead to an increased desire to escape, and create a vicious cycle.

If you do allow an escape, go sit outside on the stoop and act like you dont have a care in the world. Call for the cat. When the cat comes back, pet it and only when its totally chill, pick up and go back inside. This is because if you train the cat it needs to flee from you to stay outside, it will have no problem breaking your ankles. Maybe not the first time, but the 2nd, 3rd or 4th you'll regret not taking the time to do it the slow calm way.

To prevent escapes, foot stomping is helpful. If the cat is too close to the door, turn to look at him, and stomp your foot until he backs up and doesn't come closer. Then and only then turn and leave. If your not comfortable foot stomping, you can keep a broom, hockey stick or similar near the door. Not to hit the cat, but rather just to gently whack the floor a time or too - again to back the cat up. Some people used compressed air for this.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the suggestion to do leash walking or build a catio. In my experience, those things dont necessarily help reduce the desire to go out on their own terms. And they are independent things that cats can get super whiny about. Give a cat an inch, it wants a mile. Even with a catio, unless you have a cat door, the cat will want you to be the personal opener on demand, many many times a day. Its a nice thing for a cat, and if you want to do it I certainly support that. But as a solution for whining to go outside, I think its iffy.

 

[danteshuman]

Is there anyway you can build a catio? Or take the cat out on a harness every day? Once they are used to being out they really hate being inside all the time. Jackson Galaxy has a YouTube channel and has given many tips about bringing the outside in. Things like a terrium of crickets, growing a square of grass sod for kitty to lay on, a secure window screen that kitty can look out of all day (weather permitting) along with bird feeders & maybe a bird bath in line of sight of the window, growing your cat a garden of things they can safely eat, a ponytail palm is cat favorite to play with.

 

[danteshuman]

Jackson Galaxy has a YouTube video called “essentials for keeping indoor cats happy” that might help.

 

[Meekie]

Keep an eye out for subtle signs of stress or depression. The 13 year old cat lost a person and now has "some cats and a dog" and another person living with him! Whew. That's a lot of change. Keep some $ aside for a vet appointment that may happen due to all the changes.

Yes, keep this in mind. This is a very stressful situation for him. Imagine if strangers suddenly took up residence in your home! He's bound to act out in ways that may not seem like they have anything to do with the situation. Give him lots of attention and pets and treats. This can help to sooth him and he might be more receptive to accepting the changes.

 

[Mr. Meow]

An additional set of tips I've found helpful:

Bring the outside, inside. Give kitty a box of leaves to play in. Make one litter box nothing but dirt and mulch. Cut a large branch so kitty can use it as a scratching post. Bring in a small pile of fresh cut grass for kitty to roll in. Use a small branch with leaves on it as a cat wand.

Just because kitty can't go outside, doesn't mean you can't bring everything inside.

 

[danteshuman]

My kitty loves to roll around in dirt or sand; even in his harness. So if you can, take the kitty outside. If not once a week putting a sheet or tarp down on the ground with some sand to roll around in, might help lift your kitty feel more upbeat. I still think daily walks or just a half hour or hour on a long leash to hang out and hunt helps lots. My kitty loves being outside and an hour a day to look at birds and search for lizards (most of his time is spent hiding under a bush or next to a large pot under the fern fronds.) An hour outside (while I read) & a short walk keeps my hyper twerp behaving like an angel.

Even my mom’s reformed feral still makes his nightly rounds and goes outside to use the bathroom..... even though he is 14 years old. He spends most of his day and at least half the night, inside. He just can’t give up going out. Jackie’s littermate (3 years old) prefers outside over the litter boxes. He spends about half to 2/3’s of his day outside. Their sister is a homebody who never roams and uses the litter boxes. She barely goes in the backyard, let alone roaming the block. My guy wants out but he wants to stay near my apartment. I can’t get him to walk father than two sides of my building (the flowerbed/dry creek), his small “yard” & the large box front “yard” area of my building. At my mom’s he only goes in the backyard and a small bit of the front lawn. So some cats do not want to go past the yard.

 

[ArtNJ]

My cat just escaped again tonight. Which is so freaking stressful because we have a coyote family in the area this year. I have getting him in figured out, but sometimes it can take 10 minutes or longer.

I KNOW how to prevent escapes, but we are leaving a car out front because my son is 17 and borrowing it often. The reality is that if you allow to many escapes it becomes a long term problem. So try really hard to not allow em -- the fewer the better.

 

[Luc]

My mom passed away and in her testament she specifically wrote to take care of her 4 cats. They are all indoor outdoor cats and I hated the idea od confining them to an appartment for the rest of their life. I lost count on how many times they made my stomach shrink because they would not show up for an extended period of time even when I called them again and again.

Eveb though it is very dangerous to let them out I sincerely can tell that they are super happy when they spend time outside. If it makes any difference even though a cat my be gone for 24 hours or more the good news is that they do not usually go far . They might be 3, 4 or 5 houses down but the vast majority of the times they sleep outside especially during the summer time.

Some tips to mitigate risks are...taking away the little bell if it is attached to their collar because it takes away they natural ability go go in incognito or like a ninja. Making sure they have a break away collar with a tag and your number on it. Getting them microchipped and feeding them before they go out so that they won't go looking for food. Sterilize them so that they won't go looking to mate.

In case keeping your cat in at all times does not work and you reconsider letting him oout again, if you do the things mentioned above you might agree that letting your cat out is not as bad as it sounds.

Good luck.

 

[alana0011]

Thank you for the replies! After a week, Sir Gary is inside, and he is pretty upset in the morning and sometimes in the evening. He seems happy other times and mostly sleeps. He likes to be petted. I love the idea of him going outside too, and I feel bad for him because we're not letting him out, but then again, I would be sick if something happened to him. Coyotes are a problem here too.

 

[IndyJones]

The only way I would let a cat outside is on a leash. Indy goes out on a leash sometimes. There's cars in pretty much any area where humans live. It only takes a second for a cat to get squashed by a car. Cars can't necessarily slam the breaks for every little thing that walks in front of them. It could cause an accident or they may simply not see the cat.

 

[alana0011]

Now Gary is gone and possibly another cat. I have moved in with my mom who has dementia, and she let the cats out this morning. I'm sick about it. I'm not as worried about Gary because he used to be outside all the time, but Bella hasn't been out since she was a kitten, and she does not know this area. Things could be worse, but not much. I've posted on Facebook, etc, and there is a tiny chance she may be inside, but I doubt it. I have this sick feeling she is out.