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- May 2, 2016
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Socks is a 6 year old spayed female cat.
She is used to having outdoor access-we found her as a stray at 7 months and she was an outdoor cat I fed and played with for another six months (I lived with my mum, and she didn't want a cat). Since then she has been an indoor/outdoor cat, who prefers the outdoors.
I have three other cats. They are three years old and indoor only. I got them as kittens, did originally start letting them out once they were almost full grown, spayed, vaccinated and chipped, but they never really took to it and rarely were out more than 10 minutes, and eventually just stopped going out and ended up indoors.
They are happy indoor cats who don't complain, and they have plenty of toys and places to sleep...all the things a cat could want.
Socks is used to being outside though, but lately this is becoming a problem-she likes being outside too much, but if I let her out in the afternoon, she doesn't come back until after dark and hasn't been coming when called like she used to, but I don't like her being out after dark and when I am calling her for a long time I worry about disturbing the neighbours. Even if she knows that when I call her in, I feed her, she doesn't care...and then I have the indoor cats whining at me for food until she decides to return.
For the past few weeks, I have been letting her out once after breakfast, she will go do her thing for a few hours and when she comes in, she stays in, although this hasn't stopped her standing on the windowsill and meowing to be let out in the afternoon. I have been at home more for the last few weeks, but now my work hours have changed and I have not been at home to let her out in the morning (I have never allowed her out when I am not in), so this is only possible at weekends. Maybe she needs to go full cold turkey and be an indoor cat.
She is already annoyed by not having full outdoor access and very persistently meows at the window, and her other annoying habit of flinging herself at doors and flipping the handle up and down, but then running off and standing by the window or front door when the door is opened to see if she wants to come in.
How do I get Socks to get used to being indoors?
She is used to having outdoor access-we found her as a stray at 7 months and she was an outdoor cat I fed and played with for another six months (I lived with my mum, and she didn't want a cat). Since then she has been an indoor/outdoor cat, who prefers the outdoors.
I have three other cats. They are three years old and indoor only. I got them as kittens, did originally start letting them out once they were almost full grown, spayed, vaccinated and chipped, but they never really took to it and rarely were out more than 10 minutes, and eventually just stopped going out and ended up indoors.
They are happy indoor cats who don't complain, and they have plenty of toys and places to sleep...all the things a cat could want.
Socks is used to being outside though, but lately this is becoming a problem-she likes being outside too much, but if I let her out in the afternoon, she doesn't come back until after dark and hasn't been coming when called like she used to, but I don't like her being out after dark and when I am calling her for a long time I worry about disturbing the neighbours. Even if she knows that when I call her in, I feed her, she doesn't care...and then I have the indoor cats whining at me for food until she decides to return.
For the past few weeks, I have been letting her out once after breakfast, she will go do her thing for a few hours and when she comes in, she stays in, although this hasn't stopped her standing on the windowsill and meowing to be let out in the afternoon. I have been at home more for the last few weeks, but now my work hours have changed and I have not been at home to let her out in the morning (I have never allowed her out when I am not in), so this is only possible at weekends. Maybe she needs to go full cold turkey and be an indoor cat.
She is already annoyed by not having full outdoor access and very persistently meows at the window, and her other annoying habit of flinging herself at doors and flipping the handle up and down, but then running off and standing by the window or front door when the door is opened to see if she wants to come in.
How do I get Socks to get used to being indoors?