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I am looking to adopt a youngish but adult cat (at least one year old, but not a "senior") when I'm officially settled into my new place in a few weeks. Some shelters will not allow renters at all, so my options are a little bit limited. There is one that says right on the website that renters can adopt as long as they bring paperwork showing that the pet deposit is paid (mine is) and that they're definitely allowed to have the animal.
However, I am a little worried b/c this shelter has sort of a fenced in "backyard" area that they let the cats roam freely in from inside to outside. My new apartment is in a rather busy area on the 2nd floor, so my cat will absolutely have to be indoor only. I am afraid that it would be hard to make a cat be indoor only after he is used to having the freedom to roam outside. For the first cat that my family had when I was younger, my mom started taking him outside on a leash so he could play in the yard. He loved it- but then literally all he did after that was stand by the door and whine to go out. We had to be extremely careful b/c he would dart out the door at any chance he had when someone opened it. For the cat we had after him, we never took him out at all and although he loves watching the windows, he seems to have no desire to go out. Would you consider a shelter like this one? I'm not sure why they even let them out in the first place as it seems everywhere else says its much safer to have them be indoor only anyway.
I've never heard of a shelter letting cats outside.
I agree, it might create an issue if the cat has already had a taste of the outdoors and is then expected to stay indoors.
I also agree it's safer to keep cats inside, so if this were me, I'd be torn...I suppose if it was my only option, I'd do my best to find out from the staff which cats seem to be less enthused about venturing out and take it from there.
Good luck! I hope you find your purrfect companion soon!
I am looking to adopt a youngish but adult cat (at least one year old, but not a "senior") when I'm officially settled into my new place in a few weeks....
If you work fulltime you may want to get a bonded pair. They would be company to each other indoors. make sure you have a shelf or two at windows they can look out with good tight strong screens. Also at least one of those cat trees that include rope or some other scratching surface. One of my cats loves those cardboard scratchers on two of our cat trees.
I understand your concern. I have seen indoor-outdoor catteries at shelters, however, and have one myself that is covered with rabbit wire on the top and beneath the ground to keep my animals inside and possible predators outside. Three sides are buildings or wood fence; the fourth is a wire fence. But I know that you can't do this living in an apartment. The worst cats I've ever had for running out were inside only cats their whole lives. I have a former feral cat who has little interest in the outside apart from sitting in a window and looking out. He never goes into the outdoor part of the cattery (the indoor part is the house) unless either my dogs or I are already outside.
I like the idea of two cats. The best choice for bonding is to have two neutered males. They may play rough but they get along fine in my experience. I had four at the same time; they slept in a pile. There was usually a dog in the pile with them.
I can't afford two- I had to pay a hefty deposit on my apartment to even have one, plus extra rent per month, vet, food, supplies, etc. and pet sitting when I'm out of town. I grew up with cats my whole life- we always only had one at a time and found them to be pretty independent animals anyway, not like dogs who get upset when they're not constantly with the owner. The last one is still living with my parents and half of the time he's still sleeping in the same spot when we get back hours later. He goes off a lot by himself even when they're home.
The indoor-outdoor shelter sounds like a nice idea that was poorly thought out to me. It does make it harder to transition them to indoor kitties.
One of my cats is terrified of the outdoors, for reasons I don't know. He would never, ever try to get out the door. You could ask them if there are cats who never venture out, or at least spend most of the time indoors. Do they have cats placed at Petsmart or Petco as well? They would be in small enclosures all the time.
One of our cats, originally owned by my husband, went outside all the time when they lived in Maryland. When they moved in with me in NYC, I was concerned that Percy would still have the desire to roam outside. It's funny, though, it's like he knew the difference between suburbia and city, and he has adjusted remarkably well, not even trying to flee the apartment! Percy is now 14 and was 5 when they moved here, so it's not like he was a kitten. Maybe it can be attributed to the extra love or regular feeding schedule - haha, but I think most cats are very adaptable. Good luck!
Lately i've been noticing several adult kitties, who are free to loving forever homes, on Craigslist. Perhaps you can find a loving pal on CL in your area. Craigslist > Cities ... in the "PET" section.
Or contact several vets in your areas. they know of people who have to find homes for their cats b/c of illness or economics or moving. you should not have any trouble find an indoor only cat in search of a new home. be creative.
Contacting vets is an excellent idea. You should try all of the offices you find listed because some practices may not be the "type" (corporate, run by management companies) to expend energy on one or two animals.
My vet has a small practice (she worked at Planned Pethood for 12 years) and she always knows of cats that are needing to be re-homed.
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