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I'm glad he's adjusting. What have you done to enrich his environment, to make things nicer and more interesting for him, since he's indoors all the time now? It might help someone else reading this, to hear your ideas.
Really not that much. I work late afternoon into evening so I am gone during that part of the day. I used to just let him out at night.
He's pretty good about sleeping with me on my bed at night.
I wonder about this. One of our kitties was feral, but we got him when he was young. We have others that come to the door. They are sweet cats. But I wonder if anybody could make them indoor cats after years outdoors. Is there a consensus on this?
I know someone who spends a good part of nearly every day doing a structured catch, neuter, release plan with cats but closely examining the cats and keeping some who allow her to do return visits and she gets a feeling they will get along well. Wind up of a long story, now she has some house cats from her work as well as ones born into being in the house. She also has a colony in her backyard. So funny in a way. They have their own ways, their own life and hierarchy and are very nice...just have their own little home and don't want anything to do with a human house.
We knew some who preferred being outside...but in a neighborhood, on people's porches, sunning on their porch railings, sleeping on the pillows on the porch chairs. There were a lot of cats like that in the various neighborhoods in one place we lived. In one house, one cat didn't like the other so that other one would go and sleep on various people's porches.
Two of those...one went right to the desk under the light and loved that position.
The other was loving and loved to sleep and rest inside but had to go out for a few hours to check out his world.
We wound up taking those two to our next home in more of a country setting. They thought they were in heaven. The second one especially was enthralled by nature. He had to spray his bush in front of our house daily to let it be known it was his house. And he had to go outside a bit too. But eventually, he quickly wound up on a chair in the screened porch. He just wanted to check things out first. Even with the screen door open, he felt free but didn't need to go further.
Really not that much. I work late afternoon into evening so I am gone during that part of the day. I used to just let him out at night.
He's pretty good about sleeping with me on my bed at night.
Maybe he just realized I was laying down the law?
It's lovely that he has adjusted to sleeping with you at night rather than roaming all night outside. But he needs mental and physical stimulation during the day now. He needs to be kept active and interested, or you will soon encounter behavior and health problems.
I believer a number of people in this thread offered suggestions, so perhaps you could reread your thread and take some action on his behalf.
The feather toys at the other end of a wand are an easy way to give exercise. I've never met one that didn't love those. Mine go crazy for them. One is athletic and seems to be showing off his skillz as he leaps for it, the other cat, it seems to re-direct his hostility. Sometime I need to focus just on him to play with it by himself, w/o the 'competition' from the other. Maybe he woul d learn to just have fun. Maybe throw some catnip in the mix to help out. I have some live catnip plants now.
We adopted an inside/outside cat once. He would go to the door and I'd say No, you're staying in now, all the time. After a week or so, he just stopped going to the door. I think he knew I would not let him out and just accepted it.
One of our cats (Monkey) was initially an outdoor cat (not ours). He was a young neutered cat. He killed birds, mice and who knows what else. He loved every minute of being outside. During the winters he slept in the garage. One day he had an injury severe enough to require a vet and stitches. Obviously, he did not have an owner worth a cuss, so, I guess you could say we stole somebody else’s cat.
Sooo... you not only assumed his owner "wasn't worth a cuss," but just took it upon yourself to steal their cat? I hope you at least told them, in case they actually did care.
There's a former stray cat in my neighborhood who was recently adopted (based on her fancy new collar), but still comes to visit me daily. She clearly has someone who's caring for her now, and probably just didn't want to make her immediately go from "street cat" to indoor-only. So I'd never just take her from them, even though she adores me!
Sooo... you not only assumed his owner "wasn't worth a cuss," but just took it upon yourself to steal their cat? I hope you at least told them, in case they actually did care.
There's a former stray cat in my neighborhood who was recently adopted (based on her fancy new collar), but still comes to visit me daily. She clearly has someone who's caring for her now, and probably just didn't want to make her immediately go from "street cat" to indoor-only. So I'd never just take her from them, even though she adores me!
I hope you’re kidding.
Over the course of about 3 years I gave him pills for tapeworms, flea meds, fed him, provided warm shelter over winter and made sure he had basic necessities. He had ticks, fleas and was malnourished the first time we saw him, so yeah, if he had owners, they weren’t worth a cuss. There was never a “missing cat” sign anywhere in the neighborhood. How would I know whose he was, he lived under my deck. You think I just randomly steal cats?
My Norwegian Snow Cat has really come around. He is not meowing anymore like he used to. Sleeps on my bed every night.
I have not really let him out at all in months. There was the first real snowfall a month or so back and I let him out then because I knew he would be right back...and he was. But other than that, it's been pretty okay.
It did take a little while...and he is absolutely destroying/scratching all sorts of door sides and my couch...that is another issue in itself since I don't believe in de-clawing cats. But other than that, it's been an okay transition.
It did take a little while...and he is absolutely destroying/scratching all sorts of door sides and my couch...that is another issue in itself since I don't believe in de-clawing cats. But other than that, it's been an okay transition.
Have you provided the cat with an appropriate place to sharpen his claws? Because you can't train this out of them. They need to do it.
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