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Is it possible to take a cat who has been used to living outside and turn her into an inside cat who doesn't go out?
I'll briefly explain....we moved into our new home August 2007 and the people who had owned the house left what they claimed to be a stray kitten who just wandered into their yard one day and decided to stay. She was a beautiful calico, they said she had no name and they had no idea who she belonged to. They also told us, she would never allow us to pet her, let alone pick her up. Well...they were wrong and we don't believe she was a stray.
First of all, as soon as we moved in, I took her to the vet to have her checked out and most important, to make sure she was fixed. She not only allowed me to pet her, she rolled over and gave up the belly for a thorough belly rub. I picked her up, she never tried to scratch or get away and put her in the carrier and off we went. The vet confirmed that she was fixed, checked to see if she had a microchip and didn't find one. Did all the tests, made sure she was healthy, etc. She now has a microchip and has been given all of her necessary shots. Oh, she was not a kitten, but they believe she's probably about 5 years old and they said with her demeanor, there was no way she was a feral cat. We've named her simply "Ms Kitty."
If I leave our garage door open, she will wander into the house and investigate. This is if my other cat, Haley, is in the bedroom or outside on the porch. I'll close the door, so they can't get to each other and let Ms Kitty wander for the short time she wants to.
She comes home every night and sleeps in her bed in the garage. We leave the door open just a couple of inches so she can fit under it and have put a bed on a lawn chair, so she's up off the ground. The previous home owners had a piece of cardboard with a towel over it on the front porch for her. She likes her bed much better. In the mornings, she's at the door, meowing for her breakfast and chastising my Fiance if we've gotten up later then she would like. During the day, she's off to who knows where. I swear, I'd love to put a little camera on her collar to find out where she goes and what she does. I know, I know...you have to let your children have their freedom and can't be a smothering mother, right?
Sometimes, on days when it's really nice out, she doesn't come home until very late. I worry about her...is she ok, did another animal hurt her, could she have been careless and hit by a car, did someone take her, and more. A couple of nights ago,we were just about to go to sleep and I thought I'd check one more time, I walked out to our driveway and looked around, a minute later, she pops through the fence adjoining the vacant 10 acre wooded area next to our house and strolls over, drops on the concrete and proceeds to roll over back and forth. I walked over, rubbed her belly, picked her up and firmly lectured her for making us worrying...she answered with a resounding hiss, followed by loud purring.
If there was anyway possible I could figure out how to keep her inside 24/7 so we would know where she was and that she was safe, I would. Can it be done? I don't know how long she has been living outside, she seems street-wise. We live on almost 3 acres on a dead -end street. On one side is 10 acres of wooded area that is yet undeveloped (surprising in So. Florida) and on the other side is a monster house, which is way out of place in this neighborhood, and while there are people there from time to time, the only one who seems to be there full-time is an older rottweiler. He used to come trotting through our yard until we fixed the opening on our fence. He's not a mean dog, in fact, I think he's kind of skittish, as when I've yelled at him to get away from Ms Kitty's food bowl and shoo him back into his own yard, he'd run off. I actually feel bad for him, because I think all they do is come and feed him, but he doesn't really have any companionship. If I thought for a moment they were leaving him wouthout food, I'd call the authorities immediately.
Anyway, that's another subject, so I'll get back to my original question...is it possible to take a cat who has been living outside, roaming free, using the world as her toilet so to speak (LOL) and make her into a house cat. AND, how do I make the two cats - Haley (declawed) and MsKitty (claws) get along? Everytime they have seen each other (Haley starts it) they will growl at each other, Haley growls, Ms Kitty hisses. I'm afraid they'd fight and Haley would be seriously hurt. We call Haley the pampered city cat and Ms Kitty the tough country girl.
Can you put a litter box in the garage to see if she'll use it? And is there anyway to let the cats gradually get to know each other before letting them have free reign of your house unsupervised? Haley is just letting Ms. Kitty know that she is the queen bee of the house. I wouldn't be too worried about the hissing and growling-they're just establishing their turf. My female hissed, smacked, and I think even spit at the new guy we brought in before Christmas time, but once she realized he wasn't going anywhere, and he realized that she was the boss, they get along fine now. She'll even let him eat in her presence now so they've come a long way. LOL.
Since she is used to roaming around, I would make sure there are plenty of toys and something she can climb on in the house-one of those carpeted cat houses or something.
Four of my six are former ferals who decided to come in and be domesticated. They have been inside cats for several months.
They all like to sit and look out the window or the door, especially if it is open to the screen. Their relatives, the other ferals are out there and they talk to them through the screen, but they have never been able to convince any more of them to come in and join the family.
Two of them, Frankie and his sister Florie, have never been outside again, and they don't seem to want to go out, even though they have three brothers out there who they talk to.
Baby Girl has sneaked out once or twice, and Little Guy tries to sneak out every chance he gets.
He has made it out maybe five or six times. He tries to sneak out when Kitty goes out. A couple of times I was able to catch him, but he has smartened up and stays out of my reach and if I persist, he runs under the fence into the creek bed where they were all born.
He always comes back in after a few hours, especially if it gets dark.
Of my other two, Fluffy never goes out and doesn't want to, although once in a while she will get out, walk around the yard and come right back inside.
The other one, Kitty, has always gone out and there's nothing I can do about it. He goes out after breakfast in the morning, comes in a couple of hours later and goes out again after supper and comes home before we go to bed.
If I keep him inside he gets really upset and will eventually sneak out and stay out a long time, sometimes all night, but he always comes home. I think he stays out so long to teach me a lesson, so I have learned it well and always let him out around 6pm so he will be back in before bedtime.
He sleeps in the bed with us as do several of the others. Kitty is always there, but we are never sure who else might be there as they seem to take turns sleeping with us.
...is it possible to take a cat who has been living outside, roaming free, using the world as her toilet so to speak (LOL) and make her into a house cat.
As you can probably tell from my previous post, we have had absolutely no problem with doing that, except for the part about Little Guy sneaking outside
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AND, how do I make the two cats - Haley (declawed) and MsKitty (claws) get along? Everytime they have seen each other (Haley starts it) they will growl at each other, Haley growls, Ms Kitty hisses. I'm afraid they'd fight and Haley would be seriously hurt.
Fluffy and Kitty have lived with us for years. The ferals are about a year old. When they first moved in, Fluffy and Kitty would growl and hiss and occasionally bat at them, but I noticed that their ears were not down, they were not in fighting mode, and their claws were not out. They were were just posturing, probably to assert their territorial domination.
But everyone got used to each other. Kitty still hisses if one of them gets too close to him, and will stick his foot up to keep them at arms length, but sometimes he will play also and he loves a good game of chase.
Of course the ferals are all good buddies and will play chase, wrestle, and kitchen floor soccer with little balls or milk jug rings until somebody knocks it under the stove or refrigerator. Kitty doesn't get into these games.
The biggest surprise is Fluffy. She is probably about 12 years old. Ever since she came to live with us about four or five years ago, all she has done is eat and sleep. Once in a while she and Kitty will get into a good game of chase, but not very often.
Since we have had the youngsters, she has gotten young again. She will tear up and down the hallway chasing and being chased and will wrestle and play fight with all of them. She likes to sneak up on Little Guy and bite him on the butt and get him into a boxing match, then when they are tired they lay down side by side and play a kind of hand jive with their paws until they fall asleep.
Something they all like to do is lay on top of a footstool and reach down and hit the other guy who is lying underneath. Fluffy especially likes this game and will lay under there for hours waiting for Frankie or Little Guy to jump up on the stool and start the game.
All this wrestling and fighting is just the way they play. Some of them, especially Little Guy, have really big sharp claws and they could really do damage if they were fighting, but nobody has ever gotten hurt or even scratched.
We didn't have a problem with our outdoor cats adapting to the indoors, but I suspect they had been born and had lived indoors before being unceremoniously dumped in the alley behind our house. They went from living under our shed to living in our basement, and took to the litter box and the bed we prepared for them right away.
The two new cats were kept away from our old cat, however. He was really old and cranky -- we didn't know it, but he only had a few months yet in his little life -- so we didn't want to spring two wild kittens on him! The new cats stayed in the basement, first in the unfinished part. It was so funny to see our older cat standing at the heat register, sniffing the other cats' scent on the air as it blew up from the furnace.
Do you have a room where you could isolate her for a bit, and see how she takes to the house? Then gradually you could introduce her to your other cat. Who knows, they may surprise you! Cats really are more resilient and adaptable than we give them credit for.
It's definitely worth a shot; MsKitty sounds like she'd be a good indoor kitty. Good luck!
Thank you all for your replies and words of advice.
Ohiogirl....I think that at one time MsKitty must have also been an inside cat, when I leave the door from the garage to the house open she will wander inside and investigate. If I do this, I always make sure Haley is either locked on the outside porch or in our bedroom. MsKitty will sometimes just make the rounds and leave again, I always let her do as she wants, because I want her to be comfortable, or she'll sit on one of the chairs in the dining room.
FatFreddy...It is so comforting to hear that you have so many who were at one time feral and now live inside. I'm glad to hear this, an also hear how they've adjusted with each other. It gives me a lot of hope for MsKitty and Haley.
Regarese...you've read my mind, I've already gotten an extra litter box to try exactly that and see if she uses it. My Fiance says "The World is her Toilet!" and insists she probably won't use a litter box, but as we know, cats will adapt.
Again, thank you all for your words of advice. Hopefully, I'll be able to report soon, that MsKitty is now living inside, where we know she is safe and sound.
I also had good luck with making an outdoor kitty an indoor kitty. We've had her for 8 years now and she and the other cats get along fine. There also wasn't any problem with littebox usage, once I showed her where it was. Most feral cats bury their waste anyway so it's not difficult for them to switch from dirt to litter.
As far as getting along with a resident cat, that to is fairly easy. Just put new cat in a bathroom or someplace with a dor and let them get to know eachother under the door. The hissing soon stops when everyone learns their place in the house
I will tell you that one time my cat(declawed and indoor only) got into a fight with a friend's cat (clawed and outdoor) and my cat came out without a scratch, while the other went running! Just because your resident cat is declawed doesn't mean they are at a complete disadvantage. (though that isn't always the case)
I wish you the best in making your kitty an indoor kitty. It will probably just take time for your two kitties to get to know each other.
I would do what others have suggested. Isolate them from each other and then switch their areas so they can get used to the scent of the other.
When I introduced a new cat years ago like this, they played footsie alot under the door but after a couple weeks they were fine.
I have just taken in two feral cats who are isolated in my bedroom. They are now fine with my other cats coming in, they watch them closely but as long as they give them space, there are no harsh words.
I will tell you that one time my cat(declawed and indoor only) got into a fight with a friend's cat (clawed and outdoor) and my cat came out without a scratch, while the other went running! Just because your resident cat is declawed doesn't mean they are at a complete disadvantage. (though that isn't always the case)
I wouldn't be surprised if that weren't true in this case as well. MsKitty is lean from romping around outside, where Haley is a bigger cat, from being lazy and sleeping 20 hours a day! She could probably just sit on Ms Kitty...LOL
It's only been about three weeks since I responded to the original post and talked all about my six cats and how I had successfully tuned four ferals into indoor kitties.
Now I have two indoor/outdoor cats. There's Kitty, who has always gone out every day and insists on doing it, and now there is Little Guy, the first of my domesticated ferals. He's out running around right now.
Whenever I opened the door, I would have to close him in the bedroom, or in the garage until I got back in, or he would try to run out, sometimes almost knocking me over in the process. I don't remember how it happened, but he finally won.
Now, every morning after a few bites of his Salmon and Rice, or whatever is on the breakfast menu, he goes and sits by the door with Kitty and waits for me to let them out. I was afraid he would like it so much in Feral World that he would chose never to come back in, but I was wrong. In a couple of hours he is back sitting by the door wanting to get back in. It's the same in the evening.
He runs out, sniffs any of the wild bunch that may be around, then goes through the secret passage into Feral World. He even goes over and sniffs noses with One Ear Tuffy, the king Tom of the neighborhood who fights with everyone. I thought Little Guy would get torn to shreds, but Tuffy doesn't seem to pay any attention to him. I figured this was because LG has been neutered and Tuffy doesn't feel threatened by him, but it doesn't seem to matter with the girls of Tuffy's harem because they are always coming up and sniffing and rubbing on him. LC likes to chase and wrestle, but doesn't care for this sex stuff, which is probably a good thing because then Tuffy really would tear him up.
I get nervous when I see Little Guy in the front yard, because I doubt if he has any Traffic Smarts, but it's only a few more weeks and we are all moving to a much more rural area with lots of trees and very little traffic. I heard there are a lot of coyotes there which is why I wanted all the cats to stay inside, but I have never seen any so if it turns out that that's not really a big issue, they can go out into our mini-forest which will be a true kitty paradise. Or, maybe I can build them some kind of enclosure so they can be outside and still be safe.
Little Guy just came back. But he's not ready to come in yet. He's lying out on the patio watching One Ear Tuffy eat. Tuffy is looking kind of bedraggled this morning and he's holding one paw up when he walks. I heard him fighting last night, but evidently he won because he's the one eating and giving lustful looks to the three ladies who just came through the fence from feral World.
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You could give it a shot
