Is the porch a tease?

lechatnoir

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I am trying to convert Buddyfrom a partially outdoors to strictly indoors cat( in a new home). Is taking him out on the screened in porch too much of a tease, or is it healthy? So far he seems very content being indoors(the house is has more rooms and wondows)
I would love any feedback!
Le Chat Noir
 

ddcats

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What are the chances he will run away from the porch? Or if someone accidently opens the porch door and he gets out. If -0-, then the porch will be fine.

If I were in that situation, I would keep him in and would not put him on the porch. If he is happy inside, why fix something that is not broken?

And you said he has plenty of windows, does he have a TV: bird bath, bird feeder, bird house, flowers, etc.? My cats love their TV!
 
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lechatnoir

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It is a screened-in porch, so unless someone opens the door, he is fine. I wouldn't leave him out there alone, though.
I had heard conflicting opinions about what to when trying to make a cat indoors only....some people say give them a comfy spot by the window, which Buddy has. Others say try to steer the cat away from the windows where they can be tempted by other cats or birds, etc. That sounds cruel to me!
 

jen

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no answer but I wanted to say i LOVE your username!
 

mur

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If I were you, I'd let the cat onto the porch - if it's completely screened in, how much trouble could the cat possibly get into? After all, there are dangers everywhere, and we cannot protect our pets from everything.

My cat is 21 years old and still goes out onto the deck - it has a gate that is always closed, so she can't go out into the yard - she doesn't want to go out into the yard anyway. She also sometimes goes outside with my mom when my mom gardens. She is too old now, though, to actually go out into the yard and beyond on her own, but she did when she was younger.

She really enjoys suntanning on the deck, so I won't stop her, and my mom thinks the mental stimulation that comes from checking out stuff outside is good for her. When my cat was younger, she was very ambitious, and dominated the entire block - it was almost like she had her own empire and she was the ruler :-D I remember when I was a child, watching my cat interact with another cat in our front yard - I was amazed at how much like humans they were. I think this ambition is partly what has kept her alive for so long, but of course she's retired now.
 

whosamyhercules

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Ohhh boy..You could be opening yourself up to a bigggg BANG! I had a cat named Pickles, he looked like an orange and white spotted cow...he was giant cat, who was outdoors and when I moved I decided to turn him into an indoor kitty..He was having none of that I had screens in my windows and without AC I had to open the windows in the summer. He RAN straight through the screen. I guess he saw a bird or animal of some sort and just ran right through it. Just be careful because if you have a cat that is so used to having his own space being able to come and go, he might just do the same thing. I never had a problem with Pickles running away or anything he stayed close by for a couple days but once he got his bearings he was off doing his own thing....I hope your cat does well with the transition, and I hope you dont have to replace any screening..Its a pain..lol..
 

mur

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hehehe - that is a very funny story about Pickles. Were you successful in turning him into an indoor cat? Luckily my cat has always lived in a house in a quiet area, so we never had this problem.
 

ilovemykitty

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i agree with Mur. let him out on the porch but watch for a while to make sure that he knows that it is now his new boundary. my cats have ripped at least the bottom half out of the seam of the one screen that we didn't take down, we all hate screens. as long as he seems happy just in the house then it shouldn't be a problem with the porch.
 

oogieone

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I think you should let him onto the porch...then he can get some fresh air! My cats love going out onto the porch...they are strictly indoor cats but they like the fresh air once in a while...
 

cheylink

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I think it's a great idea, though you should be in the immediate area just in case. Although I am sure you don't leave your home open when not around anyway
......
 

goldenkitty45

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I see nothing wrong with being in a screened in porch. Our inside only cats will get to enjoy a screened in porch when we enclose the patio eventually
Will be the closest they get to "outside".
 
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lechatnoir

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My Buddy is a big orange and white, too!
I am only letting him out there with my supervision, he hasn't tried to bust through the screens, yet!
He did make a dash through the garage door(bad timing, two people home at once)but I let him sniff the backyard for a few minutes then scooped him up. He is just tooooo curious!!!
 
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