I have a 7-week old little girl who I rescued from the yard. My mother-in-law has a number of outdoor/wild cats who have had several litters this year. Speckles, my new kitty, was orphaned at almost 6 weeks. We found her with several siblings and a very sick mother. We took her in because she was small in comparison with her siblings. Her mother has since died, and Speckles seems healthy. She is catching up in size, has been wormed and had her first round of shots. In the past 2-3 days, she has been wanting to go outside. She will sit on the back rug and wait until I take the dog (a 60 pound black lab/german shepard mix) outside, then dart out the door. She doesn't go far, but I don't want her to go out because I have no idea what diseases the other cats are harboring. They've never been vaccinated. When I bring her in, she sits by the door and meows pitifully. I thought at first she thinks she is a dog, as she adores the dog. Then I wondered if she was missing her outside friends from when she was tiny. Any ideas on why Speckles does this? What can I do to soothe her?
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New Kitty Wants to go Out!
- Thread starter speckles'mom
- Start Date
If you want her to be an indoor only cat, definately don't give in and let her out or she'll never give you peace.
As far as soothing her all I can think of is to distract her in some way, like with play. Over time hopefully she will stop trying to get out. Contrary to common belief a formerly outdoor cat can become content to stay indoors. Of course some don't and will always try to bolt when the door is open.
Good luck!
As far as soothing her all I can think of is to distract her in some way, like with play. Over time hopefully she will stop trying to get out. Contrary to common belief a formerly outdoor cat can become content to stay indoors. Of course some don't and will always try to bolt when the door is open.
Good luck!
She's WAY too young to be out alone. Don't forget she's so small she can get into amazing places you'd never believe, and never be able to get her out of. Or if she isn't attacked by dogs, run over by cars, bitten by older cats, be sick from eating who knows what, get hopelessly lost (if not stepped on) and other things, you'll still have a terrible time finding her. Also, she just 'thinks' she wants out - maybe she heard a bird out there or something, but she wouldn't have a clue what to do if she was out. Just because babies want candy, you don't give it to them, so you have to be responsible here and just keep her safe inside.
Hi,
I took in a stray three years ago. He was living outside for a long time.
I let him in in the afternoon and he stayed the night, then went out and ran around for several hours, came back.
One day I came home, and he was crouched on the porch, bleeding from his neck. A stray tom had attacked him, almost hitting the jugular.
He got very sick, is now fine.
AFter that, I said No More Outside. It took several weeks for him to adjust, but now he doesn't mind being inside. He prefers it, actually.
If you kitty darts past you, then put her in another room when you're opening the door.
I have 7 (down from 9), and I made a fenced-in garden for them, with one of those kitty-safe barriers on top. They are safe, no other cat can come in, they can't go out. But they can be outside. It's a great thing to do for the furries, if you have the space, time and money to do it.
I took in a stray three years ago. He was living outside for a long time.
I let him in in the afternoon and he stayed the night, then went out and ran around for several hours, came back.
One day I came home, and he was crouched on the porch, bleeding from his neck. A stray tom had attacked him, almost hitting the jugular.
He got very sick, is now fine.
AFter that, I said No More Outside. It took several weeks for him to adjust, but now he doesn't mind being inside. He prefers it, actually.
If you kitty darts past you, then put her in another room when you're opening the door.
I have 7 (down from 9), and I made a fenced-in garden for them, with one of those kitty-safe barriers on top. They are safe, no other cat can come in, they can't go out. But they can be outside. It's a great thing to do for the furries, if you have the space, time and money to do it.
If she's good friends with the dog, she probably thinks she's missing out on "why is the dog going outside?"
I'd put her in another room and really discourage her from sitting by the door.
We had Ling in the house since 5 weeks old and for the first few months had a hard time convincing her that outside was NOT a good place to be. She got out a few times, but we would put her in another room, holler NO and really do whatever we had to do to make it "scary" to be around the door.
She knows when we tell her "get back" that you don't hang around the door. To be on the safe side, when we bring in groceries, the two cats are sent down to the basement till we are done.
I'd put her in another room and really discourage her from sitting by the door.
We had Ling in the house since 5 weeks old and for the first few months had a hard time convincing her that outside was NOT a good place to be. She got out a few times, but we would put her in another room, holler NO and really do whatever we had to do to make it "scary" to be around the door.
She knows when we tell her "get back" that you don't hang around the door. To be on the safe side, when we bring in groceries, the two cats are sent down to the basement till we are done.
