Outdoor Cat Forever???

Sorry for such a looong post but we have quite a pickle here. I found a kitten that was only a couple weeks old and abandoned and brought it home to raise. For about 7 months it lived indoors and SLOWLY built up a trust with us. Never really wanted anything to do with us during the day unless we were feeding, but each night would lay in bed with us. Still would hiss at us occasionally but never bit or even swiped at us, but never wanted to be picked up.

Well, it got out accidently and I could not get it back. I set a cage out and got it back 4 weeks later. It doesn't look like he was suffering at all. I was shocked how big he had gotten and showed no signs of ware. He does not have front claws so i think someone was feeding him or he had found some food source. I brought it in the garage (we were scared about fleas or any other diseases it might have caught and might give to our other cat). In the garage I opened up the cage, and within a minute and jumped on the garage counter and head butted right through the screen taking out the frame and everything and is now lost again.

Here is our problem. We definitely want a second cat because our other one loves the play partner and now we feel guilty leaving him alone. But I don't know if it is worth trapping the other one again. He never came back and we had to lure him back with a food and trap to get him, and as soon as we did, within a few minutes he had found a way to get back out. My wife and I have no problem letting him be an outdoor cat, but if that was the case, it would be full time and we don't know if that is possible in Michigan with the harsh winters we can sometimes have. But we also don't want to abandon it if we feel there is some way to domesticize it once it is caught again.

So in a nutshell, do we just go to the humane society and get a new one and let then one run free and enjoy the free lifestyle. Or will this eventually kill him in a winter environment like MI. But if we do want to save him, is it unrealistic to think we can get him to love our home? Remember, the other part of the occasion is our 6 week old infant boy. Not sure if that matters but it was worth sharing. If you have any thoughts or expert advice it would really be appreciated and if you need more info let me know.

Not only are the winters harsh, you said he has no front claws. You should trap him again. You didn't mention if he is neutered or not. If he is not, you should have that done immediately. Do you have a spare bedroom or some place secure to keep him while he is getting used to being indoors again?

Yes, he is neutered. We did that the same time we took out the front claws. I suppose we could keep him in our bedroom. He had torn out the bottom of the bed frame to crawl up in there and sleep and that was a safe place for him. He would even let us pet him when he was under there.

my two concerns are:

1) will he fall for the same trap again or am i going to have to change things up now that he might be gun shy.

2) i know it was only 4 weeks and i could only monitor him for a few minutes before he escaped again....but he just seemed different, more wild in his eyes and actions and i am afraid with a new born how he might be from this point on now that he has had a taste of the wild life

It's possible that he will be shy of the trap. Line the inside of the trap with newspaper and cover the trap with a towel or something. Use nice smelly bait that will be irresistable. Are you using a double or single door trap?

I have a suggestion. Since he likes outside but has no front claws (which will shorten his live span considerably), then capture him again. Build a very sturdy enclosure that has a nice insulated house in it. Then keep him outside but he will be protected.

If allowed to roam declawed, he will have a short life span with no protection.

And if you adopt another cat, you should keep this one inside at all times so nothing will happen to him/her. You can't let the 2 mix or the outside one could bring back fleas, diseases, etc.

I'd suggest that once it starts to get colder he might be more amenable to getting caught.

But, perhaps, he has found another family? You said that he had gotten big and seemed healthy. Perhaps you could get a collar on him and attach a note with contact information so that you can the other family could work things out.