Starting the slow transition to indoors

Originally Posted by katiemae1277

I knew that you would start to bring her in eventually, Betsy

all of my cats were found outside and made the transition to indoor living fairly easy. I've never had a problem with them not figuring out the litterbox and I'm not a slow-introer, I'm a "you guys figure it out" introer

Only have ever had one major problem doing that and itt resolved itself after a couple months with the aid of time-outs

Best of luck getting Sissycat acclimated to the good life!

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Well, since bringing Ferris in, I've considered myself the master of the 24-hour intro thanks to the vannilla extract trick. The reason I thought to drag this out a bit more is Sissy's age, plus not knowing her background, and also in trying to be considerate of my others (not saying you aren't, just that this was my thinking.)

I spend a lot of nights at my boyfriend's home, and I'd been letting Sissy back out because I didn't want there to be problems and have me not here to referee, but now I'm thinking that they should pretty much be ok at this point.

She's just so used to being outside, and she refuses to leave the yard, so I'm not as worried about letting her outside here and there as I might be if circumstances were different.

I think by winter, though, she'll be a mainly indoor only girl. I'm not going to want to let her sleep outside in the freezing cold.

This older stray rescue thing is all new to me, LOL. I never meant to have 6!!! Good thing my guy is a cat lover! (He wants to steal Baby Bonnie away from me. I told him we come as a package - all 6 of the cats plus me! )

Next summer, we'll be looking for a place to move in together, it looks like. I hope we can find a place where we can have all 6 without any problems!

Sounds like you're going to have to update your signature soon!

I just posted a picture of her in Fur Pics.

It is great to hear you are doing so well with Sissycat. (maybe she needs a new name now? ) Maybe Alphacat?

Good thing your BF doesn't have any cats of his own. Can you imagine intregrating 2 multicat households? What if he had 5 or 6 also? Yikes!!

I have just fallen in love with Max

Originally Posted by otto

My Jennie was an outdoor stray. She carried and raised a litter of four kittens all by herself.

Jennie nursed and weaned phantom kittens. She didn't know her kittens weren't there any more. She would lie on the floor with a beatific smile purring, and roll a bit to give th phantom kittens easier access to her nipples. She moved them around the bedroom, from one part of the floor to another, and under the bed. After three days of this, she began weaning the phantom kittens. I knew she was, because she started leaving a small amount of food in her dish at meal times, up until then she had eaten it all. Two more days of weaning, and then she forgot all about it.

Jennie had obviously been abused as it took her many months to not flinch when I reached for her or spoke to her, and it also took her a long time to get up on any furniture.

She also took a while to loose the "swivel head", looking all around her in a nervous way constantly. I was so happy when I noticed she wasn't doing that, or flinching any more.

Here's Jennie on her Forever Home-coming day.

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Your Jennie is beautiful, and that's so wonderful of you to have taken her in. The poor little thing, nursing little phantoms!

Originally Posted by fifi1puss

It is great to hear you are doing so well with Sissycat. (maybe she needs a new name now?

) Maybe Alphacat?

Good thing your BF doesn't have any cats of his own. Can you imagine intregrating 2 multicat households? What if he had 5 or 6 also? Yikes!!

I have just fallen in love with Max

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He actually had one, also named Max, who passed away last spring at the ripe old age of 17.

He was a great big, fluffy gray cat, bigger and fluffier than my Ferris.

Here's the latest photo: http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...96#post2762896

I chose to make Sissycat spend the night inside last night, due to the horrible, drenching rains and high winds left over from Ida. Decided not to worry about the litter box as some of you assured me she'd figure it out. (Caught her scratching the litter mat outside the upstairs box this a.m., so she MUST know what the box is for, as I am sure her nose works! )

She spent the ENTIRE night on my bed, either on top of me or at my foot. And she seems to have survived her terrible ordeal of being warm and dry just fine.

She found her way to the food dish as I was making coffee and helped herself, so I think she's now officially an "inside cat."

I will be away from home tonight, so I will worry while I'm away, but will be here again tomorrow for the day and night, so I'm sure she'll once again survive. I just hope that there are no big fights while I'm gone, but I guess it's now up to them to work it out amongst themselves.

Their relationships aren't worked out yet, of course, but Max is working on that, and I keep talking to Sissy and telling her she has nothing to fear from them.

I tried to get her to play with a feather wand yesterday and she got scared and ran and hid, so I honestly don't know that she knows what playing is. It will be a nice milestone when she's chilled out enough to join in a game and have some fun. I'm looking forward to that day.

As per usual, now that I am on the computer, she's relaxing on the chair next to me. I think I'll call this transition mostly a success. Now, if I could just get her to stop growling at the others when they enter her presence.

I remember those first days of leaving "new intros" at home alone. We were pretty sure no one was going to get horriby injured. It sounds like the odds are in your favor.

...you said it! What an ordeal for that poor girl! Sleeping on the bed, being dry, having food... she's giving up so much for this torture!

So what does all this mean? We're going into syndication with reruns already?

First litter box issue: someone, and I assume it was Sissycat, peed on the litter mat just in front of the upstairs litterbox. I sopped it up with a paper towel, then poured Nature's Miracle where she'd peed.

That makes me more concerned about leaving them all alone tonight, but I don't have a choice - I'm going to see Daughtry in concert tonight and will be staying in Greensboro after the show.

Am wondering if I should put her in the utility room for the night where there is a litterbox she can use unmolested (I think that her fearof the others may have caused her not to actually get INTO the box then again, I know the others will be scratching at the door to get at her.

Dilemma!!! What should I do?

I would leave her out in the house with the others. It sounds like there won't be a huge fight amongst them and it would probably be really scary to be locked in a room with the other cats clawing at it. She might mark the utility room as hers anyway. Those are my thoughts.

Well, this morning Sissycat peed on some books and papers that my roommate had on the floor in her bedroom. Roommate is understandably upset. I haven't seen any other signs of inappropriate urination or elimination except on the litter mat in front of the upstairs litter box.

Max has taken to stalking Sissy because he wants to befriend her. She doesn't understand this. They both slept on my bed last night, one at either side of the foot, like sentinals.

Any suggestions on the peeing problem? No apparent signs of a UTI, just assuming that she is afraid and just doesn't know what a litter box is for.

I just put a feliway diffuser in that room too but not sure what else to do. Can't add dirt from outside to the litter boxes yet as the ground out there is saturated from all the rain we have had.

Add a couple new litter boxes, Sissy may not like peeing where the others have peed.

You might also sprinkle some dirt on the top layer of these new boxes. if she pees on the mat again, pour it into the littler box so her smell will be in that box now. <edit> just saw your post about the dirt. Dig some up and bring it inside to dry out a bit.

Suggest to your room mate that she keep her door closed when she's not in there.

She could have a UTI, stress can bring them on. But it's probably more of a getting used to all the new smells and territorial thing.

Congratulations on the successful transition!