Hello All!
So we have an indoor/outdoor cat that is 2 yrs old, female & fixed. She has always been fairly confident going outside and even leaving our yard and exploring the neighborhood, but always coming home everyday etc. She has always slept outside and only come in during the day. About 1 month ago she was gone for a whole week and when we found her we had a hard time getting her to come to us/trust us.
Apparently she had a very bad experience "out in the world" and now will only stay in the back rooms of our house (where she was not previously allowed) and when she is there, she is happy and sweet. She will not go in the rooms that she previously loved (but are near "the outdoors") and will pee herself if we take her outside.
We have a feliway diffuser and keep feeding her closer and closer to her old rooms but she is still very freaked out by the very thought of going outside.
We have been trying to rehabilitate her over the last month but she is no closer to living outside again... which must be the final result as we cannot maintain a full house cat.
What should we do to help her be ok with being outside again? Is taking her outside once a day and letting her hide in a kitty house a good idea? Will slowly moving her food towards the outer rooms/outside help her transition? Any suggestions would help! Thanks a bunch!
JS
So we have an indoor/outdoor cat that is 2 yrs old, female & fixed. She has always been fairly confident going outside and even leaving our yard and exploring the neighborhood, but always coming home everyday etc. She has always slept outside and only come in during the day. About 1 month ago she was gone for a whole week and when we found her we had a hard time getting her to come to us/trust us.
Apparently she had a very bad experience "out in the world" and now will only stay in the back rooms of our house (where she was not previously allowed) and when she is there, she is happy and sweet. She will not go in the rooms that she previously loved (but are near "the outdoors") and will pee herself if we take her outside.
We have a feliway diffuser and keep feeding her closer and closer to her old rooms but she is still very freaked out by the very thought of going outside.
We have been trying to rehabilitate her over the last month but she is no closer to living outside again... which must be the final result as we cannot maintain a full house cat.
What should we do to help her be ok with being outside again? Is taking her outside once a day and letting her hide in a kitty house a good idea? Will slowly moving her food towards the outer rooms/outside help her transition? Any suggestions would help! Thanks a bunch!
JS
