cat will not leave dark unfinished basement

Could you describe the cat door you use? The way I understand it, your cat can't seem to use it unless you open or close it? Is it opening to the outside or the inside of your house?
When was her last visit to the vet? She does seem to have become a wild or feral cat but even then, I suggest you trap her and have her checked out.

It sounds like she and the dog were never properly introduced so she was terrified and hid in the basement. You need to bring her out of the basement and confine her in a small room and re-socialize her. The more you leave her down there (12 years...), the worse it's going to get.

These videos might help you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpEcxIgMhyQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfraihjBNHM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP8E-yFXCT4

"12 years"

Did you watch the videos I linked you to? They should help greatly.

If she is so damaged that she will not even let you pick her up, you will have to trap her. Get a hav-a-heart or a raccoon trap and put her food inside. Then when you trap her, move the cage into a bathroom or small bedroom and this is where you will house her. Then like the videos show, make seeing you a positive experience by bringing her foodand then tempt her to come closer to you with food, then move on to petting, etc.

Minka's given you good advice. Please do look at the videos for which she provided links. Though they deal with kitten socialization, the techniques will help with your 14 year old girl as well.

Would you mind telling us your cat's name? It would be nice to have her name so we wouldn't have to refer to her as "she" or "it".

You're right to want to get her out of the basement. It's no place for a cat, and she's certainly spent far too much of her life there already. I'm worried about the crawl spaces, especially since you said it's impossible to get her out of them. If your cat should get sick, she will be even less likely to come out of those small places and you will be unable to help her.

How did you get her to the vet in the past? How does she behave there?
When you adopted her, was she a feral kitten, or had she come from a shelter or rescue situation?

As Minka said, you'll need a humane trap, and many shelters or rescue groups will loan you one. They may request a deposit which you'll get back when you return the trap. Please start looking for one ASAP. They're easy to learn to use. You may have to desensitize your cat to the trap (get her used to eating near, then in it) if she is wary of it at first. It's simple to do, but will take a little time (usually at least 1 week). Let us know if you need to do that, depending on her reaction to the trap.

In the meantime, is there a way to provide some light for your cat since the basement is dark?

Please let us know how it's going.

I agree with the others a have a heart trap would be best. You must get her out of that cellar.The air quality can't be good for her down there either.

It sounds like they were never introduced well, so After you trap her and make her friendly to you again, then we can help you reintroduce Luna and Bailey.
But first, please get her out of the basement. :[

It is obvious Luna will not come up on her own after all those years....

I agree with the have a heart trap.

Get her used to people again and then the other animals. I have used those inexpensive wooden screen doors on a bedroom. The animals can see eachother and get used to eachother that way. Do not give her access to another place to hide once she is up. She needs human contact if she is ever to get better.

But please, get her up. I can't imagine a cat being secluded and afraid for that long.

In my humble onion the best thing you could do is catch the cat in the have a heart trap and either get her used to the outdoors by keeping her in a crate with food water and a litter box. Or put the cat down. The situation does not sound ideal for the cat or the owner. I mean the cat is alone in a basement. The human is having its home destroyed.

I have worked with thousands of cats, while you can change a cats behavior at any time it is very hard to socialize a cat in its teens. Plus re socializing a cat so late in life is very stressful on the cat and owner. So to even attempt socialization at such an advance age will require a great deal of time and patience.

"Put the cat down" rather than invest lots of time and patience? I'm just... speechless...

I do not expect any of you to agree with me. I suspect most people on the this forum would be speechless.

But having done rescue/rehoming/fostering for 15 or so years you learn many things. First and foremost you learn you can not save every animal. Also even if you could save this specific animal is it for the animal and a humans benefit? In this case unless you have a very dedicated owner I do not think so.

The cat is elderly so set in its ways behaviorally. So unless the owner has the time and urge to work with the cat extensively for a long period of time, do you all feel the cat should live a feral existence in a basement?

Next the owner is likely to get bitten by the cat when working on changing the cats behavior. Now anyone who has gotten a cat bite knows it is NOT good medically speaking in some cases. So do you think the owner should possible risk there health to try and change an elderly cats behavior?

Also do you feel the owner should allow an animal to destroy part of its property?

Lastly and most importantly I am sure to many of you is the cats "view". Can you imagine how scary it is for the cat to face "a brave new world" at its advanced age? Can you imagine the stress level this cat would ungo when trying to become a personal pet again?

So yes my views are very different then most. But that was just my .

Why do you keep saying that the cat is destroying property? I see no such talk from the OP.
And while I understand that not every cat can be saved, at least give the OP a chance to Try. :/

That part from the original poster is what leades me to believe the animal is destroying the OP home.

I am not saying the OP should not try and change the cats behavior. I am saying it is going to be very difficult to change the cats behavior. Plus realistically in my opinion is it worth doing this to a fourteen year old?

I thought this exact same thing. Many times a cat in its teens cannot be changed and it stresses the cat out even more trying to. Stress can lead to illness... then everyone is miserable, owner for failing and cat for being put through such traumatic events. It is sad but sometimes it is the best.

At the shelters I worked at, we would get people calling to surrender their 15 year old cat who is scared to death of everything and now they work more so they can't care for it properly. Often times we told them that the stress will kill the cat before we can find it a home and if they really decide they can't care for it, euthanasia would be the best option.

I am sorry to say that what is really sad is that the owner left the cat in the dark basement for 12 years in the first place.

While it's true we can't save every animal, we can each take care of our own small corner of the world. That's what's going on in this case.

Luna was a kitten when she first began living with maretlyle. According to the OP, Luna hasn't always been unsocialized and didn't live in the basement from the start. Luna interacted with the family when outdoors, and allowed herself to be petted. And up until 1 1/2 years ago, maretlyle was taking the cat each year to the vet.

Without question, Luna has been allowed to live separately from the family for far too long. Maretlyle knows this and wants to rectify the situation.

At 14, Luna is a mature adult cat, but certainly not elderly. Many cats live into their late teens and early 20's.

Pooping outside the littterbox is common. Sometimes the cause is a medical condition, other times it's stress. While it's unpleasant for the guardian, as well as the cat, it's a stretch to call it "property damage".

Being 14 and pooping outside the box hardly qualifies for the death sentence.

Luna seems to have developed some feral-like behavior, which is no surprise given her circumstances. I agree that it will take time to re-socialize her, but how much time is only guesswork on everyone's part.

Euthanasia should always be the last resort in any situation. Speculating about it at this early stage will do nothing but cause discouragement.

It would be more constructive to help maretlyle make life better for her cat by giving her practical methods to get Luna out of the basement first, and then work on re-socializing her. Let's take this one step at a time.

And there's a chance that this person does have the time and the patience?!.

Too many people give up too easily and take the easy option of having animals euthanised.

Please remember the member has come here for help from us

I hope you give the cat a chance... worst come to worst is that the cat continues to live in basement, and by all accounts, it appears to be okay living the way it is. Ideally, the cat shouldn't have been kept there for such a long time but can't turn back the clock. I don't see what is the big deal that the cat is in a basement, and for someone to generalize that old age and adaptability issues being reasons to put the cat down is downright sad to hear.

The problem with living in the basement is that:
1. It's hiding there in fear. So it's basically constantly stressed.
2. There are small spaces in the basement that it could get stuck in.
3. Lack of socialization has led to an almost feral state, and if the cat did bolt outside, it might not come back.

Minka, so what is the problem? My brother has a cat that lives in his basement by itself all the time too. The cat hardly comes out when i visit and hides all the time too. What is the problem with a cat living in a basement on its own? even if it is not social or in a feral state after being left in the basement for so long... If it is up to me, I would do my darnest to help it adjust, but not everyone wants to put in the time or effort, or wants to help an older animal - Again, I'm not seeing what is the big deal - at worst it lives out its life the way it has been living for 12 years... if it was stressed out for 12 years, it wouldn't have lived for this long. I just don't think it is right to jump to generalization about the cat. Each kitty has its own comfort level and maybe this one is a basement kitty..and is okay with its existence.

The cat is in a constant state of fear...fear in cats brings on illness. But no one knows because no vet visits.'

It is not living there happily, getting visits by the family. It's mortified.

That's the problem.

That is because in my opinion me and you have real hands on experience with such cases and many members do not. Also what the shelter staff told you is correct in my opinion and experience.

[quote=KTLynn;3106987 At 14, Luna is a mature adult cat, but certainly not elderly. Many cats live into their late teens and early 20's.

Pooping outside the littterbox is common. Sometimes the cause is a medical condition, other times it's stress. While it's unpleasant for the guardian, as well as the cat, it's a stretch to call it "property damage".

Being 14 and pooping outside the box hardly qualifies for the death sentence.[/QUOTE]

To me a cat incrementally using the whole basement to have bowel movements is causing harm to your property. But even if that is not correct to you, you would have to agree it is VERY unpleasant experience. Plus since the OP said it is making the home smell I feel that is also contributing to property damage.

Now if you feel a fourteen year old cat is not elderly that is fine as well. But I feel the combination of behavioral problems (being feral and litter box avoidance) plus the cats age makes euthanasia a possible REALISTIC solution.

Lastly if you feel this is a medical issue how do you expect the OP to find out ? The OP is not going to go grab the cat I suspect .

I am not saying the owner should not try and modify the cats behavior. I was saying how difficult it will be and that it might not be able to be done. So euthanization might be a fairer solution to the human and the cat.

There is nothing wrong with having a feral cat in your basement if the HUMAN ENJOYS IT and the animal is HEALTHY.

I feel the problem is this: if people do not enjoy owning any animal for whatever reason and the animals behavior can not be modified to the humans enjoyment then there is NO reason to expect the person to keep the animal. So euthanization in some cases is the most humane thing that can be done.

There are many on TCS who have worked with cats who have behavior issues as well as those who've socialized feral cats. Anyone working in animal welfare over a long period of time has seen and heard of all sorts of cases. However, it's wrong to generalize that older cats specifically, will become so stressed in a new situation that the stress alone will kill them. I've seen year old cats admitted who are terribly frightened and fearful. Shelters should not dissuade people on the basis of their cat's age. Better to admit the cat and give him a chance to find a home than to have his desperate person abandon him in the street or euthanize him.



I've already stated that pooping outside the box is unpleasant for both guardian and cat. This is apparently a recent development, since maretlyle has not said the cat has pooped indiscriminately throughout the basement for the past 12 years. So is the smell creating an unpleasant situation? Obviously. Will it require a clean-up? Of course. Property damage? No.


I know a 14 year old cat isn't elderly. I know what elderly is. My Mickey was 21 when she passed. My cousin's cat 22. Most members here have cats who've lived well into their teens. Those cats are elderly. There's not a vet worth his/her salt who will tell you a 14 year old is an elderly cat.

Barring an unforeseen critical illness, Luna can look forward to at least several more years of life, if not more.

Please re-read the posts in this thread more carefully. From the beginning, myself and others have told maretlyle that she needs to borrow a humane trap to get Luna out of the basement.

(Just an aside here, but how did you think the OP would accomplish euthanasia, as you suggested, since obviously she "is not going to go grab the cat"?)

What's fair is to give maretlyle and Luna a chance to work this out. Maretlyle is obviously willing to put in the effort to see if she can improve her cat's life. How about we encourage her in this and take the "glass half full" approach, rather than talk about "fairer solutions" which means putting her cat to death?

Luna, for one, would disagree with that "solution". Her life is precious to her.


Most humane thing? You mean the most expedient thing, I believe.

Euthanasia is for animals who are critically ill and suffering from their illness and have no chance for recovery. Imagine bringing your cat to the vet asking to have her put down because "I no longer enjoy her ...", as you say "for whatever reason."

This plays right into our "throwaway" society. If "it", whether an object or an animal, no longer amuses us, or inconveniences us in any way, just ditch it.

Maretlyle is trying to help her cat. Why don't we help her do that?

I'm so pleased your not thinking of taking this option. 14 years is a long time, and it's like having a member of your family.

Not sure if anyones mentioned the Feliway Plug ins or Rescue Remedy drops to add to the water and food?. This helps to destress them and l swear by them.

What's she like for playing with you, say with a dangling toy?

From reading your other posts, I think we are on the same page. The point is I would rather let the cat live in the basement than follow advise of someone to put it down simply because it is living in the basement for so long and is unable to socialize. Again, if it was up to me, I would definitely try to socialize it and take it step by step

I hate to think someone has to "enjoy" the animal in order to save it. To me, it is about the animal/kitty, it isn't about me. I do appreciate humane way of dealing with certain situations but I hardly see this problem of a basement kitty as warranting the thought of euthanasia. I had an FELV+ and FIV+ cat that lived happily with us till the day she passed away on her own terms and in her own bed. I know most people would put her down but that is just me. I guess we just have to agree to disagree in the way we would handle this basement kitty.

Thank you, maretlyle, for further clarifying Luna's situation.

I've put two of the sentences you wrote in bold letters because they're so important. It's gratifying that you accept Luna on her terms and understand what makes her feel comfortable, as well as what doesn't.


Luna is lucky that you have her best interest at heart, and very fortunate as well that you want to try to change her life for the better.

There are indeed other options, which would not include euthanasia.

Let's start by being optimistic. We're here to help and support you so please continue to let us know how you and Luna are doing.