On cold mornings

My cat bella wants to come in on cold mornings. I have a indoor cat and a little dog that Bella loves. They walk together on cold mornings. Every morning my indoor cat gwen and my dog sleep in my bedroom for about 3 hours. I am able to close the door . If I let Bella my feral in what would she do. Would she hide . I would only leave her in for a while. But when she leaves would my cat Gwen spray to mark her house. I would love just to have my Bella in just for a little while. I can not let the two cats together. They hiss and fight though the door. I just would like to know what to do. New York has been so far a mild winter. Yahoo for that.

Has Bella been tested for FeLK? That would be my first concern. It is possible that if she gets really frightened she will run and hide and then you might either not be able to find her - or you will have to scare her more in trying to get her back outside. I would leave the door open a little bit for her to come in on her own and then if she feels overwhelmed she will run back outside. I did this at a horse barn with a feral cat that was starting to trust me. We also had an indoor only kitty that lived inside the main enclosed lobby of the barn. SO I would lock up Lucy in the mornings and then let Chloe inside to eat her breakfast. I could not let the two girls together either - they were known to fight. It really did work out well and helped Chloe so much. She started allowing pets and would rub on my legs. I would leave the door ajar the whole time though and she always knew she could run out if she got worried. So I would suggest that, leaving the door open a little bit. BUT with it being cold - your heating bill ... Better that though than to have Bella freak out and hide inside the house somewhere. Since Gwen hisses and fights through the door with Bella and has not been spraying in that area then I don't think she will spray if Bella comes inside. IF Bella sprays - then yes I do think Gwen will spray as well then. Honestly, if it were me, I would not bother doing this unless you are planning on bringing her inside full time. This could potentially make Bella more aggressive being stuck outside and wanting inside but not being allowed to unless Gwen is locked up. If Bella really loves coming inside then she will only want to come in more and more and might make you feel sad. IMO I would just leave her outside unless you think you can handle her begging for more and more time inside...... Good luck and keep us posted

hi feralvr. Thank you so much for your advise . I don't think I will have her come in the house on cold mornings. She is fine outside. I never got her tested so I don't know if she has anything.

AWW hun I am happy to help at anytime - if I can :lol3: I just think it would be best for your sweet Bella. I know sometimes out heart go out to these outside darling's - but in all reality - they don't know any different anyway, right . So I always tell myself, unless I am willing to bring this cat inside full-time - it is best to leave them be - it is after all the only life they know anyway - living outdoors. What they don't know won't hurt them, you know what I mean. Bless your heart for caring so much :heart3: :heart3: