IN DIRE NEED OF ADVICE/TIPS/HELP!

Hi all. I've posted about my cat, Miballs, awhile back.

His story is that he was a feral cat that came to our house and started eating what we put outside. He eventually began to trust us more and more as each day passed and now he is officially an indoor cat. As good and nice as that sounds, the reason why he's an indoor cat is not a good one. :/

We took him to the vet yesterday because of a bad scuffle he got into and unfortunately, we received the news that he has leukemia. The vet told us that he has to stay inside for a month (which is NEW to us) and that we have to take him back in to check if his body has rid of the disease. What I absolutely need help on is how to keep an adult, feral cat indoors 24-7. He is so used to being outside and only coming inside when he wants to, and we have never had a pet before; therefore it's becoming frustrating for my family at all times of the day except when he is sleeping.

Is there anyway I can get him to calm down and reassure that we're doing this for him? I give him all the love, yet he still wants to go outside and chase other animals (which is most likely where he got the disease from). And also, he does not know how to use the litter box AT ALL and I've been constantly trying to get him to use it. Please, if anyone of you fellow cat lovers have been through the same situation...PLEASE let me know how to make his life and our lives a better life to live. 

THANK YOU.

Sincerely,

A Highly Concerned Parent

Is he neutered? This usually help much.  Neutering also sinks his stress hormones...  Cats with Felv can often live many good years. One of the keys it must be stress-free, as stress can easily cause the sickedness to burst out.   Btw, similiar for quite a few other sickednesses too, including rheumatism in humans...

In your case...  Feliway diffuser, flower essence therapies - there are some made especially for rescuing cases, I saw other forumists mention in recent threads.

Calming music. Classical harp music is best, but most soft, relaxing music should do.

Does he has a nice cozy corner of his own? Cat igloo or similiar? scratching post, some toys...

Litter. What had you tried?

The default standard is nothing fancy, common baked clay litter. Never any perfumed variations.

You can add in some dirt and or leaves from outside, so he has easier to recognize.

Perhaps even just plain sand, if he is used to do his in sand...

There are also different  Kitten attract Litter, the most wellknown and prob best, Dr Elseys kitten attract litter...  surely costly, but you can have just some on the outtermost layer.

Also, have two different litters. Free living cats usually dont poo and pee simultaneously, thus in practice they do it in two different places.  Our home cats learn to do it in one place.

Last, not least. the litter itself. Good if the litter feels a little secure. So along a wall, or even in a corner, is good.  Another trick is this "hut" over the litter. although the hut may need recognization, some time to get used.  There is often a plastic door. Take it off, many cats gets anxious, they dont understand what it is for. (and, really, this door is not for the cat, it is for us humans, so the smells dont come out).

Good luck!

He was recently neutered. We are all trying to sleep, but he is ridiculously vocal. My mom just tried to let him sleep with her but he keeps doing a spraying movement and biting her and expressing tantrums. We don't know what to do. ) : Is there any possible alternative to keeping him safe besides having him in the house 24-7? No one is usually home except for two days out of the week due to jobs. : /

I suspect the vet meant not only to keep him safe, but also - to keep others animals safe.  As I suspect they have the routine of immediately pts free living cats who give positive signal to the Felv-test.

So, as you could give him a quarantine,(and later on sanctuary) he was willing wait a months for the next test giving him the chance.

(As said, IF he has Felv, he can live yet a long live if he gets sanctuary with you or some other cat lover.

Although you dont want him to be with other cats who arent Felv-carriers.)

Some people, when desperate enough, just close in the cat in his own room... With his cat igloo, toys, litter and all other comfy things etc...  Or close him in a big cage in the cellar or in the garden shed, or  garage or so.

Having a innetted balcony or similiar, is often a big help. It is often enough for them.

How recently he got spayed?  If less than a month it could explain by itself his excessive meowing and wanting out...  That is the exact picture of toms and studs.   

That is this live we lived in almost four years, as our residents were studs when young, and also loved medlems of our family.  

Good luck!

He was neutered only 2 days ago so I suppose that's why he's still vocal. My family was thinking about keeping him in the garage if he continues to be persistent in his vocalization and biting and such.

Thank you for your advice, it is greatly appreciated. I am actually sitting in the living room with him now and he seems fine, just a tad angsty about getting out. I am hoping to be in bed, however, in the next half hour or so. I was thinking of sneaking off when he seemed sleepy enough. Fingers crossed!

Ah, two days ago!  *beaming*  So it will be better and better with time!   I dont promise everything will be perfect, but you will see the difference clearly.  

Sometimes it takes just several days, for others several weeks.

Last thing (sorry!), is there anyway to get him to calm down and not be so eager to go outside?

He'll look like he's sleeping for a bit and then his pupils are dilated and he goes to either door and starts planning an escape. Is there anything I can do as of 1 in the morning and hopefully be asleep myself in a few? I really don't want him to be vocal since my parents have to wake up early in the morning and the house we live in is a very small house. 

Thank you again for your help! 

As said, you can try with calming music. Have Tv on, so somehting is happening... the two quickest tryies.  Try to tire him out with some play.  Not easy, young cats have much energy in them.

Innetted balcony, or a bird feeder outside his window works nicely.

You mentioned you planned on have him in the garage? It may be the solution. Make sure he cant escape. So perhaps a have him in adog cage in this garage...

Sorry, there are no 100% effective tricks...  Although we hadnt Feliway to try out, it become common in the last years.

Good luck!

Thank you again, have a good night or day (depending on where you are)! : )

Tough one!   I'd say confine him in one small room with all his things and maybe a little radio set to play some classical music softly so it isn't totally silent.   Then get some ear plugs and try to sleep!   I sure hope something works out as no doubt you are saving his life.

I think we might resort to a dog kennel in the garage. : / It's 4 in the morning and I'm still up. 

Oh, boy, I know what you're going through. One of our ferals, Dukie, once had a bite wound in his neck (...and later, ringworms) from a fight, and needed to stay inside for at least a month until his stitches were removed. Now, he's relatively tame, but he's almost always outside and that cone on his head drove him BONKERS. He got so mad, he'd meow louder than humanely possible while scratching at the door, and then attempt to pull the cone off his head. Forward a few weeks, he was doing it less and less (unless he saw us feeding another cat outside, in which case he'd want to go out again), and soon he was quietly sitting on the floor, being calm. All of that calm went away once he was let back out, but, yeah.

Kay, story time over. I think the best thing for you to do is JUST IGNORE HIM. Like Bastfriend said, small room, quiet radio, earplugs. They eventually quiet down, even if just a liiittle bit. (Not another story, but we tried to keep a feral kitten inside once. Super loud, but quiet when there were no people around. We let her out the next day.) It can be hard to ignore cats, but it's just the best thing to do, sometimes.

Best of luck.

Thanks KittyAndCo, Bastfriend, and StefanZ! Glad to know some have been through this struggle. It's definitely very hard.

How small can the room be? I have a bathroom with a toilet and a shower in the garage, am I able to put him in there? And also, can I really  leave Miballs indoors by himself for a whole day without anyone taking care of him (this is because my family works from morning to night most days of the week)?

I finally fell asleep at 5 am when I locked him in the garage and trust me, I felt so bad. ): I'm not sure how my parents can handle this because I usually leave for school during the week due to having classes everyday. I'm scared they might just get fed up and put him out where he wants (which is our backyard/wild). 

Please again, any advice, tips, or help is greatly appreciated! : )

tisjaeso said:

How small can the room be? I have a bathroom with a toilet and a shower in the garage, am I able to put him in there?

Click to expand...

this is probably no lesser than the cage in well organized cat shelter (where the cage is really a small room).   So it should be OK.

Of course, it would be best if there was somebody able to keep one eye open, for example if he fastens with nails in something and hangs there...  But if you cant so you cant.  It is not always we can do make the best possible. Often we must contend ourselves with good enough.

Yes, you can leave him there during the day. With radio on, and some toys??  Dont worry too much.

They anyway sleep most of the day.   Although I myself never leave them alone a whole 24 hours.

Good luck!

Thank you again for your help StefanZ. It's great to have a cat lovers community where we can help each other out. 

[Sigh] Cats have been made to make us feel guilty even when we shouldn't, the little rascals...

That seems like a good size room. He should be fine for a day on his own, outdoor cats have probably been on their own for more than a day before. Just keep lots of food, water, and some hiding places (cardboard boxes are good) for him, and he'll be fine.

I think what you're doing is wonderful for this feral kitty that adopted you and your family. :heart2:

If the bathroom is large enough to put two litter boxes in one spot, and food and water in another, and there's a place for him to sleep, it's large enough. :nod:

A guest bedroom would be better, but a large dog kennel in the garage isn't going to be the worst thing in the world either. :heart2:

Wherever he is, make sure that you do spend some time with him. Playing, if he knows what toys are, or reading, just talking to him...

Feral cats usually respond very well to harp music - very soothing for them. I'd leave some playing for him if you can.

You can also consider adding some Bach's Rescue Remedy (Flower Essences) to his food.

As to the litter box.... we always provide newly rescued ferals with two boxes. They are NOT used to peeing and pooping in the same spot. So having two boxes is really helpful for that. We also use the Dr. Elsley's Cat Attract litter. It's more expensive, but until they "get" the box, it's worth it. You may have to buy some potting soil (organic, with no fertilizer in it) to put over the top at first. Or if he's used to going in a pile of leaves, put some of them on top. It needs to be familiar, though the scent of the Dr. Elsey's litter will help. Praise the heck out of him any time you see him use the box.

For any place he goes outside of the box, you must use an enzyme cleaner to clean it up. Urine Off is a good one that won't break the bank. Anything other than an enzyme cleaner will leave it smelling like pee or poop to him, even if we can't smell it, and that reinforces he should go or spray there.

If he poops outside the box, rather than pick it up and toss it, put it in one of his litter boxes. Next time he pees outside the box, soak up what you can with a paper towel, and kind of stuff that in the other box. Having his scents in the places you want them to be will REALLY help him figure it out. And use positive reinforcement as much as you can. Cats respond so much better to praise than to ... anything else. :lol3:

Though it's not about feral cats, a basic understanding of cat behavior might really help you, being new to cats as pets. You might want to invest in Pam Johnson-Bennett's Think Like a Cat.

But Stefan's right - as he was JUST neutered, those hormones are still driving him nuts. The smell of his pee should calm down within a few days, but it can take a month to six weeks for all those hormones to cycle out. But once they do, you'll have an entirely different cat on your hands - one that is MUCH happier, not so crazy, and one that will make a much better pet.

I personally think that it's almost cruel to try to keep truly feral cats indoors if they're older than three years old, and have been out on their own their entire lives. But this isn't always the case - it is so very dependent on each cat. We rescued a "4 or 5" year old feral cat that was very ill, and he was just happy to be safe and have access to food all the time. :heart2: It's taken him three years to really start to feel comfortable - but he never cried to get out. He fell asleep on my lap just two days ago. I know he's got FeLV - or maybe does - and that changes the equation. See how things go as those hormones cycle out!

I don't know what your yard set up is like, but there is special cat fencing that can be added as a top to regular fencing, that will prevent your kitty from getting out of your yard. I have no idea if this is something you want to consider, but it might be what all of you need. It might also be simpler or less expensive to build an enclosure for him.