Bringing a cat inside?

Hey guys,

In 2012 right after hurricane Sandy, an adorable long hair tortoise shell cat appeared on my block and my father befriended it. Ever since then we have all made HUGE progress in gaining trust with this animal. Long story short, it jumps right in my lap and kneads and then goes to sleep. And does this with all of my family. We have a nice little house for it outside that heats up and keeps her warm. Especially now i have it totally winterized and its covered like an igloo. we feed it and its clear she loves us and we love her too. Now my problem is that I want her to come inside my house. She follows me everywhere when I'm outside, almost to the point of following my car when i drive off. But she doesn't seem to want to come inside. I leave the door open wide and she will sit on the mat right outside the landing but she just won't come in. There were two occasions where she came inside almost completely but one foot still out the door. I know I could just pick her up and bring her in kicking and screaming but that would kill me emotionally and I would never do that to her because I respect her and her space, especially if I don't know if she doesn't truly want to come inside. I really want her to come in because she deals with other cats that hurt her or attack her and eat her food and harass her. I really like all cats but this one truly is mine. Not to mention, right now its like 25 degrees out. And while i believe her little igloo is very warm, I don't want her to have to deal with that.  She is such a good cat and the biggest sweetheart. Is there any tactic to get her inside of her own free will? Ive tried leaving the food on the inside and things like that but i don't know what else to do. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Thank you so much for caring for this beautiful cat.  First off you didn't mention if the cat has been spayed or neutered.  If not then if could be the cause of some of problems outside.  I would definitely look into trapping the cat and taking it to the vet to check to see if it has been spayed/neutered as well as for some shots.  You can then just keep the cat inside when it comes home from the vet.

I care for 2 outdoor ferals right now.  All have been TNR'd.  Last winter a 3rd showed up.  I trapped him in March and had him neutered as well.  He did not get along with the other two so after trying to find a shelter to take him or a rescue group I ended up having to bring him inside.  I also have an indoor only cat as well as a large dog.  The first step in bringing the cat inside, is of course getting it inside.  You can use a humane trap and then take the cat directly to the vet or low cost spay/neuter clinic.  You also could use a cat carrier and begin to feed the cat inside the carrier.  Once the cat is comfortable with eating inside, you can then just close the door and bring the cat inside.  The best way to bring a cat inside is to first give it a room/space of its own.  In this space you will want to block all spaces where the cat could get stuck.  If it's a spare room you can put the bed directly on the floor or pick the bed up.  You don't want the cat hiding under the bed.  Do allow a safe place for the cat to hide.  An old box with a soft towel or blanket works well.  You could also buy more elaborate hiding boxes or cat trees/condos.  You will also need a litter box.  Since the cat is used to going outside and you don't know if it has used a litter box before, you will want to either mix the litter with a bit of dirt or get some Cat Attract litter.  Place the litter box away from where you would place food/water.  Also make sure you have a cozy bed.  You will want to keep the cat in the room for a few days with frequent visits by you/others.  You didn't mention if you have any other pets in the house.  If so you would want to take things slowly and go through the proper channels of introducing.  If you do have other pets let me know and I can post a link for you with some helpful suggestions. 

When I brought the stray into the house in late May, I used a medium sized dog carrier.  I was able to lure him in with tuna and then blocked the entrance with a firm chair pad and then closed the door.  I carried the cat and carrier to an upstairs waiting room.  My situation was different as I had other animals in the house.  I continued to feed him in the carrier as I knew he had to get to the vet for a check up and shots before being around my other animals.  On the day of the vet appt. it was easy to get him in the carrier and to the vet.

Thank you for sharing your story and advice. I do not have any other pets so the only people she would have to see is the same people she already does. Also my sister says that she is spayed and she can tell by a little clip that was made on her left ear. A little piece is clipped off. Not sure if that really is a symbol for that but she says she heard that from another person. Thanks again

Yea!  The ear clip is the universal sign that a cat has been spayed or neuter.  I wonder if she was a feral.  She seems more stray like since she will sit on your lap and follows you around.  I would still try to get her to the vet to be sure she is healthy and up to date on shots. 

Since you don't have any other pets, socializing her into your household will be much easier.  You just don't want to overwhelm her.  You also want to give her a space where she feels safe and can go to when she is scared.  The stray I brought inside still uses his room.  He does sleep there all night as well as going in and out throughout the day. 

I hope you decide to bring her in.  Getting her used to a carrier shouldn't be too hard.  It sounds like you care for her so much and she has really bonded with you.  I worry so much about my 2 outdoor boys.  I live in Ohio and this past week was so bitter cold at night.  They do have a warm and cozy shelter, but it doesn't stop me from worrying.  I would love to bring them inside some day and both will come inside for short visits, but they will never stay long.  Also the 2 cats I have inside are a handful and both would freak with 2 more cats.  I just take it slow and wait until I know the time is right.

Keep us posted on whether you get her inside.  Just be sure to give her a space of her own for a few days.  She definitely will want to get her vaccinated, wormed and treated for possible fleas. 

Wow yeah it must be quite cold over there. I'm in Long Island New York so usually whatever you guys get, I will end up getting a few days later with weather.

Do you think because this cat is like a year and a half old, that it would be more difficult for her to adjust? I'm pretty positive it's a stray because after the hurricane there were Dogs and Cats and many other animals displaced and she popped up like a few days after everything calmed down.

I don't blame you worrying either, I just went outside to feed mine and she was meowing at me from inside her house but she came out for a few minutes to eat and zoomed right back in haha. I hope you can bring the others in someday

The adjustment will depend on whether she has lived inside a house before.  Usually people with house cats do not tip the ears of their cats when they are spayed/neutered so someone cared enough for her once to spay her.  Since she is so friendly towards you, I think her adjustment won't be too hard.  She may try like crazy to get back outside though and you will want to commit to trying very hard not to let her back outside.  The stray I brought inside I know had been living outside on his own for well over a year.  He was very feral like since he had been on his own for so long.  Yet, once inside and in a safe room he has never ever tried to get outside.  It was as though he knew that he now had a loving family and the good life was inside!  I was worried at first and kept him away from the doors, but he never ever tries to leave.

Thank you so much for helping her!  Whether you can bring her inside right away or not, I would definitely take her to the vet.  First of all, she needs her vaccinations and will probably need to be wormed.  I would ask the vet to check for a spay scar, too.  It occurred to me that if she was caught in the storm, her ear may have been torn.  Because she sounds more like a stray, I'd check, just to be on the safe side, and ask the vet give her a good overall checkup.

Once that's done, you can give her her own space inside.  A spare bathroom or bedroom is good.  A large dog crate in a room or the basement is good too, if you have the room.  Any of these will give her time to adjust to being inside.  This will also give you the opportunity to get to know her and decided if she can be an inside only kitty.

Again, thank you so much for helping her!

Thanks everyone! I will definitely try these things. I do think a trip to the vet once I have her captured would be a good way to get two things done at once. Then when I get home I can just close the door and let her settle in without having to bother her.

Trying to upload a picture from my phone too hopefully it works

Oh look at the tortitude.  So glad you are planning to bring her in - with that long hair, she will mat terribly.  She is gorgeous!

She is just beautiful!  Hopefully you can catch her quickly and easily.  Keep us posted!

She is a beauty! Love the way her ear hair curls out. Too cute! I sure can't see that her ear had been tipped by that photo, though. The vet should be able to tell pretty well if it was tipped or torn. She knows all of you, there are no other animals to deal with inside.... she's going to LOVE  being inside! Lucky, lucky girl. 

Thank you all! I will certainly keep you all posted.

Hey Guys!!

Long overdue post here on my cat. Back when i originally posted we were going to bring her inside, we actually got her in a few times but it was on her own terms and we kinda let her go as she pleased because she would get upset if she was constrained inside and knew she couldn't get back out. So being so weeky wobbly in my heart to hear her upset me or someone else would let her go back out. 

However about two weeks ago, she wasn't eating any food and was really unresponsive to us and it was the night before a really bad snow/rain storm here. so we took matters into our own hands and caught her and called every cat hospital in town to get her an appointment. and there was a relatively new one almost right around the corner. so we brought her there and she was such a good patient and so sweet. they got her antibiotics and checked for a few other things common in cats and she had a pretty bad fever. So we got her what she needed and now we brought her in and did everything the right way and gave her her own little room to stay in. She even used the litterbox without us having the do anything! She's so smart. 

And now she's feeling much better and she's here to stay for good. we can also pick her up and everything which originally seemed like we could never do it, but my father just went for it and she was like "okay" haha. So i snapped a few pictures for you guys of her last night when i spent some time with her after work.

oh, my!  What a gorgeous bundle of fluff.  Thanks for the update!

I am so happy that all is going well.  Thank goodness you got her to a vet and now into her furever home!  She is gorgeous.

I just love these happy stories...

It would be great to have photo updates.

Thanks guys! I'm really happy for her, she's really feeling at home now. slowly trying to get her to explore the rest of the house properly, she seems to like her room now so maybe shell expand her horizons a little bit. Ill def post pics as she becomes more acclimated.