Please Help

Hello,

I have 4 cats at home and I also feed outside cats.

One of my outside cats that I love very much used to come to my apartment for 2 years every day  to eat delicious canned cat food  but after eating, always wanted to get back outside.  I never could convince her to stay more than an hour or two in my home.  In the last year, she stopped coming to my apartment  because of other outside cats that frightened her.  Alternatively I brought her tasty food outside.

3 months ago, she disappeared and I found her after a week on the opposite side of the street.  In order to get there, she had to cross a busy road.  I consequently found that she decided to move there.

I tried to help her return to my area, she returned for a couple of days and then went there again (someone else feeds cats there from time to time). I gave up trying to bring her back but every weekend when the road is empty I brought her the food she likes. What annoyed me was that she became used to crossing the road coming back whenever she ran out of food over there, and returning, risking her life crossing the road, the next day.

A few days ago, she was so hungry that she came to my side of the road and after I gave her some food she followed me, I managed to catch and brought her home.

Since then she cries all the time and wants to go out.  During the day, she's with my other cats in the bedroom, who don't like her, they are afraid of her, but I don't have a lot of space at home to put her somewhere else.  It gets worse at night, when she is alone in the bathroom because I use the bedroom. 

She is not happy, her cry is awful and heartbreaking.

I don’t know what to do.  If I let her go, she will probably continue risking her life by crossing the busy road, or do I make her stay and hope she will get use to the new situation someday.

Please advise me what to do.

Thank you very much,

Gali

Hi and welcome 

Thanks so much for trying to help this cat.

I am going to ask that this be moved to strays and ferals where someone more knowledgeable than me will probably be able to help you! With that that said, one question I do have is whether she is a feral or if she is a friendly stray who appears to have had a home at some point. For example, does she let you pet her? does she seem afraid of you?

Regarding the other cats it is usually best if introductions can be done using the steps int his article http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats

The situation you currently describe with them all in the bedroom together is unfortunately probably very stressful for everyone.  It would probably be better to leave her in the bathroom at all times at least for now and try to follow the steps in that article.

Some cats who have lived their lives outside do not adjust well to being confined inside.  Have you had her spayed and vaccinated?  This would be a good time to do that while you are seeing if she will adjust.  Also, if possible, you should avoid forcing her to be with your other cats.  You can alternate who is in the bedroom and who is in the main part of the house.  If all else fails, after she is spayed and vaccinated, you could return her to the other side of the road and feed her there daily so she is not tempted to cross the road again.

I feed outside cats too, and every day I walk across the busy street to do so. I've had two killed now coming on my side to eat and it broke my heart. It does happen! So far they have stayed over there if I feed them there. I would keep your baby inside if at all possible, or feed her across the street. Good luck and bless you for helping her!

Thank you for rescuing this cat.
And, as tulosai asked: do you know if she was once owned or has always lived in the streets. I would still recommend the same things as mentioned below, but if previously owned, then the re-socialization should take shorter.
I agree that if at all possible this new cat should be isolated from the other cats. For one reason, the new cat may have diseases or infections that are contagious. I assume your cats are spayed/neutered, otherwise you could end up with kittens. The new cat can be kept in the bathroom with a litter box and water. If you don't have a room available, do you have/can your borrow a large dog crate? You can put the new cat in there, with litter box/water, and cover the crate. Scared cats like darkness.
It usually takes at least several days or weeks for an outdoor cat to get use to being indoors, they will still cry but not as often or loudly. The general rule of thumb is removed cats must be kept in a place where they can't escape for at least two weeks, otherwise, they will attempt to return to where they were caught--whether it across the street or two miles away.
If you can buy Feliway that may help. I'd also play soft music while you're away.
And only feed her when you are with her: the cat will associate you with something good--food.
Good luck and let us know how it is going.

Hello All,

Thanks for your kind advice.  This cat,  her name is Lysy, was never a house cat, I was the only one who tried to adopt her 2 years ago.  Back then I took her to the vet and the is vaccinated and spayed. 

When she is alone she cries more desperately, when she is with my other cats, she is calmer.  At first when I realized that she moved to the other side of the street, I tried to bring her canned food every day, (unless it is the middle of night the road is always busy) but sometimes when I walked away from her, she started following me back into the busy road, that's why I eventually came only on weekend days.

I'm not sure that even if I manage to come to her every day she will not for other reasons than being hungry, cross the road, if say another cat will frighten and chase her. 

What do you think is best for her?  to be free as she used to be for the last 3.5 years but in dangerous situation or to be in captivity in a small apartment with other cats, not able to run as she used to, but with a lot of games, bed and blankets, safe from the road and other outside dangers.

Thank you very much for all your help.

Gali

That's a hard decision, I know. It's a judgment call, case by case basis.
If the area is truly very dangerous--coyotes, foxes; mean people who get a kick out of poisoning cats; very high traffic area--then I think you should try to get a cat indoors if at all possible.
It is always preferable that cats live indoors for safety reasons.
But not always referred by the cat.
I would give it another two weeks and see how Lysy is handling being indoors. If she still seems unhappy, then revisit the decision.
I gather from your last post that Lysy is being around your other cats, not isolated. How are your other cats reacting to Lysy? I would look at threads about introducing cats to one another; it may be she would get comfort from other cats--but that is a two way street. In my opinion, the resident cats take precedence.
I do worry that Lysy may have worms, which can be contagious, in a sense. A call to your vet might be wise. When you took her to the vet to get her spayed (GOOD FOR YOU by the way), did you also get her tested for FIV/FeLK?
Meanwhile, I would get Feliway and maybe some calming treats available at most any pet store. One popular brand is Rescue Remedy. Look for the alcohol-free kind if possible. I also read good things about spirit essences , if you can afford it.
Visit Lysy as much as possible one on one. Bring really smelly, good treats/food for her. Play soft music.
You'll need lots of patience, but the reward will be worth it (we hope!) Get us posted.