Trying to bring in an outdoor cat

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pi-pi

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Hi I'm a new member looking for some advice. This summer a little feral or stray cat came into my yard. He was less than a year. After about a month I had him trapped neutered and then released again into my yard. That was September and he was determined by the vet to be approximately 10 months old. So now I have a yearling. He is a beautiful black cat with bright yellow eyes and is in very good health. I have purchased a wonderful outdoor shelter for him that's insulated with the sleeping loft. I know he goes in there because I leave treats there and they're usually gone the next day. I can't be sure whether or not he actually sleeps there though. I have also installed a pet door that goes into my garage and he can go in there when it's raining out or windy. In the garage I also have a little heated bed that is up off the floor on a plank. Can't be sure if he uses that either. I have created an outdoor feeding station for him which he uses with gusto. Sometimes if the weather is bad enough I feed him in the garage. Just recently I've been leaving the back door open to my kitchen and a few treats on the floor. That has brought him inside but he doesn't stay inside long just long enough to eat his treats. Our relationship has gotten to the point where he will let me pet him if I place a few treats on the floor. I tickle him just behind the ears and stroke his back.

The problem is winter is coming and now the nights are getting cold. Last night was frigid. Today it's pouring rain and they say we are getting a nor'easter. He was here this morning and had his breakfast consisting of some kibble and a small can of trout and chicken. Then he went off in the pouring rain even though he had eaten inside the house, in my kitchen where it's warm. This puzzles and worries me because I am afraid that if he continues to stay outside he will become too cold and get sick. I will continue to give him access to my kitchen and feed him there as often as possible so that perhaps he will get used to it and start staying. I put a little bed there and hope he will use it. He most often is here between 6:30 and 7 AM to receive his breakfast and then he goes off for the day. I have a woods behind my home and that's where he seems to go. Although there are critters in the woods that can cause him harm I feel much safer with him there than if he were to go out to the front of my house where I have a very busy street. He is usually very punctual about returning for his dinner between 3 and 4:30 PM now that it is getting dark earlier. He has his dinner and then pretty much hangs around the property I think for the rest of the evening. He sometimes comes in to the garage and plays with some toys I've left there and he sometimes comes into the kitchen if I leave the door open for him to do so. But he never stays inside he always exits at some point.

Any suggestions on how I can coax him to come inside and stay for a while now that it's getting to be winter? His name is Piwacket and I call him Pi, Pi-Pi, and sometimes the Pi-man.
 

linda carella

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I have an out door cat for seven years now. He is always out side. He has a heated house and a heated pad on a bench on my porch. He comes in more often now maybe for just an hour at a time now. But goes to the door a lot. I also would like to know how to make him an indoor cat. Today it is raining like crazy and he will not come in.
 

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@Pi-Pi, welcome to TCS..


I've moved your thread over here to Strays and Ferals as the people here have a lot of experience with situations like this.
 

stacyb

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Hi pi pi
Why not try and trap him, bring him indoors and have a designated room for him with food, water, liter, toys a safe hiding spot or two, a bed and maybe a window perch or cat tower so he could enjoy looking outside....he might come to find he likes it and doesn't want to leave. It might be worth a shot! Especially with winter coming.
I took in a feral 3 months ago that won't even let me pet him and he is very now very happy living indoors....he is still very skittish, but that might never change although I hope it does. He never tries to get out and now actual seems to enjoy indoor life quite a bit. He still prefers to stay in his room most of the day and come out and explore our house at night, but he never cries, never tries to bolt for the door and is completely content now......as I type this he is laying in his bed, cleaning himself after his evening meal, and playing with a toy


good luck to you!!!
 
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pi-pi

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Thank you Stacyb but since he was trapped for TNR in September I'd rather not do it again unless it's for medical reasons. I don't want to scare him off. He has stared coming into a gated off area in my kitchen and he can go into the attached garage to an area I've set up for him.

:nod:
 

ondine

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Working to socialize feral cats is a long, slow process. A quick trapping and vet update will be traumatic but not harmful. Once he is settled into his room, things will calm down and you can get on with the work of making him an official house cat.

If you can't do it this way, then it is going to take some time to get him used to staying indoors. Have you tried closing the kitchen door once he's inside? That will certainly give you an idea of how he'll react.

If you have the means, perhaps you can build a catio - a screened or caged area outside that he can retreat to when he needs the great outdoors.

With your care and support, he could very well have a happy life outside. They are survivors and he has a lot more than many feral cats have - a human who cares about him.
 

catwoman707

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Trapping him even if you wanted to, is not going to happen, it's too soon after he was trapped just 2-3 months ago, he hasn't forgotten yet and won't for some time to come.

Basically what you are providing him now is great, and believe it, if it gets too cold for him he WILL use his warming bed or come in, he already knows it's warmer inside.

I would set treats on the warming bed as well, so his paws can feel the warmth and tells you he knows it's there when needed.

If you feel you want to close him inside, you can shut the door and leave him be, see how he reacts. He may yowl a bit, as he's not accustomed to being inside, but that's okay. It's only because it's so new, not necessarily that he doesn't like it or won't adapt.

Food is always a great way to manipulate a cat to do what you want, or to help them adapt.

If you are unable to go to the door once he is inside to shut it, rig up a string, high up on the door and the door jam, and move away from it, once his face is buried in the food you pull the string and shut the door quietly.

Be sure there is a good sized litterbox available, you don't need that issue and it's natural to bury their scent so he should hop in to use easily.
 

stacyb

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I understand....I wouldn't want to scare him off either. He looks just like my cat!!! So cute

No matter what you are doing such a wonderful thing by feeding and caring for him. Life would be a lot harder without you.....Keep us posted of what happens!
 
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pi-pi

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I have already been putting treats in his heated kitty house in my garage. I also have a little blanket in the house which gets warm from the heated pad. He does step in and get the treats, I've seen him do that. But, he doesn't stay and lie down. However, as you say catwoman 707, if he gets REALLY cold maybe he will remember the warmth and go to the house. I hope so. I have a wonderful, very friendly little Shih Tzu who would love to be friends with Pi. I have tried to introduce them twice now. I hold Happy (dog) and Pi doesn't feel as threatened. But, if I put Happy on the floor (even with the gate between them) Pi runs off. So, bringing Pi into the house is going to take a while. Not only does he have to get used to being closed in a house but he has to learn to tolerate a dog as well. Oh boy!
 
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pi-pi

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Here's a photo of Piwacket and one of his outside "house in the pines". LOL! Its a good spot for the house under the evergreen bush. The bush is where I first saw him this past summer. The house is insulated with builders grade insulation, has mylar on the walls to reflect back his own body heat and a sleeping loft that is off the ground.


 

catwoman707

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As a matter of fact (as questioned in your purraise comment, thank you btw!) a cat's temperature sensors are in their whiskers and their paws.

They are THE most sensitive places on a cat.

So yes, he is able to feel the warmth :)

It's likely that your dog may be a major part of Pi not wanting to stay inside.

If he has not ever known a cat friendly dog before, he will be highly defensive and it will take some time before he figures out he is not going to harm him.
 

catwoman707

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What a sweet looking handsome devil he is!!

He does not look feral at all to me. He must have been an owned cat at some time and either dumped or abandoned. Poor thing.

Well not anymore, he has you!!

That outdoor house looks really great, and well done.

Not sure where you are regarding just how cold is cold there.
 
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pi-pi

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I am in New York State about 23 miles northeast of New York City in Westchester County. We have just had a nor'easter and now the temperature is about 31 degrees. Its quite nippy. He was inside a few minutes ago and I kept my dog out of the room so there was no problem. My little dog is so good about all this. He doesn't bark or growl at the cat at all. in fact I'm sure he wants to make friends with him. But Happy has an exuberant personality and it may be a bit too much for Pi at this point as he is very skittish.

Pi's coat is VERY thick right now which is great because he needs it. I have a new storm/screen door that goes into a vestibule and from there you can enter the garage or another door into my kitchen. I was going to get a new storm door this winter anyway but when Pi came into my life I decided to get on with a pet door in it. Now I just have to teach him how to use it as it has magnets in it to keep it closed and it takes a good push to open it. At this point I have it taped open but am going to try to take out a few of the magnets to make the holding strength a little less. Wish me luck! Anyway when I said goodnight to him he was sitting in the vestibule on a carpet and padding I put there with a SnuggleSafe disk for warmth. He was just sitting and looking out the pet door into the night. Probably to be sure no predators were in the vicinity. He has a half cup of kibble in the garage and a bowl of water if he gets hungry tonight and he just put away about 15 treats. Boy or boy does he love treats. I have to be careful how many I give him!

My friends who have cats say he isn't feral just like you said. But he's been on his own a long time. He's been coming here since early July at about 7 months old. He had not be neutered until I had him trapped. I feel so badly for him in this cold and wet but he goes out even in the rain. I just want to pick him up and cuddle him warm. But, at this point he'd never let me do that. As I said, he's very skittish.

BTW the house is from Feral Villa in Indiana. Great company. They have a website.
 

berghill

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It took us 3 years to get our ' barn cat' to come into the house beyond the hallway. She lived outside through a few very bad winters with nothing as fancy as your heated box. She had a cat door into a dry frost proof shed, where she was also fed each day. Somewhere I have photos of her in the snow, rolling about. Mind once she discovered the comfort of a log fire, she was hooked on heat! Before that when we tried to close the door and force her to stop in, she went ballistic with panic.

So, basically patience is what you need, keep giving the opportunity to come in and go out at will and eventually the cat will feel safe and confident enough to stop in.
 

linda carella

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Your cat pipi is beautiful. I love the shelter you have for him. My cat Bella comes in just for a little while each day. But like you I have a little dog too. They get along very very well but he does get a littlehyper because he is so happy that Bella comes in. But I also have an indoor cat that has never been with other cats . They do know each other because they see each other through the door but when bell comes in I make sure my Gwen is in another room. My heart aches every time it is cold out. But Bella chooses to be outside.so ever thine bell comes in I make sure when she ccries at the door she is aloud out. But it is funny now because when I open the door she is choosing to stay. I hope someday she will be an indoor cat. You are doing all the right things for your cat.
 
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pi-pi

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Has anyone ever found little white, hard chips that are shell or paint chip like in consistency in their outdoor cat's leftover wet food? I feed Pi-Pi Blue Wilderness grain free food and when I put it in his dish out of the can there are no white chips in it. However, sometimes I see them after he is finished with it and a small amount is left in his dish. This doesn't happen all the time just sometimes.
 

ondine

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Could it be skin flakes?  Sometimes critters have dandruff or dry skin.  Other than worms of some sort but that doesn't make sense either.  Sorry!
 
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pi-pi

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Hi Ondine. I don't think its skin flakes as his coat is spotless all the time and he's black so they would show. Plus they are too hard in texture. I was wondering about some kind of worm but they don't come out of the cat's mouth do they?
 

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I'm a little confused he comes into your kitchen? Why do you not just shut the door when he comes in and don't let him back out?
 
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