Ahh bless this is too cute lolRight now, I don't foresee him voluntarily staying indoors full time anytime soon, but anything's possible, I'm sure.
When the weather gets cold, I'm sure that he'll want to stay in almost all the time, because -10 degree weather isn't very appealing to a cat. I'm hoping that will get him into the habit of staying indoors.
Adopting a senior cat is awesome! My senior cat is really mellow and relaxed. He lets me carry him around in a baby carrier and is just a real cuddly boy. Tiger would probably jump out of the baby carrier in 3 seconds!
I agree. Kiwi is so beautiful. When he was first trying to run into the house, I thought he must be someone's cat. He had been neutered, so it seems he had a home and got lost. Some of my neighbors said they had seen him around the neighborhood for a long time, but I had never seen him before. It was such a horribly bitter cold night that my daughter's boyfriend opened my front door and he ran in. I brought Kiwi to the warmest heater we had (in one of my bathrooms) and he lied down there on a towel and purrrrrrrrred. He was SO HAPPY to be out of the cold. We fed him, but he couldn't keep down any food and the vet told me that it was due to starving and we had to feed him very slowly- eventually he kept the food down and gained some weight. He was all bones- to the point where I was afraid I would break him by picking him up.
We tried for a long time to find his owners but no success. After healing up some infections, especially to his face (claw marks) and feeding him (he couldn't hold food down and vomited everything for weeks) his fur became so full and colorful. I was looking on the internet for what kind of breed he could be and I think he must be related to the (orange) Norwegian Forest Cat. He has the same kind of fur and markings. This is Kiwi sitting on my front windowsill. He likes to sit there and wait for us to let him in : ) He also likes to sit on my windowsill in the back of the house watching us until we notice him and let him in : )
You can see you have done such a good job with him, he looks so healthy now!
You do need to register a microchip with all of your contact information and keep that information updated. A vet or shelter may find the cat and be able to detect the microchip with a scan but if the microchip is unregistered or has old contact information, there is no way for the vet or shelter to return the cat home to its owner. Ask the person who puts the microchip into the cat (usually the vet) for the microchip information and registration paperwork. There may be a one time fee to register a microchip. Some microchip companies offer paid yearly subscriptions with many features but the basic feature of the microchip is usually free after registering. Check with the microchip company for the details.
