Indoor cat to outdoor cat

This is my first post here, I have a two year old cat that goes outside for about an hour or two every day his whole life but after a while he sits at the glass door to come in, now I want to adapt him to stay outside and only come in to apply flea meds and Come to the house for food. He has a spot to get away from the sun and rain. Any suggestions?

Vanessa33 said:

This is my first post here, I have a two year old cat that goes outside for about an hour or two every day his whole life but after a while he sits at the glass door to come in, now I want to adapt him to stay outside and only come in to apply flea meds and Come to the house for food. He has a spot to get away from the sun and rain. Any suggestions?

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I guess my first question would be why?  Why would you want to make your cat outdoor only, does he misbehave inside? How is the climate in your area?  Will winters be harsh, and summers too hot???

I personally only have indoor and think it's safer, but that's just me.  Plus you can't bond if the cat is outdoor only.

There are many, many members who have experience with outdoor who can give you advice.

He cries to go out side all the time so we just want to leave him outside I live in Miami. And don't mind not bonding

Vanessa33 said:

He cries to go out side all the time so we just want to leave him outside I live in Miami so winters not harsh at all. And don't mind not bonding.

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Gotcha...

I'm sure someone with experience with this will have answers for you.

Best of luck...

I think it's cruel to force and indoor cat to live outside. Why do you think this is the best solution?

Because he always wants to be outside

This is normal behavior-they cry to go outside because he wants to "orbit" his territory. He has to go out and check out his area then come in.

My cat does this too. We prop the door open for a couple of hours in the noontime so she can come in and go out..usually by 2 she comes in for her nap..then when I come home at 5ish she wants out again-so I let her out and she stays right around the house.

forcing a cat to stay out all the time after being indoors sounds cruel. Is it possible to rehome the cat? If you are not happy with said cat I am sure he could be rehomed. And its awfully hot in the summer to make him stay outdoors. That is more cruel to me. Do you know that cats and dogs get heat stroke just like we do? He would probably want to sleep during the day inside where its cooler. then go out in the morning and late afternoon.

I will just say that I hope you rethink this.

Cats are notorious for cruising their "turf" and he only wants to show you that he is protecting your property. They like to go outside and see whats going on then make sure no one is on his turf then come back in for a while.

Cant you just get a cat flap?

Don't have a door to put one.

foxxycat said:

 
This is normal behavior-they cry to go outside because he wants to "orbit" his territory. He has to go out and check out his area then come in.

My cat does this too. We prop the door open for a couple of hours in the noontime so she can come in and go out..usually by 2 she comes in for her nap..then when I come home at 5ish she wants out again-so I let her out and she stays right around the house.

forcing a cat to stay out all the time after being indoors sounds cruel. Is it possible to rehome the cat? If you are not happy with said cat I am sure he could be rehomed. And its awfully hot in the summer to make him stay outdoors. That is more cruel to me. Do you know that cats and dogs get heat stroke just like we do? He would probably want to sleep during the day inside where its cooler. then go out in the morning and late afternoon.

I will just say that I hope you rethink this.

Cats are notorious for cruising their "turf" and he only wants to show you that he is protecting your property. They like to go outside and see whats going on then make sure no one is on his turf then come back in for a while.

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I agree, try and re-home the cat.  Call local non-kill shelters in your area and ask about having her adopted or fostered out.  

Perhaps someone can adopt the cat and be able to train it for indoor life.  My dad used to take in the local strays, and once inside they loved all the amenities life indoors had to offer, especially human affection.

If you have no interest in bonding with the animal, why keep it around?  To me it's creating another feral cat on the streets.

And please know, I pass no judgement whatsoever.  Cats, like all other animals deserve the best care.  

Has the cat been to the vet and received all necessary shots.

Good luck to you and the kitty...

It's really not in the cat's best interests to be allowed outside unsupervised. It's unfortunately common, but there are so many dangers to cats out there. They are not native species and are not suited to the outdoor environment.

Parasites and illnesses are everywhere outside, especially in warm climates like Florida! They can be transmitted by ticks, fleas, mosquitoes, and other cats, and there's also a good chance for a cat to contract something just by walking through a contaminated puddle and licking its paws afterwards. Not to mention diseases that can be picked up by eating small animals. 

Then there are predators, like dogs, coyotes, and birds of prey. There's a livestream of a bald eagle's nest in Pennsylvania that just broadcast the mother feeding a dead cat to her eaglets.

And of course, unnatural dangers like cars and poisonous chemicals are everywhere. Anti-freeze, for example, can leak out of cars and it tastes sweet so animals will lick it up and it can kill them easily. Also, if your cat is spending most of its time outside, you are going to be much less aware of your cat's health and less likely to spot a problem. Someone came to us once at a shelter to donate the cat food she didn't need anymore because she accidentally ran over her own cat with her car. The cat used to be very good at avoiding cars, but his hearing deteriorated and they hadn't realized it, and it was asleep and didn't get out of the way in time.

On top of all that, cats are incredibly destructive to native environments. Even just the presence of cats who don't hunt is enough to make native wildlife nervous and this has resulted in major declines in songbird species populations across the US. Cats that do like to hunt do a lot more of it than their owners realize, bringing home only a fourth of what they kill.

Former outdoor prowlers can adjust to being indoor-only kitties, or having just supervised outdoor time. It can take some time, depending on the cat. Providing lots of enrichment inside can help, and ignoring the meows to go out will eventually lead to him crying less and less.

My boy can open both my front door and the screen door and will do so if I leave them unlocked.. he has this kind of urgency to get outside.  But he really doesn't have a clue what to do once he gets out there.  He tends to run to one part of the garden and wait for me to go and pick him up and bring him inside.

I know your situation is not the same, but in a way it is... cats will want to go outside just as an instinct, but it doesn't mean they really want to and it certainly doesn't mean it's a good thing for them to do.  My boy would live on icecream and cheese crispies if I let him...   

We need to make these decisions for our cats to keep them safe and loved.