Help! Feral Cat, New house

lauracat

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Let me start at the beginning.

We got our little calico Gumbo about nine years ago from a woman who no longer wanted her (I say that loosely because the woman planned to shoot her). My brother and I took her home and kept her as an inside/outside cat (she ate inside and used the bathroom outside).

She never liked people, she was always very shy and timid. Any time she was ever in the house for any period of time, she would pee or poop on the furniture.

Well, all we did was keep her strictly outside, although we have two large outside dogs, she stays away from them, but stays close enough so that she's at home.

Now we've moved into a new house and since it is an area that is new to her, we thought it would be best to not let her outside for fear that she would run off and never come back. 

We tried to litter box train her and she used it once and I was so proud of her! Then this morning she pooped on my parents' bed...

I need help! We've had her for so long and she's probably about 10 years old now, but she's very unfriendly and has problems using the litter box properly!

I know moving her from outside to inside was a big transition, but we didn't want to lose her! 

HELP!
 
 

Primula

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Is there any way you could afford to buy one of those cat enclosures that you put outside, but the cat cannot get out of it? I know some of them are tunnels the cat can run up & down in. Then she could be an indoor/outdoor cat again, which is what she wants. It's hard for her to change after 10 years especially with the stress of a move to a new house. Cats don't like change.
 

shadowsrescue

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Is there any way you could afford to buy one of those cat enclosures that you put outside, but the cat cannot get out of it? I know some of them are tunnels the cat can run up & down in. Then she could be an indoor/outdoor cat again, which is what she wants. It's hard for her to change after 10 years especially with the stress of a move to a new house. Cats don't like change.
You can try to add some dirt and leaves to the litter box since she is used to going potty outside.

You can can try some Dr. Elsey's Litter Attract.  It has a special litter that has herbs in it that attract cats to the litter box. 

Another trick is when she poops or pees outside of the litter box, sop the pee up with a paper towel and bury it in the box.  Do the same with the poop.  She will be attracted to her own scent.

Here is a great article on litter box help.  http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-solve-litterbox-problems-in-cats-the-ultimate-guide

I would start by confining her to a small room.  She should not be let out of the room until she is consistently using the litter box. 
 
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