Last October someone dumped a cat at my house and I've since neutered, vaccinated and adopted him. While he was outside he made friends with another juvenile who was a stray. I've managed to tame her and also had her vaccinated and fixed. Long story short- for various reasons I would like to bring her inside but she's nervous as she's never lived indoors. Any tips for making the transition easier? Thanks!
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Bringing A Tame Stray Inside
- Thread starter IonaSky
- Start Date
Hi - and welcome!! You will probably get a lot of tips from members as time goes along, but I thought I'd copy these articles - caveat, I haven't read the feral ones myself but usually TCS articles are pretty good.
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide
Should You Try And Tame A Feral Cat?
Handling Feral Cats
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide
Should You Try And Tame A Feral Cat?
Handling Feral Cats
and here's one more, not necessarily so much for itself as for the embedded links to additional articles.
The Dos And Don'ts Of Cat Behavior Modification
All the best wishes for a straightforward go of it, and let us know what happens!
The Dos And Don'ts Of Cat Behavior Modification
All the best wishes for a straightforward go of it, and let us know what happens!
lonaSky, welcome to TCS!Thank you for having a part in taking in strays and for giving them a warm and fur-ever loving home
I believe this female cat is not a feral but a stray. So half of your battle is won already. One way to get her inside is have you door opened and make it welcoming to her and start feeding her regularly at your door step. Place towels or blankets at her dish and let her step on it so that the towel or blankets can soak up her scents. Once she’s used to the routine of eating there and is comfortable with you around, slowly move the feeding together with the towels or blankets just inside of your house. Do this over a period of time and slowly move deeper into the house till the spot you want her to be fed every day. Get more towels and move the older ones inside and let the new ones soak up her scents. This way, what you are doing is spreading her scents around the house so that when she enters, there’s familar scents and she’ll feel safe and comfortable. Also get scents from the other cat so that she’ll also get use to it and vice versa.
But do not close the door too quickly when she comes in. Let her wander in and eat and if she wants to leave, let her leave. Just let her get use to eating inside and also let her get used to the house. You don’t want to scare her by closing the door immediately. Once she’s fine eating inside, with all her scents scattered around the house and find one safe spot for her with the towels or blankets to lay down while she acclimatize herself to the house. When you see that she’s kinda used to be inside, close the door and make yourself small and give her all the assurance she needs.
Get another litter box for her too. It takes lots of time, love, patience, and routine to get it to work but in whatever circumstances, please do not give up.
Furballsmom
have given you pretty good tips. Please keep us posted of the progress 
When you do bring her inside, she will need a room of her own for a bit. That room will be her safe room. It should be cat proofed for her. If you have a bed in this room, it should be picked up off the floor or put flat on the floor. If not, under the bed is the first place she will hide and it's nearly impossible to get the cat out. Also you cannot get a cat used to inside living if they hide under the bed or under/behind other large furniture. You also want to block access behind/under other larger furniture such as book cases, dressers or armoires. Cats can squeeze themselves into very small spaces. Also if there is a sliding door closet, many cats can figure out how to open them and get inside.
Feliway plug ins are very helpful to calm a new cat to indoor living. Also be sure to have more than one litter box.
Since the two cats have been separated for a bit, don't immediately allow them access to one another. Allow the female to settle inside first as well as having a complete vet checkup. Even though she is spayed, you want all up to date vaccines and a check for FIV and FELV before allowing access to the other cat.
THank you for helping these two cats and making their lives so much better.
Feliway plug ins are very helpful to calm a new cat to indoor living. Also be sure to have more than one litter box.
Since the two cats have been separated for a bit, don't immediately allow them access to one another. Allow the female to settle inside first as well as having a complete vet checkup. Even though she is spayed, you want all up to date vaccines and a check for FIV and FELV before allowing access to the other cat.
THank you for helping these two cats and making their lives so much better.
