- Joined
- Jan 29, 2021
- Messages
- 8
- Purraise
- 19
Hi there! New here! Just brought in a feral cat and wanted to pick some brains about an issue we are having.
So about a year ago, I went outside to feed our barn cat and this gorgeous male cat just ran up and started eating with her. Then he just never left. He was SUPER friendly, wanted all the attention and affection he could get, and was immediately loving and patient with my two young children. He always seemed pretty content outside, and was never missing but then our barn cat passed away at 18 years old, and he started wandering a lot more. We had started talking about bringing him inside because he was always just the biggest cuddle bug, and then one day I went out to get him because it was FREEZING cold, and he was gone. We searched high and low for him, couldn’t find him anywhere. Five days later, a neighbor called and said, “hey your cat is over here!” We were so relieved and immediately brought him inside. Took him to the vet the next day, got all his shots done, and we are scheduled to have him neutered and micro chipped in a couple of weeks. HOWEVER, ever since we brought him inside, I feel like his disposition has changed. Where he couldn’t get enough of us before, now he’ll let us cuddle him just for a minute and then he wiggles free and goes to lie down alone somewhere. He sits at the back door and just cries this sad cry, scratching at the threshold and the window until I move him away. When he’s not meowing at the back door (or eating, drinking, pottying), he’s just sleeping all day. I know he wants to go out because that’s what he’s used to (and probably because he’s not fixed yet), but I’m afraid he’ll dart off and not come back again, or worse yet be found by one of the coyotes people have been sighting around here lately. But I also don’t like seeing him depressed, if that’s what he is.
Any experience or advice would be greatly appreciated!!
So about a year ago, I went outside to feed our barn cat and this gorgeous male cat just ran up and started eating with her. Then he just never left. He was SUPER friendly, wanted all the attention and affection he could get, and was immediately loving and patient with my two young children. He always seemed pretty content outside, and was never missing but then our barn cat passed away at 18 years old, and he started wandering a lot more. We had started talking about bringing him inside because he was always just the biggest cuddle bug, and then one day I went out to get him because it was FREEZING cold, and he was gone. We searched high and low for him, couldn’t find him anywhere. Five days later, a neighbor called and said, “hey your cat is over here!” We were so relieved and immediately brought him inside. Took him to the vet the next day, got all his shots done, and we are scheduled to have him neutered and micro chipped in a couple of weeks. HOWEVER, ever since we brought him inside, I feel like his disposition has changed. Where he couldn’t get enough of us before, now he’ll let us cuddle him just for a minute and then he wiggles free and goes to lie down alone somewhere. He sits at the back door and just cries this sad cry, scratching at the threshold and the window until I move him away. When he’s not meowing at the back door (or eating, drinking, pottying), he’s just sleeping all day. I know he wants to go out because that’s what he’s used to (and probably because he’s not fixed yet), but I’m afraid he’ll dart off and not come back again, or worse yet be found by one of the coyotes people have been sighting around here lately. But I also don’t like seeing him depressed, if that’s what he is.
Any experience or advice would be greatly appreciated!!