How long before your cats stopped giving you guilt trips? (re: going outside)

[crazy4strays]

When we got Tiger, there was no capturing involved. He meowed loudly outside the door one night. I opened the door and he ran right into our house. I got him a can of food (we didn't have cats at the time, but would keep food to give to the neighbor's cat).

He gobbled up the food like he hadn't had a square meal in a week. He was scrawny when he first came by but has put on weight and has a pretty shiny coat now.

 

[crazy4strays]

I really appreciate the support and help in transitioning to keep my kitty inside. A number of my friends and neighbors keep their cats outdoors most or all of the time and see no problem with doing so, so it's hard to find local support.

My landlord actually feels like ideally pets belong entirely outside and never should be let into the house. (though he does allow his renters to have indoor cats, thankfully!) His previous cats have lived 100% outdoors. He once told me that his pets never try to go into the house, because he never lets them come in, not even once.

He currently has two dogs that have NEVER gone into his house, ever. They actually free roam his property. He's one of the few people who can get away with free roaming dogs, because his dogs never leave his property, despite not being confined because he owns all the property from his house to the road. Luckily, his dogs are friendly and have never tried to harm any of our cats.

 

[kittens mom]

If my neighbors cats and dogs were well fed , vaccinated, wormed and fixed and the dogs had at least basic training I wouldn't have many issues with them. The URI that wandered in our door likely came from stepping in something out in our own yard.  Their one dog trying to come through our winding and attack a cat sleeping on the inside window sill and their refusal to keep the beast put up until we called the law on them has ended any chance of civility here.

I can't rescue and rehome when they add to the situation faster than we can afford to fix it. Our choice now is to trap and turn over to the shelter their cat population.  My husband has COPD , well controlled. But I can't have 10 cats in the house. Even too many in the yard can cause issues. We manage our two inside quite well.  I would be fine having a shelter and providing food for 2-3 strays that were fixed etc but that quickly turns into a dozen.

Our AC laws are slowly catching up to the real world.

My experience with dogs is that many breeds can be easily taught to leave cats alone. Other breeds can be taught the leave it command .

 

[aprilc]

 
Most strays started out as beloved pets.

I am probably a cynical, horrible, cranky person but I don't believe this.

I believe that some strays are beloved pets that escape or are let out and roam too far and don't come back, but I think that majority of strays are "OMGlookatthecutelittlekitten" acquisitions that turn into "whyareyousprayinginmyhouse" or "stopyouryowlingladycat" annoyances that get let out and either roam away or are not let back in.

I have a terrible view of humans in general, probably due to the sheer number of unspayed and unneutered cats that roam my neighbourhood.  I have had a few that I took in and I search for their owners but I haven't had a single one claimed. 

We have a stray boy that is just two weeks post neuter and he is DESPERATE to get out (he knows how to open windows so that makes it fun).  I keep hoping he will calm down as the hormones leave his system but my vet has also said what Juleska said above, some cats just don't take to be indoor cats.  He doesn't have a choice - the outside world is a bad place full of cars, dogs and other cats and he is immune compromised. 

 

[kittens mom]

 
I am probably a cynical, horrible, cranky person but I don't believe this.

I believe that some strays are beloved pets that escape or are let out and roam too far and don't come back, but I think that majority of strays are "OMGlookatthecutelittlekitten" acquisitions that turn into "whyareyousprayinginmyhouse" or "stopyouryowlingladycat" annoyances that get let out and either roam away or are not let back in.

I have a terrible view of humans in general, probably due to the sheer number of unspayed and unneutered cats that roam my neighbourhood.  I have had a few that I took in and I search for their owners but I haven't had a single one claimed. 

We have a stray boy that is just two weeks post neuter and he is DESPERATE to get out (he knows how to open windows so that makes it fun).  I keep hoping he will calm down as the hormones leave his system but my vet has also said what Juleska said above, some cats just don't take to be indoor cats.  He doesn't have a choice - the outside world is a bad place full of cars, dogs and other cats and he is immune compromised. 

By beloved I meant what you did. I am beyond cynical at this point. And yes they were beloved as tiny cute little furballs until they started to grow up. Even with low income free spay and neuter they'll toss one out the back door while bringing a new one in the front.  People like my neighbors make a program like TNR worthless.  After all Mr Tom isn't spraying your house with urine like a fire hose because he's bad any more than the teen age female going into heat is howling day and night to be naughty.

My cats are not allowed out. Yet they wear collars with all their information and they are chipped with current information registered. I would be tearing up the neighborhood looking for mine. Heck I have bad moments when we can't find one of them for a few. Even knowing they can't get out.

I also believe that keeping your cat indoors or on a leash or inside a cat fencing system would do a lot to end some of the horrible incurable diseases I see so many cat owners dealing with.

 

[crazy4strays]

We are fostering kitties through our local rescue and I told my 9 year old daughter recently that people are more likely to adopt kittens than full grown cats. She said, "That's dumb, Mama! The kittens grow up and turn into cats anyway!" 

 

[crazy4strays]

My cats are not allowed out. Yet they wear collars with all their information and they are chipped with current information registered. I would be tearing up the neighborhood looking for mine. Heck I have bad moments when we can't find one of them for a few. Even knowing they can't get out.

It's refreshing to be part of a community where people believe that cats actually need ID on them. The chances of a lost cat returning to a guardian are so low, precisely because people don't hardly microchip or put collars and tags on their cats.

It never really occurred to me NOT to collar my cat. As soon as we knew that he was staying with us permanently, I got him a collar and tag. Even my foster kitten wears a little collar and tag, just in case she snuck out the door. 

As soon as I researched the benefits of microchipping and knew that I wanted to do it, I asked the Humane Society for a referral to a low cost clinic and I got both of my cats done at $15 each. The microchips are properly registered and our contact information is current with the database. If we ever move, it will be updated roughly around the same time that the U-Haul leaves our driveway.

I try to talk to people about it whenever I can, because a lot of people don't know that you're suppose to scan stray cats for chips.

 

[crazy4strays]

Another question! When our cat was outdoors, he was an avid hunter. Will having him in the house make the rodents less likely to come in? 

 

[crazy4strays]

 
I have a freaking bird sanctuary in the back due to cat perches for the inside flufflies. I've even become a bird watcher and reported several rare species in my area that were nesting. The cost of birdseed is horrendous but I consider it part of the dues for keeping them in 24/7.  It goes without saying every screen in the house is reinforced to withstand the full force of a catapult. ( pun intended). The birds are quite immune to them at this point I've even seen some face to face confrontations. One particularly saucy red headed finch yelled something about I fart in your general direction.

We do an occasional flat of cat grass and fresh nip.

I would love to invest in a cat exercise wheel. With all the vet bills lately the kitty fund is rather bankrupt.

Can you recommend a good type of bird feeder and good brand of cat perches? I'm interested in investing in those eventually.

 

[aprilc]

Rodents less likely to come in, no, but he will likely hunt them which has it's own set of issues.

I am a big fan of the Squirrel Buster bird feeders by Brome. Aspects and Droll Yankees also make good quality bird feeders.

 

[kittens mom]

 
Can you recommend a good type of bird feeder and good brand of cat perches? I'm interested in investing in those eventually.

I like to repurpose things. I spend an afternoon looking at some antique china cupboards and a few Hoosier wanna be cabinets. I would really like when we are done fixing up our own home not have to plop another ugly cat tree in the middle of it all.

I made one of my cat perches from the top of a dilapidated antique dresser. You could do the same with a pine board and two good brackets under the window sill.

The one premade window perch lasted a very short time and was about 40 bucks. I've integrated lots of save vertical places in my home by sacrificing a shelf or storage area. Most cat furniture is butt ugly.  We have several dead trees I'm thinking of scraping the bark and sun drying some of the more interesting branches.  Thankfully we're seeing more furniture type cat trees and perches made with both humans and cats in mind.

I like suet feeders. We don't have squirrels or raccoon populations here. There is less on the ground and the birds do a merry fluttery dance all over them. Plus there seems to be one for every species. For me seed on the ground equals Mr Skunk coming around.

 

[crazy4strays]

I just read an article about the world's oldest living cat. Ironically, he is an indoor/outdoor cat. I'm sure, though, that for every free roaming cat that lived to an old age, there were several who died prematurely from unnatural causes.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/13/living/guinness-oldest-living-cat-feat/

 

[crazy4strays]

I think that it's about day 5 now and we're working on retrieving him after the 2nd major escape. Both times, it was my 6 year old who accidentally let him out. So my DH and 6 year old are now scouring the woods, looking for him.

I did have one minor escape where he only got as far as the sidewalk and I picked him up and brought him back in.

I'm beginning to despair of making this work. I can keep the cat in because I know how to push him back from the front door when I open it, but the kids seem to have difficulty thwarting his escape attempts.

 

[crazy4strays]

We found him and he's back indoors again.

Oh well, having an "indoor except when he manages to sneak out" cat is still safer than having a standard indoor/outdoor cat. We'll continue to revamp the plan and hopefully eliminate the escapes. 

 

[juleska]

I'm glad you found him and he's safe. I wish I had a better suggestion or any advice for you. It's tough with the little ones. I can see why he keeps escaping. I know that's really stressful for you. I'll keep noodling on it.

 

[kittens mom]

You can buy a can o hiss from Drs Foster and install one by the door(s). Probably the best thing is to give you child the tools to handle the cat.  Perhaps a can of coins to drop if he's persistent.

I heard a pack of coyotes going off last night. It's hard to tell how close they are out here , the sound carries weird across the desert.  It's funny, unlike a dog bark that is just flat out annoying the sound of a coyote can make the hairs on your neck stand up.

Realistically making your child part of the solution instead of the problem is your best bet.  That and a no-fault policy if the cat slips by him. You want him to tell you right away.

 

[crazy4strays]

The kids seem to be getting the hang of things a bit better. I will commonly remind them when they open the door to shut it quickly.

Tiger seems to be adjusting somewhat, though he is still restless and meows a lot.

One nice side effect of not letting him go out is that I don't have to worry about collecting him for nighttime, unless he snuck out. When he was indoor/outdoor, I had to go call him in at night. If he had wandered too far, that entailed some cold and dark expeditions through our woods hunting for him.

I've also noticed that I'm less stressed because I worried about him a lot when he went outside before.

I wish that he could understand that I'm trying to save him from dying a violent and premature death. It's so tough to see him temporarily unhappy. But we seem to be getting into more of a rhythm. Simultaneously, I'm also working on socializing Tiger and our other cat. (we got an older cat 7ish months ago and him and Tiger have had a tough time integrating) Supervised mealtimes seem to be helping, as well as a pheremone collar and Feliway diffusers.

We have 3 cats indoors in under 900 square feet. (2 permanents and 1 foster) It's a little challenging but not too bad. 

 

[crazy4strays]

Tiger managed to sneak past me this morning when I was distracted. Apparently one of my kids took my iPhone outside and left it outside all night. I was so worried about phone water damage that he took advantage of the moment and darted outside.

He's back inside now.

Tiger is microchipped and wears a collar with ID tag. Based on his escapist tendencies, I might keep up on the booster shots for distemper and feline leukemia/FIV as well. My other cat is vaccinated for rabies only but he doesn't try to run out the door, either.

 

[juleska]

Gracious...sounds like your hands are full!

 

[crazy4strays]

I'm still plugging away. He does escape occasionally, but seems to be getting more and more used to the indoors. I'm concerned about his lack of interest in doing things though. I don't want him to get too sedentary. Probably as money permits, we'll do the bird feeder. 

It's so hard to compete with the outdoors! The outdoors is at least 10x more fun than my house. I let him jump anywhere he wants to in the house, so hopefully that will help. I have less than 900 square feet (for 5 humans, 3 cats, and 2 goldfish) and could make myself completely insane in under 2 days, if I didn't pick my battles.

Still it's reassuring to know that I'm increasing his lifespan by keeping him indoors. I need to remember to take him out for walks on a leash, as he does enjoy that. 

Last night, my son was like, "Mommy, Tiger is eating me!" so I had to shut the cat out of my son's room. 

 Tiger has a habit of gently gnawing on you when he wants you to get out of bed and feed him. Sometimes his idea of breakfasttime is WAY earlier than ours. Haha! I have to shut him out of my room sometimes, because it's kind of hard to sleep with a cat nipping at your nose or hands. 

Somebody actually suggested that he should be put outside at night because of his habit of trying to wake us up in that manner. 

 You know, because apparently an unbroken night's sleep is more important than your cat's safety.