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

[crazy4strays]

We actually already have two cats.

We have an elderly (approximately 14-15 years old) very reclusive cat who doesn't get along with Tiger and mostly stays to himself the whole day.

The older cat was inherited from my MIL. She passed away a year ago and her cat's health and behavior got increasingly worse after she died, so we took him and worked with him.

 

[Cataria]

Not sure if this helps at all, but I have three cats that I have had long enough that I know their opinion on going outside:

Shade -- she has been an indoor cat all of her life. For reasons I fail to understand, she is constantly begging to go out. I usually ignore her, but I sometimes will give in and let her have some supervised time lying on the porch for awhile before I drag her back into the house.

Meko -- she was a stray I found outside. After I brought her in, she has shown zero interest in going outside and will only go out on the porch if Shade is there.

Nenya -- another stray, and she was even semi-feral. When I first brought her home, she completely freaked out and tried to climb the windows and the walls, trying to escape. Now? She won't even go into a room if the door to outside is open; she is terrified of going back out!

So... my originally outdoor cats want to stay in, and my always-been-indoor cat wants to go out. I don't get it.

 

[juleska]

 
Not sure if this helps at all, but I have three cats that I have had long enough that I know their opinion on going outside:

Shade -- she has been an indoor cat all of her life. For reasons I fail to understand, she is constantly begging to go out. I usually ignore her, but I sometimes will give in and let her have some supervised time lying on the porch for awhile before I drag her back into the house.

Meko -- she was a stray I found outside. After I brought her in, she has shown zero interest in going outside and will only go out on the porch if Shade is there.

Nenya -- another stray, and she was even semi-feral. When I first brought her home, she completely freaked out and tried to climb the windows and the walls, trying to escape. Now? She won't even go into a room if the door to outside is open; she is terrified of going back out!

So... my originally outdoor cats want to stay in, and my always-been-indoor cat wants to go out. I don't get it.

I've seen very similar results in some of my cats in the past. A strong argument that this is more of a nature driven phenomenon than a nurture situation.

 

[Margret]

Not sure if this helps at all, but I have three cats that I have had long enough that I know their opinion on going outside:

Shade -- she has been an indoor cat all of her life. For reasons I fail to understand, she is constantly begging to go out. I usually ignore her, but I sometimes will give in and let her have some supervised time lying on the porch for awhile before I drag her back into the house.

Meko -- she was a stray I found outside. After I brought her in, she has shown zero interest in going outside and will only go out on the porch if Shade is there.

Nenya -- another stray, and she was even semi-feral. When I first brought her home, she completely freaked out and tried to climb the windows and the walls, trying to escape. Now? She won't even go into a room if the door to outside is open; she is terrified of going back out!

So... my originally outdoor cats want to stay in, and my always-been-indoor cat wants to go out. I don't get it.

Actually, that one's easy. Outside looks very inviting. There are trees and grass and birds and interesting smells; of course your indoor cat wants to explore it. Your previously stray cats, however, have a clue. They know from experience just how dangerous the outdoors can be, and just how lucky they are to have found a forever home with you. Meko will go outside with Shade because she's sure that you'll let Shade back in, which means you'll let her back in. Without Shade, who knows? She may have been abandoned at one time in the past; that could happen again. Indoors is just safer.

Margret

 

[crazy4strays]

It's hard. I think that I may have one of those truly hard to switch over cats. It's been over 2 months and he still tries to bolt out whenever the door opens.

However, I'm not going to give up and just let him roam free. I just talked to a friend who lives a little ways away from me and she's lost 3 indoor/outdoor cats at very young ages: one to poisoning, one to feline leukemia, and one got hit by a car. That strengthened my resolve to keep trying.

 

[juleska]

Actually, that one's easy. Outside looks very inviting. There are trees and grass and birds and interesting smells; of course your indoor cat wants to explore it. Your previously stray cats, however, have a clue. They know from experience just how dangerous the outdoors can be, and just how lucky they are to have found a forever home with you. Meko will go outside with Shade because she's sure that you'll let Shade back in, which means you'll let her back in. Without Shade, who knows? She may have been abandoned at one time in the past; that could happen again. Indoors is just safer.

Margret

By the same token I've had indoor cats who've had zero interest in the outdoors, strays who never got over their desire to be outside, and some who like to split their time.

 

[Margret]

I believe you. I think it depends on experience and personality. Some strays have had worse experiences than others, some indoor cats are more curious than others, or more adventurous. No one here believes that all cats are alike. We all know that cats are as individual as we are; that's why we call them our "fur babies," or "the short furry person." They're all cats, with certain traits common to cats — they need meat, and lots of sleep, and play, and they're all expert liars, and adorable, but beyond that, they're themselves. Not to be confused with some other cat.

Margret

 

[crazy4strays]

We're at the 3 month mark now and continuing to make progress. The escapes are less frequent. My husband, who used to think that it would be next to impossible to keep the cat in is now supportive of it and thinks that it's a great idea. My husband lost one cat to outdoor hazards as a kid and I lost several. So he knows the reality of what can happen.


Now that it's wintertime, he is entertaining himself by hunting any mice that make it into the house. :lol3: He ate a whole mouse the other day that he caught in the kitchen. :doh3: Keeping cats indoors is NOT a reliable way to prevent hunting. So until we can get financially stable enough to move into a house that's more mouseproof, I'll have to continue to work on cat safe methods of catching and deterring mice.

We have a new foster kitten now, so that adds a little more excitement to the house. Tiger and the foster kitten both enjoy stalking the birds that come to our bird feeder, while perched on the cat tree.

Overall, I think that environmental enrichment is a must when bringing in a cat who formerly had outdoor access.

I put the harness and leash on Tiger yesterday and took him for a walk, but he didn't act very enthused at all. I guess having 26 degree weather helps cats to want to stay in!

If anyone is considering converting an indoor/outdoor cat to indoor only, I highly encourage it.