Hi - I'm new here...
A little background first.
A few years ago these neighbors put up posters of their two cats who were missing. I called them when I spotted one of them in my yard. The upshot of it all was that these people were from the city in Ohio and relocated to the sticks of Connecticut with two house cats. After a while, they decided to let their cats outside. All was well for a week or so, but then all of a sudden the cats were gone. (Surprise, surprise, can you say "Coyote"??)
One of their cats has survived the past THREE years on its own, outside in Connecticut! AMAZING! Well, that cat adopted me/my yard this summer. He's very skittish, but allows me to pet him. I actually was able to trick him into a kennel and take him to the vet for a check up (he still hasn't forgiven me for that!) and he's a very healthy 16.4 pound boy!
Anyway, I've tried to get him into the house b/c winter is coming and I can't bear the thought of him being outside yet another winter - he deserves a forever home (his former family has since moved away.) I've even gone so far as to pick him up and carry him inside - my arms still bear the marks, too. He panics being in the house and he doesn't like my inside cats, though he loves the dog.
I need advice on how to get him inside. I do not have any outbuildings for him to winter in and we have coyotes in these woods. Can anyone give me suggestions?
A little background first.
A few years ago these neighbors put up posters of their two cats who were missing. I called them when I spotted one of them in my yard. The upshot of it all was that these people were from the city in Ohio and relocated to the sticks of Connecticut with two house cats. After a while, they decided to let their cats outside. All was well for a week or so, but then all of a sudden the cats were gone. (Surprise, surprise, can you say "Coyote"??)
One of their cats has survived the past THREE years on its own, outside in Connecticut! AMAZING! Well, that cat adopted me/my yard this summer. He's very skittish, but allows me to pet him. I actually was able to trick him into a kennel and take him to the vet for a check up (he still hasn't forgiven me for that!) and he's a very healthy 16.4 pound boy!
Anyway, I've tried to get him into the house b/c winter is coming and I can't bear the thought of him being outside yet another winter - he deserves a forever home (his former family has since moved away.) I've even gone so far as to pick him up and carry him inside - my arms still bear the marks, too. He panics being in the house and he doesn't like my inside cats, though he loves the dog.
I need advice on how to get him inside. I do not have any outbuildings for him to winter in and we have coyotes in these woods. Can anyone give me suggestions?