I Need Advice

[Mike0]

I have been taking care of a feral cat for 18 months. The cat freely enters my house and leaves whenever she wants. I am not sure if I should call her feral because she is very comfortable with me and sleeps in my bed sometimes. Currently she spends most of her time outside and comes back to home when she wants to eat or sleep. In winter she used to spend most of the time with me at my home. I tried to make her an exclusive indoor cat after I spayed her but I was never successful. She is used to the outdoors so I allowed her to move freely between inside and outside

Unfortunately I have to move to a different area now. I don't know what to do with her. I came up with 3 options but I am not sure what to choose so please help me

Option A: My new house is 5 minutes away (by car) from where I live. I am thinking of leaving her in the same area and feeding her daily at a specific time

Option B: Take her to my new house and make her an indoor cat but I am like 99% percent she wont be happy(I tried several times to lock her inside but she always starts to literally scream and aggressively scratch the window to a point where I get scared that she might break her claws.)



Option C: move her to my new area and allow her to be an indoor/outdoor cat but I am scared that she might get lost in an area where she is not used to

Can someone give me an advice regarding this issue.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!

Option C: move her to my new area and allow her to be an indoor/outdoor cat but I am scared that she might get lost in an area where she is not used to

If you do this option and have a big catio or walk-in cage, it might work.

I'm personally not to keen on the other two options, B for the obvious (except possibly that calming products might help here), but A has a lot of variables not least of which she might just end up leaving if you're not there any longer on a regular basis. It's hard to say...

Also, there are calming products - you could have a chat with your vet about prescription ones if the wide variety of over the counter products don't help.

 

[maggiedemi]

I would bring her with you. My two cats are "former ferals". My male cat Demi cried for 2 weeks straight when I brought him inside for good, but after that he was fine. He never scratched the windows though, he just sat in the windows and cried.

 

[vyger]

This cat is not feral anymore, she belongs to you. Take her with you but keep her inside long enough to realize that it's your (yours and her's) new home. Once she is established inside you can let her outside and she will stay because it is your home. It will probably take a couple of months for her to adapt and explore the new place. Once that is done inside she will let you know she wants to check out the outside. Remember, she is attached to you and not the house. Your what makes it her home.

 

[ArchyCat]

Take her with you, then keep her inside. Make her an indoor cat! Nothing good ever happens to cat in the outdoors. Other cats, cars, dogs, malicious neighbors. And on and on....

 

[tabbytom]

Hello M Mike0 , thank you for taking care of this kitty. It sounds like this kitty is more of an abandoned cat than a feral. It’s not easy gaining a feral’s trust and if it’s a true feral, I think you did a good job getting her to trust you.

I would second the suggestions made by the members that is to bring her with you to your new house and keep her indoors.

Before you bring her over and to make the transition easier for her to be acclimatized to the new house, soak up as much of her scents with towels or blankets or toys or whatever she is used to your current house. If she’s litter trained, bring her used litter over.
Do all these before you actually bring her over.

It takes a little more love, patience and routine to get her to settle down. Don’t give up. She’ll live longer and safer indoors.

 

[Caspers Human]

Casper was a rescued cat. He lived outdoors, probably, for a year or more. We don't know for sure.

We got him from Animal Welfare Society and made him a 100% indoor cat. He will have lived here three years, next Christmas.

When he first came here he tried for the door a few times and, once, made it onto the front stoop. It was snowy and Casper got one blast of the cold, winter air and it was easy to scoot him back inside. He hasn't tried for the door since.

I think Casper has decided that he likes it inside where it's warm and he has a soft bed to sleep in every night and he gets fed every day. He's got all the toys and catnip he wants and he never has to worry about getting chased by something or hit by a car.

I think your cat will make the same decision... "It's GOOD to live indoors!"

 

[Jcatbird]

I have dealt with abandoned kitties and feral kitties and I spend all my time doing rescues. She chose you! That is a huge show of trust. Please do not leave her behind. She is now dependent on you. I know moving her will be an adjustment for you both but if you don’t she may not survive. It’s just this simple, if you care about her, take her with you. There are so many ways that people on this site can help you with the adjustment if you need it. You must keep her confined in the new house/ garage or somewhere that she cannot wander off until she gets oriented to where she is. It usually takes a couple of weeks at least. I have had cats that acted frantic at first as well. I too wondered if I was doing the right thing by keeping them indoors. They did settle down once they inderstood that I would not let them out. I provided an environment that kept them occupied. Toys, a place to hide for awhile, or, for some, just a new place to explore. You may find she is nervous at first and is subdued. She may find a new place an interesting thing that keeps her occupied. I suggest that you take her and the things she likes that are familiar to her and see what she needs further after you relocate her. Don’t make the assumption that she cannot adjust. Please trust the advice you have been given here. The people on this site have had a great deal of experience with this very thing. Thecatsite is the perfect place to come if you have any questions or issues. You will find plenty of support here during the transition. You can do this! Keep posting. I really hope that this will no longer be a question in your mind. I care very much how you and kitty are doing. The fact that you have gotten her to love you shows that you are a special person. You have already done a great thing for her. Please don’t stop now!