Introducing Stray Help

[tanyal]

Hello! I joined the site so time ago but never posted. I’m THAT desperate right now.
I have 4 cats of my own (Momna and her 3 boys, all fixed). I bought my house last year and within a few months, the strays found my deck. In addition to my own indoor cats, I have upto 9 feline squatters. There is one in particular that I’m having a BIG problem with. She is constantly breaking my heart because she wants in and tries every chance possible. She was recently fixed through a local TNR program so I’m now fighting a losing battle with not taking her in. She is so incredibly sweet and really deserves a home. I’m caving, FAST!
My gang and “Bonnie” has met many times thought the screen door over the past few months. It wasn’t the friendliest at first but now my guys don’t seem to care about her anymore (no fear, aggression or anything). Bonnie has moved from the deck to my garage for extra warmth and safety. I leave the garage door open a crack during the day and if they are inside when I go to bed, they (sometimes one or two of the others join her but not typically) get locked in until morning. I gave food, water and a litter box in the garage. She will poop in the litter box but I’ve caught her peeing on towels. I have also caught her leaving the garage during the day to pee in the grass and then return. This is my biggest worry about bringing her in. I don’t want my furniture, bed or hardwood floors peed on. My other concern is her daggers. My guys get their nails clipped regularly but not knowing if I can keep her indoor permanently, I worry about her nails as well. Lastly, I don’t have a room where I can confine her in for more than a few hours. Please help me, I want to bring her in but I want, no NEED, to do it safely. Any suggestions? I should add that I spend time with her in the garage so my guys smell her and she them and they don’t seem to mind. She has also snuck into the house before for a few minutes before I noticed her and again, no problems.

To make a long story short....I need help introducing a stray to my group with limited space, concerns to her long nails and peeing outside the box. I don’t anticipate any big fights from her but I don’t know about my guys. I thought of bringing her into the house in a carrier so they could smell her that way but I’m worried about how she would feel being confined while they check her out.

Thank you!
Tanya

 

[maggiedemi]

I would keep using the screen door and see how they react through it. You could put up a gate inside or stack two baby gates. The carrier idea might work too, I've done that before. They can't hurt each other through the bars. For the peeing, I would make sure she gets enough canned food every day. My cats' pee problems have usually been caused by too much dry food. Can you trim her nails if you wrap her in a towel? You could get her a sisal scratching post too.

 

[tanyal]

None of them really hang out by the screen door anymore. And, because it’s an uncovered deck, I can’t have the slider open without my floors getting soaked. Or, because of the cold weather.
You don’t think being in the carrier while they sniff around will be too traumatic for her? She is a pretty laid back girl that just wants to be loved so I don’t want to scare any of them. Maybe have my guys check her out one-by-one?
The squatters are fed the same way my guys are....dry food all day and can food at night. I don’t think she is peeing outside the box to be a brat, I just don’t think she knows better. That’s just my opinion though.
As for her nails, if it doesn’t work out with her inside, I don’t want to let her back out without being able to protect herself. That’s the reason why I don’t want to clip her nails, yet. If it works out and she stays inside, she will get her nails clipped.

Ideally, I would LOVE to find her a forever home. If anybody in NKY is interested, she is a real sweet girl that wants nothing but love.

 

[maggiedemi]

My two cats were fine with one in the carrier and one on the outside. They played through the bars. If she looks too scared, you can always bring her out of the room.

 

[tanyal]

Thank you for your time. I think I’ll give it a try tomorrow where I can watch them all day. Fingers crossed that it wor

 

[RufusGizmo]

if the cats were fine with her you should not have any problems. I took two stray kittens in and they were out in the woods for ten weeks, and took to litter box right away, never a problem. good luck please let know if it works out.

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to the site. Or I guess it's more like welcome to posting, since you've actually been a member longer than me!

Before you bring Bonnie inside, make sure all your cats have up-to-date shots. Also, you should probably get her a vet wellness checkup, unless that was taken care of when she was TNR'd. She still might have worms, so might need deworming.

She sounds more like a stray than a feral. Here's an article on Adopting A Stray Cat
And one on How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide

Good luck. Hope it all works out. Keep us posted.

 

[tanyal]

Thank you everybody for your replies. I did bring Bonnie in and it’s gone pretty well. I started with the carrier and only one of my cats at a time and progressed from there. It’s been a couple of nights and i think she is here to stay.

 

[maggiedemi]

That's wonderful! Come back and give us updates and photos if you can.

 

[tanyal]

I tried to upload a video from my iPhone but I guess the format wasn’t compatible.

 

[RufusGizmo]

hi, I was just checking if I knew how to upload a file. this is just a test. these are my brother strays, dont they look creepy? they are actually too sweet

 

[maggiedemi]

Hi. It worked, I can see the kitties. No, they don't look creepy.

 

[rubysmama]

Happy to hear Bonnie's inside and meeting her "siblings". And, yes, please post pics when you can.