Moving With An Outdoor Cat

[kusjona1]

Hi -

I'm hoping for some advice.

I have to move out of my house to a new one. (It's a divorce thing--it sucks.) I have a feral cat I have adopted that I am planning on bringing to my new house.

This cat, Shine, is wonderful. Long story short, she was a feral cat that showed up as a kitten with her mom and 4 brothers and sisters to our house 3 years ago. Shine was the runt of the litter and the shyest of all. All 4 brothers and sisters got adopted, but Shine stuck around our house and I have been feeding her and taking care of her ever since. She is neutered, has all of her shots, and is on flea medication. She comes into the house every night to be fed. She is extremely shy with every other person except me. With me, she will come up and lay in my lap and beg to be petted. But, all in all, she is an outdoor cat.

So my plan is to bring Shine with me to my new house, but I'm very worried. First, because she is at heart a feral and outdoor cat, I am worried about making her an exclusively indoor cat. Second, if I do decide to let her out because that's what she wants, I'm worried that she is more attached to the old house than to me, and that she will leave to find where she has been most comfortable.

So, has anyone ever been through this? Shine and I have a really important bond, and I want her to be happy. I don't think she can stay at my old house, but I'm worried about her transition to the new house.

Thanks,

Jon

 

[daftcat75]

If Shine's an only cat in your new home, you shouldn't have much trouble converting her to an indoor cat. You should do that anyway until she becomes attached to your new home. At that time, she'll probably appreciate the creature comforts of being an indoor cat like unlimited attention from her favorite human and never feeling want for warmth or food that she may not care as much about the outdoors. Get her trees and other furniture she's allowed to walk on, multiple levels for her to gain height and thus power and security in your new home, and a window to stare at the outdoors, a "bird channel" and "squirrel channel" to watch in the daytime, and she should adjust to the indoor life well enough.

 

[danteshuman]

My advice? Get the Vet to prescribe a mild sedative for your reformed feral to take for a couple of weeks during her indoor/outdoor adjustment. We did that when our indoor/outdoor reformed feral was very ill and needed to be inside 24/7. It helped!

I would also keep 2 doors between her and the outside for the first month or two .... to help her learn where home is. We used tidycat lightweight unscented but I would try the finest grain litter you can find, two big boxes and maybe one with the Cat Attract litter in it.

Our reformed feral sleeps inside most of the day..... now that he is getting older. He stays out doing the night. He has a cat buddy outside he hangs with. He still will not use a litter box unless enclosed in a room with said box! Given a choice he prefers the backyard to the box.
If she resists using a box, get an enzyme cleaner and a bag of garden soil to put in the box. You can slowly increase the amount of litter over a few months.

A pot of grass and a few other pots of edible cat plants (catnip, valerian, thyme, parsley..... have 2-3 pots of catnip you grow to maturity and rotate one inside at a time so she doesn’t eat the whole plant in one week!) plus a fountain and plenty of bird feeders in view of a window with a screen you leave open when you can, should help. Ideally you would give her a catio with a cat door but it might not be possible.

 

[Maria Bayote]

Thank you for deciding to take her with you. You are the only one she has got, and the only one she trusts.

You already have good advices above. She will be fine in your new home. I have had cases of ferals before that became strictly indoor cats and have adjusted fairly well.

Goodluck, and BTW, I am sorry that you have to go through this divorce. Hang in there. Shine will surely provide you with a lot of comfort and joy in this trying time.

 

[danteshuman]

That is true! My bud Dante got me through my divorce and excruciating pain!

 

[5starcathotel]

I haven't had to move with my formerly-feral cats yet (I hope to this fall), but I can say 3 of my crew (Dory, mom, and her daughters Violet and Blue) have had pretty much zero problems being strictly indoor cats.

When I first met Dory at my back door, she was very thin, very mangy, and very pathetic, with 2 kittens in tow that I'm sure she was on the verge of abandoning. Within a week or so, she was just ecstatic to have a reliable source of food! (Is why I named her Dory, because she's just soo freaking happy all the time!) And today, I can leave every door and window open, and neither her nor her daughters will even venture outside!

So converting to indoor-only could be a great first step, and probably not nearly as bad as you fear.

 

[catsknowme]

Welcome to TCS! I am sorry that you are going through sad times but your strong heart will see you through. Bless you for taking Shine with you when you move. Even though moving is hard on cats, losing the guardian whom they trust and love most can be even more distressing and I applaud your decision to take her with you and keep her inside. Cats are extremely intuitive and I feel that they sense our worry about whether or not they are happy inside & that worry makes them feel less secure in their new surroundings. So my bit of advice is to keep reminding yourself that you are doing what is best for Shine and that she can have confidence that all will be well.
As your situation is a frequent one, please let us know what you try and what the results are. Slowly but surely, we cat rescuers are dispelling the negative stereotypes of ferals and former ferals; Shine's story can help lead in the cause

 

[kusjona1]

Wow, thank you so much for all of the replies. They are so kind and brought me to tears with some of the thoughtfulness.

There are some great ideas here. I will look into the mild sedative for sure.

My plan right now is to definitely make Shine an indoor cat for at least the first few months. Luckily, she is already litter box trained. She uses one in the garage at the current house and stays in the garage overnight most nights of the week. So I'm hoping that transition will be seamless. I will try and get her some trees and other furniture she can explore on.

The other complicated factors--I am also taking my dog with me to the new house. Luckily, Shine and Buster get along magnificently. (I would have never believed it. When Shine first came into my life, Buster would bark at her and chase her. Now, even when Buster IS feeling a little boisterous and wants to chase her, Shine just lays down on her back and shows him her belly, and he just goes up and gives her a gentle boop on the nose and goes and lays down).

Still, hopefully that won't cause Shine stress. The other thing is that my two daughters will also be living with all of us half-time. As I mentioned, Shine is extremely shy and has only warmed up to me. So I do think she will end up hiding all of the time that the girls are at the house. I am hoping that she will eventually warm up to them like she did to me, so any tips with that would be helpful too. I can say that Shine is extremely gentle with the girls. In the morning, the girls will often let Shine out of the garage and into the backyard, and they will pet her. Nadia the oldest used to pick her up a lot, which I know caused her some stress and so I got her to stop it. But still, even when Nadia picked Shine up, she never once scratched. For being a feral cat, Shine really is one of the sweetest cats I've ever known.

So, in early July I am going to make this transition, and I will try and keep everyone updated on how things are going. I think the hard part will be a few things: resisting the urge to let her out even when she is crying at the door, AND making sure the girls know they cannot let her out. I think I will get her a collar with her name and address on it (and my phone number) just in case she does accidentally get out. Is that a good idea?

Thanks again for all of the wonderful replies. They really did make my day.

 

[catsknowme]

I forgot to mention my idea of "base camp" where you confine the cat to a small area, beginning with a cave and then allow the cat to expand territory. It is much less intimidating. I use a large dog carrier that can fit a "loft" so the litter pan isn't on the same floor as the bed but a regular carrier inside a small bathroom or the bedroom closet works well.
Also, try to get Shine to scent soak the items that will be going with her, especially scratch posts and cardboard boxes. The country girl in me likes the practical side of putting the packing boxes where the cat can scratch and mark them in the old place and then the boxes can be used as territorial markers at the new house - perhaps flattened & used under the litter box as floor protection - and then discarded once the cat is established in her new domain. The children will probably like the new move and maybe they can get Shine to increase her confidence now through interactive play and maybe teaching her a few tricks.

 

[daftcat75]

The best thing for a cat moving to a new environment is for her to be able to establish her own territory. That's not under your feet. Under your feet, on the ground, is vulnerable and she'll be more likely to hide. Since you are moving, you'll have boxes. Create a path for her around a room in boxes so she can get about at say waist level or higher. She should be able to see you and the girls without sharing the same walk spaces. Being ground-bound makes her vulnerable and wanting to hide. Having walkways that are her own will help her feel large and in charge and also give her space from the dog if ever she needs it. Think the "hot lava" game. How much surface can she walk on between trees, furniture, boxes, etc without ever touching the ground? When setting out boxes for her, think monorail more than Matterhorn.

 

[catsknowme]

daftcat75 has an awesome way of explaining things! I especially like the "hot lava game" analogy

 

[daftcat75]

One more thing.

Although Shine probably looks adorable when she goes belly up for the dog, please warn your daughters not to reach for her belly if she does that. Dogs like belly rubs. Cats go belly up to free their paws and claws for defense if they need it. It’s a vulnerable position for them but also a useful one for defense when confronted with a larger animal. If you reach for her exposed belly and she’s feeling threatened, she can grab your hand or arm with her front claws, pull you into biting range, and bunny kick with her back legs and claws. She can do some damage on her back. This is often confusing to people who know dogs. Exposed belly in dogs, rub away. Exposed belly in cats, it’s a trap!

 

[danteshuman]

I would suggest few things for Shine dealing with your girls. #1 the kids are not allowed in Shine’s room (which ever room that is) so she has space to relax. #2 lots of cat trees and shelves she can get up to ... especially in the living room. That way she can get out of reach but still be around. #3 the kids toss her a few of her favorite treats to her every day. Eventually the kids can get closer. You can also pet her and then let your daughter take over the petting. #4 toys not hands. Wand toys and small toys get tossed. I keep telling my niece and nephew that “Jackie wants to hunt the toys not be hunted by the toy!!!”



Hopefully she will only need the sedative for moving day.

 

[Talien]

As soon as you move to your new place a good thing to do would be get her microchipped, a collar could come off or get caught on things and choke her to death.

Once she gets used to being an inside Cat the best thing to do would be to keep her inside, don't put her back outside. She'll be much better off staying inside where she isn't exposed to predators (this includes people who enjoy torturing animals) and traffic.

And she will get used to your daughters. She's already comfortable around them if she lets them pet her so it's just a matter of them spending time with her.

 

[5starcathotel]

OExposed belly in cats, it’s a trap!

Haha, so true! It's most often translated as "try me, B**ch!!!"

 

[catsknowme]

Haha, so true! It's most often translated as "try me, B**ch!!!"

.....
That should be made into an educational albeit amusing meme

 

[daftcat75]

I already memed this picture of her once before.

 

[walli]

They say you shouldn't let them out for a few weeks at the minimum they will try and go back to where they use to live no matter how far.
so very careful for a few weeks!!
You are doing a great thing! She sounds like a sweet cat!

 

[kusjona1]

Thanks to everyone for all of the helpful tips! I will definitely try to bring some things with Shine's scent on them. I will likely wait a little while to move her in until I'm mostly done moving all of the big stuff in. I feel like her being there for that part of the move could be stressful. But once I bring her over, I will give her lots of places to jump up and be off the ground--her playing the "hot lava" game sounds pretty amazing. And I suppose I am optimistic about her eventually feeling more comfortable around my girls, but I know I'll have to be patient. She is microchipped luckily, but I am going to take all of the advice here and endeavor to make Shine a permanent indoor cat.

And believe me, I know all about the belly-rubbing trap. I got it pretty good from one of my friend's cats, "pumpkin," and I'll never forget it. One of the nice things about Shine is that she really doesn't seem to have a mean bone in her body. Still, I will establish a rule with the girls--no belly rubs!

Thanks to everyone for making me feel better about this. With all of the other stress that is going on, this was a small thing that was nagging at me, but I'm feeling a lot more comfortable about it now.

 

[catsknowme]

Your girls could try "comfort grooming" Shine using a soft rubber haircomb like the Ace ones. it's done primarily on the back of the neck and shoulders using "J" strokes that mimic a mother cat's licks.