My former stray keeps trying to get back outside

[moldymac]

Hi Everyone!

My first and only cat that I took in about 3 weeks ago has been adjusting nicely to my home.  I'm not sure how old she is, but I believe she is an older cat.  For the first 2 weeks she never made an attempt to escape and was happy to lay about the house.  Over the past weekend that changed when a relative visited and didn't close my door all the way and she found her way out.  I managed to catch her before she wondered too far, but ever since that day she had made it her mission to get out.  In the last 3 says she got out 2 more times and was not happy to be brought back in.  She would eventually calm down but any time someone goes near the door she is right there waiting for you to open it.

A little history about my cat (which I still haven't decided on a name for yet).  She is a stray that one of my co-works found around the shop I work at and she followed him back and lived outside there for about a month.  A few of us would feed her daily and built a small house for her to live in.  She would willingly walk up to anyone, meow at them and loved a good petting.  Once it was discovered that she had her front paws declawed I decided to take her home as she would be defenseless against the racoons and fox that live out there.  So she lives with me now.  She took to my house real well.  Did some snooping around, found the litter box and used it right away!  I plan to get her to a vet in the next week to get a checkup.  She seems clean and healthy but scratches her head on everything she can which lead to a small bald spot.  She also sheds constantly.  Being my first cat I'm not sure if this is normal or not.

Anyone have any suggestions to deal with her constant attempts to go outside?  Being I both live on a busy road and she is pretty defenseless I don't really like the idea of her running around out there.

 

[stephanietx]

You just tell her no and relocate her or move her away from the door.  If you can make it work, you can also put up a baby gate.
 

 

[cannegardner]

I just posted a reply about feral cats and their territory on another thread. She's confused right now because her territory has shifted. She has not truly "marked" and claimed your house yet and so she is probably still feelng anxious being a stranger in a strange land. She still sees outside as her territory and where she belongs. The transition can take months. My feral has only been in since last August and he still has bouts with wanting to go outside, but we are part of that problem. A relative visiting could have been the stressor that made her seek out what she's known for so long: outside, because the visitor made her feel unsafe inside. This will pass. Eventually, she'll just hide under the bed or something, but she has to claim the bed first.

Answer: keep her in. Get some feliway spray or diffusers and start marking the house for her so she gets the hint that this is her new "territory" now. Make sure she has things to scratch so she can mark that way, and a couple of litterboxes that she can use for marking as well. Outside cats do not pee in one spot because they use their pee to mark their space. If she's been declawed, she was probably someone's pet at some point but that doesn't mean she hasn't reverted to a semi-feral state.

We think, based on our experience with my boy that if you let them back out they get confused about where their territory is and they won't make the home 100% their space. For them, we need to define the boundaries. Once we have, they calm down.

We've been working with our guy for 6 years now and we had a lot of help understanding feral cats. Yours might not take as long since she's a stray and not a true feral. Good luck. Don't give in. It may seem cruel to keep them in, but with all we've been through with my guy and the other ferals we take care of, the outside will considerably shorten their lives. If she came in at all without a fight, take the hint that maybe she wanted in for a reason. If she's older, she might be looking for a place to retire. Outside is very stressfull.

 

[orientalslave]

Is she neutered? If not get her done ASAP - having been out she could have got pregnant, and females calling are desparate to go out.

Shedding is normal at this time of the year, but maybe she needs more grooming or you are using something that skates over the top of her coat rather than getting right through it. 

When I stay with a friend that runs a cattery I often end up doing some grooming to help her out, and we use metal tooth combs which do get right through the coat.  She had me do a black cat that had loads of old, rusty fur in her coat.  I didn't manage to do all of her while I was there, but she was shiny black with dandruff where I had got through her coat.   I groomed her several times while I was staying there, got handfuls of old fur out, and her coat was so difficult I started at the head grooming small sections from tail to head.  The alternative is to start at the tail grooming small sections from head to tail.  Either way you are not making the ungroomed coat worse.

The other tool that worked well for me when I had a shorthair cat with a very dense coat was a slicker.

Now I have Orientals all I need is my hand - the boy's coat is about 1cm (less than 1/2 inch) long!

Can you provide a safe outdoor run for her?  Or cat-proof the back yard?  Some ideas on how to do that at this URL:

http://www.fabcats.org/owners/fencing/index.php

My somewhat plump boy has lost 400g in a year (almost a pound) simply with being able to go out.  He is still overweight but we are hopeful that in another year the rest of his excess will have gone.

 

[trudy1]

We have two males and two females, all neutered, and one of the males and one female are inside/outside.  Seems to be different with each cat if they cry to go out or not.  If you cannot win the battle of outlasting her attempts to go outside I would suggest a halter w/lease and just take her out for a while in the morning.

This has worked with our latest rescue.  Once out for a while in the morning she seems satisfied for the rest of the day.

See my posts on Dolly...both for a home made thundershirt and CrazyKfarm halter...hope this helps.  It will calm her down using these devices.

 

[charlie little]

I have two cats one is a 30lbs. siberian and the other is a 10 lbs bombay well to prevent bordem I put birdseed on our back portch and open the curtains. It works just like cat tv