Help converting outside cat to inside cat

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Talker - 27 Mar 2008 02:46 GMT

Two weeks ago I lost my 11 year old cat, Lucky, to an infection which
led to organ failure. She wandered into our yard one day and stayed.
She wasn't reaaly an outside cat. It was obvious she was an inside cat
that someone dumped at the school next door. She was so skinny and
malnourished - no claws so she couldn't even hunt. Lucky she found our
house before she starved to death - hense the name.

For the past 4 months we have also had a outside cat. Twitch also just
kind of wandered up one day. Twich was never really interested in
coming inside as Lucky wouldn't let her. Now though, she seems to know
that Lucky is gone and takes every opportunity to come in. For the last
couple of days we have been letting her in for a few hours and putting
her back out at night. (It's not as heartless as it sounds, she has a
waterproof "kitty" house on the back porch with an outdoor heating pad
so she stays dry, snug, and warm.)

I think Twitch would adopt to being an indoor cat fairly easily, BUT as
always there are problems. I have never really tried to take an outside
cat and bring it in. Lucky was an exception, she wasn't really an
outside cat. First, Twitch LOVES to claw EVERYTHING from the carpet to
the furniture. Can't seem to get her to use a scratching post. Also, I
don't know if she can adopt to a litter box. She loves to play and dig
in it, but doesn't use it. Since she doesn't stay in for more than a
few hours it hasn't been a problem - but later? Also, right now, with
work and school schedules, we aren't even home for 12 hours of the day.
There isn't anyone here to supervise her. My wife is especially
concerned about the scratching - our furniture may not be the best but
we'd like it to stay that way.

Can anyone offer suggestions?

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Rene S. - 27 Mar 2008 16:12 GMT

> I think Twitch would adopt to being an indoor cat fairly easily, BUT as
> always there are problems. I have never really tried to take an outside
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> concerned about the scratching - our furniture may not be the best but
> we'd like it to stay that way.

What kind of scratching post have you tried? Have you tried one of the
cardboard ones? Since she was an outdoor cat, you might try
alternative things like a piece of wood or an upside-down wicker
basket. If this fails, ask your vet about Soft Paws, little plastic
covers that you glue over the nails, replacing them every 4-6 weeks as
they fall off.

For a litterbox, you might want to try using sand or dirt (or dig up
some soil from your backyard) and slowly transition her to a more
traditional litter.

Is here a small room you could confine her in for a couple of weeks
while she acclimates to indoor life? Provide a litterbox or two, a
nice tall cat tree, food, etc. If you have a window, a nice perch
would be nice, or consider adding a bird or squirrel feeder near the
window for her entertainment.

Let us know how it goes. Thanks for bringing her to the safety of the
indoors.

Rene

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Talker - 01 Apr 2008 02:57 GMT

To all who offered advise, I thank you.

For the moment, Twitch is living a dual life. When we get home she
comes in with us. At night, she seems content to sleep at the foot of
the bed. In the day when we leave, she goes back outside. When she's
in, if she stands by the door at anytime, she's allowed to go back out.
When she's out, we let her back in when we hear her. She seems to
prefer this, most of the time. On occasion, she doesn't want to go out
in the morning.

She has shown that she can and will use a litter box, so that's one
question answered. We are learning to control her scratching. So far a
stong "No" works. We have a couple of scratching posts and a scratching
box. When we tell her "No" she usually goes to one of the scratching
posts. We'll keep working on that. We are leaning toward trimming her
claws to hold down on the damage to the furniture and to ourselves (she
tends to get a little carried away and draws blood.)

Right now, we are content to allow it to go on like this for a while,
except or course she has a physical scheduled later this week with the
vet.

For those who meantioned it, most of the "cat" things we can live with
and don't mind, even if we don't understand. Like the presents she
leaves on the doorstep. We can live with that, but we'd prefer it if
she would leave the the poor cardinals alone. Oh and her fascination
with dirty socks, what's up with that?

Again, thanks for all the advise.

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James - 01 Apr 2008 04:07 GMT

> To all who offered advise, I thank you.
>
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> --
> Constitution; Bill of Rights; -- Void where prohibited by law

I have an indoor/outdoor cat who some times sleeps in during the day
and some times at night. Usually if she doesn't come in at night she
will sleep in the next day.

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hopitus - 29 Mar 2008 00:38 GMT

> Two weeks ago I lost my 11 year old cat, Lucky, to an infection which
> led to organ failure. She wandered into our yard one day and stayed.
[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
> --
> Constitution; Bill of Rights; -- Void where prohibited by law

I do not allow my cats to go outside for any reason, ever. We are
in an area where coyotes eat small household pets and gang up
on large dogs. If you don't know how to clip cat claws, get a friend
who does to show you. So much for protecting the furniture...I
have a very expensive custom-made leather sofa from Ethan Allen
and keep a thick cover which totally covers it except for the back,
which is snug against a wall....If a claw goes into the cotton cover
it never reaches the leather beneath.Ditto for a chaise longue.
If you keep the cat for awhile in a smaller area, like I used to in my
laundry room in a house, with the litterbox I think she'll start using
it
Another big reason cats stay inside here in MileHigh is that living
things freeze and die here in winter weather.
Try the "smaller room like laundry or garage" idea. Then when you
get home you can keep an eye on her elsewhere in your home.

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