Cat parents, have you had any luck taking an outdoor kitteh and making him

[GreenPartyVoter]

an indoor one? Also, what about bringing in new kittens with a slightly older cat? (He was raised as the baby in his cat home, but they can't keep him now.)

We want to get kittens this summer, but a neighbor said she needs to let her almost 2yo boy kitteh go to a new home (Older cat is starting to bully him badly.) I don't want to deal with an outdoor kitteh again. I've been through the heartbreak of losing them too many times. And I want to be sure that it would be safe to bring new kittens into a home with this guy. (Safe for the kittens, and for the house. I don;t need an angry kitteh peeing everywhere.)

Any thoughts?

(X-posted from Pets forum)

[Pab Sungenis]

1. We have.

We took in two outside cats (a grandmother and granddaughter) with three existing indoor cats. It's tricky at times, but can be done successfully.

[GoCubsGo]

2. Cats don't "pee everywhere" out of anger.

There is always some underlying issue, such as an illness. Or, something "bad" has happened while they were in the liter box, such as a scary noise, or they don't like the new litter. Litter box issues are never due to them being angry or vindictive.

I have introduced kittens to my older cats (both male and female) a couple of times. I did it slowly and had no problems with it. The fact that you are planning on getting multiple kittens may actually make it easier on an older cat. They'll likely be more interested in entertaining each other, especially if they're litter mates, and there's a good chance they won't be bothered with the older cat. And, make sure you have multiple litter boxes around the house--one per cat, at least. Make sure they have escape routes, in case somebody decides they're going play "stalker" around the cat boxes.

[mikeytherat]

3. Last winter we brought a five-year-old abandoned outdoor cat into the fold.

Now Crosby is a big, ol' lump of indoor cat. Here he is the morning after he came inside - it was 15 degrees out when I took this picture, and I think you can see the smile on his face:



He does have occasional bouts of "I want to be an outdoor cat again!", but he's happy indoors, and gets along great with our other two cats.

mikey_the_rat

[hamsterjill]

5. Love that tipped ear, too!!!

The mark that he's been neutered. In our area, we use a straight across cut on the left ear.

[hamsterjill]

4. Yes, many times.

Outdoor kitties can become very contented kitties when brought inside to safety. The trick is consistency. He comes in, and he never goes back out. You may want to look for toys, etc. to keep him stimulated. To begin with, he should be confined to one room of the house so that he will feel safe and not feel overwhelmed. Plenty of attention if he asks for it, tasty treats and a calm environment make transitions easier.

As far as introducing kittens/cats to other kitties, the best way is the "slow and easy" approach. If you can confine the new kitty to a room for a few days, or else keep the kitty in a large wire dog crate or some other suitable confinement, it allows the new and old kitties to exchange scents and become accustomed to one another without fear of contact. If you are using a wire cage, you may want to cover it initially with a sheet or blanket so that new kitty feels safe. You may notice them smelling one another under the door, etc.

After they start to act as if they could care less that there is a new kitty in the next room, or in a cage, etc., it is time to start to introduce them to one another for short periods of time with supervision. The times out of the room or cage should gradully become longer until the new kitty is part of the household and none of the other cats pay particular attention to the fact that he is now part of the household.

Thank you for understanding that inside cats are so much better off than outdoor ones. And best of luck!

[LynneSin]

6. I am the DU expert in dealing with formally outdoor cats

I'll be honest, it's not an easy trick.

I adopted what I thought was an adorable kitten that looked to be about 6-9 months old. Turns out it was a cat that was probably more along the lines of 3 years of age.

You have to consider the life of a feral (outdoor) cat. They are raised from birth to distrust human contact. Sure some might be made friendly enough to come near you or even eat from your outdoor food dish, but bringing them indoors - they are very hardpress to lose their formally feral ways.

After 9 years of living indoors I can say this about Evita, the former street tough cat.

She is extremely skittish. I'm really the only person that can get near her and even then she has limits. She does love to be pet and have her hair brushed but if I use more than one hand she will run away. She will also only come near me if I'm reclining on a sofa. She is very difficult to capture. She has not been to a vet in almost 5 years (I almost broke an arm trying to catch her the last time). I usually get about 15-20 minutes of cuddle time a day with Evita.

She has not lost her killer instinct. In her time indoors she has caught 3 mice, a bat and 2 songbirds. She is that good.

She is not friendly with other furballs. At times she'll tolerate Abbott but she sees him as a big doofus. He'll try to bully her because he is twice her weight but she's got the killer instinct - my money always is on her. But they do get along from time to time but those adorable photos of cats intertwined with each other - that does NOT happen in my household. THey'll just lay near each other but never touching.

She knows what the litter box is but if she isn't near it she'll improvise. Because i have a 2 story house, I'll make sure all the upstair doors are closed whenever I'm not using them else she'll just potty upstairs (and I don't want a litter box up there). Fortunately she has had no issues sharing the litterbox with Abbott.

She has no desire to go outdoors. After living 3 years on the mean streets of Smyrna, DE, she knows living indoors is a good thing even if she has to put up with Abbott and I sharing the space. But I swear she gets the stink eye something fierce to the point I think she would kill me if she could figure out how and still get fed each day.

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. Well, this young lad is a birder. He loves to hunt, which is one of the reasons why I worry

about him going out. And along with everything bad that can go wrong for kittehs outdoors, I don't want him bringing ticks back into the house. Three bouts with Lyme in my kids in as many years were enough for me.

If I knew for certain that he would adjust well, stay indoors, and take a shine to kittens I would take him in a heartbeat. He's a sweet little guy and was never feral. I just worry that that the kitten plan may not work out, and I don't like the idea of a lonely furkid waiting at home for his people.

I told his current mom to consider us a back-up plan if she can't find anyone suitable for him.

[LynneSin]

9. Have you thought of fostering the kitten a bit to see if he adapts

Honestly, I could toss Evita out the front door (if i could catch her) and before the door slams shut she'd be back inside.

I also don't want outdoor cats for some of the same reasons you have discussed. In the 10 years I have owned these cats I've never had to worry about ticks or lyme disease or even fleas (although Abbott had fleas when he first moved in, he was also an 'outdoor' cat but I suspect he was once owned by someone else who dumped him when they didn't want him anymore).

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. THANK YOU! You've given me a lot to think about. I've told his current mom to consider us as a back-

up plan if no one else can take him.

[HopeHoops]

10. I had one for 16 years that started as an outdoor, had to learn to be an indoor,...

... and then an outdoor again, and then as an indoor/outdoor for the rest of his life. It takes a lot of cuddles and Pounce treats to make the transition to indoor, but he always found a way to escape and always came back.

[irisblue]

11. mojo was a former street cat 10 yrs ago.

she now is my lap cat. she choose me however by walking up to me and jumping into my lap while i was sitting on a friends' urban neighborhood porch; after a few minutes of petting she jumped down to return with her very young kitten. i plainly told her that she would be a totally indoor cat, never to go out again. she was very clear from the start that i was their human. she was pretty dirty and thin, but based on her no fear attitude, i think she was a toss away, not a multi generation feral. YMMV, i think you've gotten good advice here and in the pets forum.

[yellowcanine]

12. Yes it can be done. Easily accessible CLEAN litter boxes is part of the answer.

You should have at least one more litter box than you have cats. So if you have one cat you need at least two litter boxes - if your house is on 2 levels one should be upstairs and one downstairs. Then the litter boxes need to be cleaned frequently - at least once a day, twice is better. Some kitties don't want to use a litter box which is has waste already deposited - particularly poop. Extra litter boxes and keeping them clean will help keep kitties from doing their biz outside the box. If you go away for more than one day you need a reliable person to come in and clean the boxes and provide fresh food and water.

[MiddleFingerMom]

13. MiddleFingerMomMom taught me that there's a French word for outdoor cats in Arizona:

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Hors d-oeuvres.
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[deucemagnet]

14. I think a lot depends on the cat.

My last cat (a stray that I found) wanted to be an indoor/outdoor cat and would dash for an open door all of his life. Unfortunately, I never really lived somewhere where it was safe to let him roam. My current cat (a stray that my cousin found) is the happiest indoor cat in the world. They're both great cats, but with very different personalities.