Adjustments for outdoor -> indoor cat?

@Japanfan - I'm pretty sure that you're capable of using Google, so if you want links, do a basic search and you'll find plenty of articles. Like these:

In Hawai'i:

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/apr/18/science/la-sci-sn-feral-cats-20130418

https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/...r=&httpsredir=1&article=1111&context=usgspubs

http://www.humanesociety.org/news/m...-the-balance-cats-and-wildlife-in-hawaii.html

And it's not just birds - cats introduce diseases that kill other animals, like seals:

https://www.outsideonline.com/2127956/hawaiis-crazy-war-over-zombie-cats

Elsewhere:

http://www.sialis.org/cats.htm

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2010/may/19/birds-cats-rspb-protection-tips

But you don't want to know this, because you want to continue to feel cozy about letting your cat outside. Maybe your cat is the exception who isn't a problem, but domestic cats outdoors overall are.
 
Scrufflet said:
In this part of the country you do need screens to keep bugs, raccoons, squirrels, skunks and even gophers out.
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IME people who live with their doors and windows open most of the time without screens are pretty rare.

I am not sure if there was a law that cats can't be outdoors that tons of people would give up their cats. I think most people would just ignore the law until the cats they owned died and then not get new ones. But I also think that such a law is not necessary. More and more people are coming to believe that it's better for their cats to stay indoors and not roam free. So less and less cats are out there causing problems or getting hurt.
 
But you don't want to know this, because you want to continue to feel cozy about letting your cat outside. Maybe your cat is the exception who isn't a problem, but domestic cats outdoors overall are.
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Um, I am already aware of the threat cats pose to birds and know people who keep their cats indoors because of it (but they are in environments where they can easily be contained). And this is by no means the first time I've engaged in a discussion about outdoor versus indoor cats.

Given that my cat doesn't kill or maim, why shouldn't I feel fine about letting him outside? It's true that cats who go outside face dangers that indoor cats don't face, such as raccoons or coyotes. But this cat would not be happy to be confined inside, were it even possible. He has tasted 'freedom' and experienced the natural world.

And this isn't the first cat I've had that didn't kill or maim. I had another that actually wouldn't even go outside, even though he could. He was a timid cat, and would only go outside when the dog when out, for protection. And he'd come in when the dog came in.

And what about rural and farm cats? Those cats can kill birds too. Do you really expect farmers to keep their cats indoors when their cats are mousers in the barn?
 
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The British Royal Society for the Protection of Birds does not believe that cats are the problem.
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-w...-garden-birds/are-cats-causing-bird-declines/

It always suggests a few common sense measures to protect birds in gardens
https://shopping.rspb.org.uk/catwatch-cat-deterrent.html

Some statistics suggesting that the bird species declining are not the ones most commonly preyed upon by cats
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-w...-garden-birds/are-cats-causing-bird-declines/

@Japanfan I agree there are equal arguments on both sides, and for every article about cats causing problems outside you'll find another one stating the opposite. When I get a cat, it will be an outdoor cat. The idea of keeping a cat indoors seems completely inhumane to me, but then I remember that people in the US often have very large houses which makes it possible and not so unkind to the cat. Keeping a cat in British house would be the cat equivalent of battery hens.

The RSPCA pretty much suggests it's better for cats to be outdoors:
https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/cats/environment/indoors

A more balanced article:
https://www.the-cat-guide.com/general-info/keeping-house-cats-cruel-pros-cons/

Sir David Attenborough does believe cats are having an impact on birds but suggests bell collars, not keeping cats indoors, as the solution:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/10/cats-killing-birds-gardens-david-Attenborough

Some professionals speak about their personal dilemma - and why they've chosen to let their cats out.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-anyway/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.38d70accfb71
 
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HAPPY UPDATE! :cheer: (Yes, the cat's name is Happy, haha.)

Hubs' friend brought her over yesterday afternoon and I'm REALLY surprised she's only been an outdoor cat. I mean, one of her ears is clipped, which means she was spayed as a feral. (Or spayed at a TNR clinic and her owner didn't want to pay for it, LOL.) But she's super friendly and LOVES people sooooo much.

She's really talkative, chirps a lot. Checked out the living room area (we closed the study and bedroom doors so she wouldn't get lost in the closets) and seemed comfortable. She hung out on the couch and rolled around on it like, "Whyyyy didn't anyone tell me about COUCHES???" :rofl:

She then spent a few hours hiding in the bathroom under the sink (where it's dark) but in the evening, came out and basically lived on the couch the entire night. We showed her where the litter box was, and after some fussing about the weird substrate (we use pine litter), used it fine.

She even got miffed when hubs went to bed at 10:30. If she's really been outdoors, nobody has spent considerable time with her that late. But she chirped forlornly at the bedroom door, then went over to the couch and flopped dramatically next to me. Within a few minutes she was snoring. :lol:

And then she discovered that cuddling under the blanket on the couch next to a person was even better. I don't think she wants to go outside ever again. :rofl:

I wonder how much we could spoil her into an indoor-only cat needy for attention in just 24 hours. The hardest thing has been to try the get rid of the last clods of dirt on her butt and a stubborn burr on her chest. And maybe clipping her nails, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. :saint:

Oh, and a pic! https://www.instagram.com/p/BkJxQj4H1YS/?taken-by=anitaycheng
 
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Happy that Happy seems to be happy in her new indoor cat status! :). It sounds as though the "hardest thing" might be giving her up in a couple months when your foster care ends. :( But congrats that things are going well so far.
 
skatingfan5 said:
Happy that Happy seems to be happy in her new indoor cat status! :). It sounds as though the "hardest thing" might be giving her up in a couple months when your foster care ends. :( But congrats that things are going well so far.
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Yah, hubs claims he's slightly allergic to her. I've been coughing a little bit too. But my sinuses have been weird recently and a lot of my colleagues are sick so who knows what's going on with me. :P We have the air purifier running, at any rate.

But maybe we'll miss a cat so much, we'll get a short hair when she leaves! :saint:
 
Hah, our friends came over and convinced us to let her onto the balcony since all 4 of us would be watching her. She enjoyed it, although her walking on the ledge made me nervous. So we were gonna limit outside time, at least until I got a harness. Except now it's 3am and she's meowing incessantly and looking out the sliding glass door and I'm thinking it was a mistake for us to introduce her to the outside before I got that harness. :duh:

Hubs is worried about the neighbors, but her meowing is WAY quieter than a baby would ever be. :p Yay Amazon Prime, we'll see how this harness business goes...
 
She looks lovely! And sounds like she has a terrific personality. It would be a good idea if you can, to take her to a vet tech and get the belly mats shaved. They feel so much better after that! We also use a Furrminator (about $50.00) to regularly groom ours. What a sweetie!
 
I managed to get all her mats off with a dematting comb, which she actually likes a lot! And I'm starting this project because holy crap does she shed so much! (Also, it gamifies brushing her regularly, hah.)

Unfortunately, once she got a taste of the outside she couldn't get enough. Hubs couldn't stand her incessant meowing last night (starting midnight, yay), so we let her out the front door for the night as a trial run, after discussing it with his friend. Harness was coming today, and I didn't feel comfortable letting her out onto the balcony without one.

In the morning, he rattled some dry food in her bowl outside and she started meowing right away, at the bottom of the stairs. So I don't think she'll go far when we let her out.

It's just slightly annoying since it was hubs' idea to foster her, and everyone I consulted (including a vet tech) said it would take a week or two for her to get used to being inside, but then he cracked after 3 days... :p

The harness just came and she didn't put up that much of a fuss when I put it on, but she acted like a drama queen when I attached the leash, crawling on the floor. :rofl: Good first day, though, I think! Hopefully she doesn't fight it too much now that she knows what it is. It would be fun to see if she'll take to walks. :saint: Next, getting a bell....
 
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The flomping on the floor for the leash and harness is pretty common. Just take her outside and let her flomp and roll on the porch.
 
Anita18 said:
Unfortunately, once she got a taste of the outside she couldn't get enough. Hubs couldn't stand her incessant meowing last night (starting midnight, yay), so we let her out the front door for the night as a trial run, after discussing it with his friend. Harness was coming today, and I didn't feel comfortable letting her out onto the balcony without one.

In the morning, he rattled some dry food in her bowl outside and she started meowing right away, at the bottom of the stairs. So I don't think she'll go far when we let her out.
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Our cat always stays close to the house. He likes to hang out on the roof of our neighbour's garage or sit on the front steps - he can sit there for hours. Fortunately he is not a cat who likes to wander. That could be because he's not an alpha cat.

Midnight/the early hours are when cats want most to be outside. But when Leo does succeed in getting me to let him out at night, he's really not happy to be out the whole night and is meowing loudly at the door in the morning.

Catz - they have special expertise in being unhappy.
 
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What a wonderful adventure! Back in the days when we had 7 cats (all indoor/outdoor), I would let them out in the day and bribe yhem to come in for the night with food. They got used to the routine and we felt better. Now we have 4 indoor with one being allowed out in harness with us. And all like the catio.
 
Catios are awesome! Our cats miss ours. If we knew this house thing was going to take so long, we would have put it back up but it's kind of too late now. But we have BIG PLANS for our new place. Not only are we going to turn the deck into a catio, we are going catify the whole house!
 
So it turns out our apartment managers don't allow unsupervised outdoor cats, so it was back inside for Happy. :cat: She's gotten better at night, though. Still meows, but quiets down much more quickly than before. And she's taken to sleeping in the bed with us sometimes too. I was about to crawl into bed last night when something touched my leg that felt suspiciously like a paw. I used my phone's flashlight to check it out, and it's Happy in my usual spot on the bed. I'm glad she touched my leg and that I checked, otherwise I would have crawled right in there and there would have been a nasty surprise for both of us. :rofl:

I think she's essentially a very people-oriented cat. She isn't very active otherwise, hasn't jumped on any tables or climbed up anywhere. She just goes on the couch and bed. She likely just needs to associate being inside with being with people whenever she likes. :) Also, associating people (read: me) with brushing so she can get rid of some of that overgrown undercoat when it was 100+ yesterday!
 
We aren't allowed to let our pets out into our yard if we aren't there either. This is the rule at every trailer park we looked at. Though we plan to cheat... Not going to supervise Sparky every time he needs to take a whiz. :lol:
 
I'll never forget it. It was awful to see and it was years ago. We spent an entire hour watching a lady who lived in a rural setting with her cat. We got to know them as if they were old friends. Just the two of them...a lovely story. As the show ended, she went outside to call her kitty in for the night as she did everyday. Just then an owl swooped down from a nearby tree and grabbed her cat. OMG! I'll never forget the sight of that cat being carried off by that owl and the thoughts that went through my mind for the longest time after seeing this. I wish I could forget it. Traffic is not the only danger to outside kitties. :(
 
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@Anita18 That is a cute cat, and I'm glad Happy is adjusting well.

My cats are indoors cats. Both were strays or abandoned by their previous owners. They don't ever try to get out the front door, but they love hanging out in my screened in porch. I don't mind outdoor cats in rural environments or farms, but in a city or even small town neighborhood, outside cats are pests. A friend of mine says her neighbor's cat comes over and digs in her flowerbeds. My next door neighbor's 2 cats will come over and stalk the birds in my backyard and dig in the yard, as well as annoy my own two cats, who are PO'ed that another cat is on their turf. If you are going to have an outdoor cat, please ensure they are not going to trespass on a neighbor's property. Which, of course, is very hard to do, I know.
 
sk8pics said:
My next door neighbor's 2 cats will come over and stalk the birds in my backyard and dig in the yard, as well as annoy my own two cats, who are PO'ed that another cat is on their turf.
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This happens to my cats as well. At one point we had our neighbor's cat and 3 others that came from who knows where! It upset one of my cats greatly and I was happy when the strays stopped coming around.
 
One last hurdle we have yet to cross....does anyone have any recommendations for good nail trimming tools for a grown cat who's never experienced them before? Maybe something that files them down gently so we don't have to grab her to do it? :saint:

I feel like we got away with a lot when we had our previous cat, because he loved to be held and hugged. That made a ton of things easier. And even then, trimming his nails was a two-person job because he would move his paws so much. I would hold him tight, hubs would hold his paw and do the trimming. But he never bit or scratched.

Happy's more liable to bite and scratch, although she lets us touch her paws VERY momentarily. She doesn't like to be held for long (that's how I got bit one time). I'm not really looking forward to trimming her nails, although it'll still be several weeks before we need to.
 
Anita18 said:
One last hurdle we have yet to cross....does anyone have any recommendations for good nail trimming tools for a grown cat who's never experienced them before? Maybe something that files them down gently so we don't have to grab her to do it? :saint:
I feel like we got away with a lot when we had our previous cat, because he loved to be held and hugged. That made a ton of things easier. And even then, trimming his nails was a two-person job because he would move his paws so much. I would hold him tight, hubs would hold his paw and do the trimming. But he never bit or scratched.
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I don't know about the tools, but would think it is most definitely a two-person job. We have never clipped our cats' nails because they are partially outdoor cats, so wear their nails out by being outdoors.

Were it me, I would consider going to the vet or a groomer with experience in cats for the clipping.
 
We have cat scratchers all over the house and only trim their nails when they start getting caught on things. A clipper that you 'extend nail-snip-release' is *much* faster than filing though. (Know this from trying both methods with the dog.)
 
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