Indoor cat to outdoor cat?

In My Humble Opinion
1

We adopted a cat from the Humane Society 2 1/2 years ago. She has been spayed and has her claws. She has been strictly an indoor cat during this time.

She sprays and pees all in my house. I have tried different litter, medicines, plug ins, had her checked out by 3 different vets and spent ridiculous amounts of money to try to fix or get to the bottom of this problem. Finally, our vet said we should consider just making her an outdoor cat. The problem with this is that we have another rescue…a dog…that lives outside and does not like cats. Like not even a little bit. Plus, we live in a busy subdivision. The vet said nothing is medically wrong with her…this is a behavior thing.

I love the cat. I am a cat person. Have had cats my entire life and they lived to be 16, 12, & 10. But…this just can’t go on.

We searched for a new home for her for about 6 months because I refused to give her to just anyone. We finally found a friend of the family who lives on 2 acres of land that wanted an outdoor cat. They live 2 hours from us so we loaded up all the kitty’s things, medical records, bed, treats, litter box for transitioning and took her to the new place.

The first night they texted me that she loved being outdoors and had been exploring.

Two days later they text me that they haven’t seen her since that first night and are worried. I give them some suggestions.

After 3 days she came out of hiding but she is still not coming around all that often. There is apparently another cat in the area that is bullying her. They think she is stressed out and are worried about whether or not they can keep her. It seems she is primarily staying under their barn. They have tried to coax her onto their front screened in porch to maybe let her transition a little to the outdoors at a time but she is having none of it.

I don’t know what to do. I hate to think about her being unhappy or stressed out. Part of me thinks she will warm up…that this is just an aclimation for her.

I know we can’t take her back. If they can’t keep her we will have to surrender her to the Humane Society and I hate the thought of that.

Any suggestions? Thoughts? Ideas? Am I a terrible person for finding her this new home? I had really hoped she would adjust and like being outdoors. They have places she can hide and come in when it is cold or bad weather.

Will she come around? Have you had experience making an indoor cat an outdoor one?

2

I think perhaps the transition should have been from the screened in front porch to the outdoors so she felt she had a “home” to retreat to when she encountered this other cat, but perhaps a high kitty condo in the screened in porch and delicious food would lure her there now.

3

We had a cat who was an inveterate pee-er and we gave her to my friend’s barn. I was working there at the time, so I kept an eye on her. She was scarce for a week. In two weeks she was sometimes seen around. In three weeks she was mousing. In a month she realized that kids pet barn cats.

Now she’s fat and sassy and has her certain spot in the barn office. It really did take many months to get to that point (its been several years now)

Is your cat stressed right now? Yes, maybe a bit. But the alternative is being dead, since no one will take an indoor cat that pees all over everything.

You’re giving her a chance and its the only chance she has.

Cats hiding for three days is normal in any moving situation, even moving houses with their own people and stuff.

4

You need to take the cat back and have her put down. She cannot survive as an outdoor cat, with the other cat pushing her away from the area. She is going to end up dying a sad, lonely death. Do the right thing and don’t let this happen to her. She’s worse off now then she was at the humane society.

5

It will probably end in heartbreak. I am so sorry for you. She was acting out because of the dog. Maybe you should look for a new home for the dog.

I speak from experience. I had an indoor cat. I lived smack down in the middle of a busy city. She always peeped and cried she wanted out. So I let her out. She would walk down the fire escape each evening and every morning would be waiting to be let in. I moved to the suburbs, my house backed onto a Ravine. She went out one night and never ever did I see her again. I am almost positive she was eaten by a Raccoon or other wild animal. It was terrible for me because I absolutely adored her. I posted signs and left flyers in everyone’s mailbox. Nothing. I would hate for you to get a call that your cat did not return…because it is terrible.

6

So because you think she may not survive an outdoor life your solution is to kill her? WTF?

7

Maybe she needs an in-between solution. Here is a list of links to providers of outdoor enclosures for cats, which are easy to build for a diy type. I know people who enclosed their entire patio plus some grass, and just put a cat flap in the patio door. Cats come and go as they please, some do their business in the grass/sand, and they just scoop the area like they would for a dog.

8

Sheesh, it’s not that dire. The cat needs a safe haven all her own away from the bully cat is all.

9

Surely this is as simple as locking the front door? :smiley:

runs screaming from army of Teeming Felophiles

10

The dog strictly stayed outside…the cat inside. They never interacted. We have had the dog for 12 years. We know he doesn’t like cats due to how he has behaved toward other neighborhood cats. The cat started the peeing and spraying from the day we got her over 2 years ago until the night before we took her to try the new home.

11

Y’all need to give it some time. The two cats will most likely work it out, just like they do when you bring a new cat home. She’ll get used to the new space and won’t be as freaked out.

It just takes a little while. Cats are slow to acclimate.