Should we take on the neighbor's cat?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Here’s the story: our neighbor, after three years of seemingly constant drama with kids, divorce, run-over cats and barking dogs, is moving across country. At present they have two dogs and two cats to transport with them. Both dogs will be going along, and the younger cat, for sure. The other cat, who is not at all very old is in question.

They got the younger cat because the daughter begged for a kitten. The older cat, who dotes on the young girl, took exception to another cat in the house and began staying at our house for extended periods during the day, and occasionally at night, which the owners were fine with. When the kitten got out and disappeared for a couple of days, the other cat returned to full-time occupancy over there.

Well, now the kitten is back, and the older cat spends most of its time here, and has spent every night here for the past week. The owners have made oblique remarks about us keeping her when they move, and I have a feeling that she would disappear along the way if she got loose. Not to mention that after they arrive at the new place, the problems will still be there.

So here’s the problem: this cat likes being outdoors, and she doesn’t use the litter box we’ve provided. Neither of these is a particularly big problem except that we take frequent RV trips in the summer and would not be comfortable letting the cat out in a campground where it could disappear. The litter box is a bigger issue, and I don’t know if this cat can actually be trained to use it. We’ve put her in it, used her paws to scratch at the material, etc., but she is totally disinterested in it, something I’ve never seen in a cat. We don’t have a cat door, and have no place to install one, and she can’t be left in the house for days or weeks on end while we are gone. Kenneling is not an option.

She’s a sweet cat and very social, and I hate the idea of her being neglected or becoming lost when they travel, but I’m unsure how to overcome the obstacles she presents. What say you?

2

Outside cats can learn to be inside cats. Our cats were all strays/feral. Lucky tries to go outside once in a while, but I think that’s because cats always want to be on the other side of the door, not because he actually wants to be outside.

The others show no interest going outside and one of them violently objected the last time we tried to put him out.

The litter box problem might be the litter. Maybe try putting a layer of dirt over the litter so she knows its for peeing in.

I’ve also had a lot of success with CatAttract Litter. Its pricy, but once kitteh is in the habit of using the litter box, you can gradually transition her to other stuff.

I don’t like clay litter, but most strays seem to like that the best at first.

Also, cats can be leash trained. I’ve seen many folks with RV’s who have cats with them and most of them leash their cats. If you choose to do that, start by walking her in your back yard because she is going to try to slip the harness and if she does, you want her to know where to come back. Buy an H-harness that has straps that go behind the front legs as well as around the neck. I like the ones that have a strap that goes under the belly between the collar and belly band. You will probably need a small dog harness, cat harnesses really are not very secure.

If I were you, I’d take the kitteh in a heartbeat. But, I do rescue, so she would probably end up in the system. If you really don’t think you can take this poor lil girl on, maybe you could find a no-kill rescue to take her in?

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PS You sound like a kind-hearted person and I’m sure you will make the right choice for everyone involved.

If you or anyone else wants advice on leash training her, I can write books. I’m always happy to talk litter boxes and behavior modification. I’m not an expert by any means, but I do have a lot of experience.

Good luck to you.

4

Sounds like the cat would be (already is) a nice addition to your family – except for the camping trips.

Would you consider a house-sitter while you’re camping? Or someone to come over occasionally to check on the cat, make sure there’s food and water?

I tried a harness a few times. Maybe it was the wrong kind, because every time I put it on, Micky refused to move. He’d just collapse in a fur puddle.

5

A house sitter is also a very good idea.

Your Micky sounds pretty typical. That little 3 oz. bit of strapping suddenly becomes 3 tons when its on a cat. I have to be honest, its really funny to watch. Did you pick him up and put him on his feet to have him fall over again?

After a while, they get used to it, then when you hook the leash to the harness, 1 of 2 things will happen. Either the hook on the leash suddenly weighs another 3 tons and cat turns into a fur puddle again, or an OMG, A SNAKE IS BITING MY BACK!!! sort of freak out happens.

We are talking about cats after all. Cats are teh weird, we all know that! :smiley:

As long as I’m lecturing, never let a leashed cat walk out the door. Pick said kitteh up and carry him/her through the door and then put her/him down. This helps reinforce the idea that cats don’t go through the outside door without permission.

Do let leashed cats walk back in the door if they want to. You want kitteh to know that if kitteh gets out accidently, the door is there.

6

We spoke to the matriarch this morning about the upcoming trip, but there was no mention of Kitty (that’s actually her name). But then she’s not the owner, the daughter/granddaughter are. I thought about the harness/leash approach, which would be a good solution. Good ideas on the litter box problem. She sleeps through the night from about 9 until around six. Don’t know how she manages to do that. Then she wants out at the crack of dawn. We discussed pet sitters who come to your house, but neither of us has much faith in humankind, so any other solution is more appealing. Well, there’s nothing firm at this point.

7

My smart-ass answer after reading just the thread title is, “NO! They’re stronger and faster than they look, and they WILL try to disembowel you with their back claws!”

I’ll read the thread and have a better answer in a minute. :slight_smile:

8

I’ve used pet sitters and find them to be the perfect solution. The one I found after moving here is very professional and trustworthy, and the cats would much rather be sleeping in their own bed than riding in a nasty old car. I found her on a website for pet sitters, petsitting.com. She emails me every day if I want her to.

So take the kitty.

9

I’d take the kitty.

As far as litter box training, put her in a bathroom/mud room/laundry room, somewhere you wouldn’t mind a mess on the floor if it comes to that. She just needs to have to go without access to outside and beyond the point she can hold it. Keep her with food, water, litter box and a bed in there until she goes. Odds are she *will *go in the box. Presto, indoor kitty.

Also, since these folks next door are the utmost of responsible, I’m thinking she might not be spayed? That’s a huge contributor to wanting to wander outside! I hope she is spayed, because she may already be pregnant. crossing fingers Hopefully she is and her wanting out is just because it’s a giant bathroom out there and it’s a habit to go out is all.

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If you decide to take the cat, take it because you want to. Do not fool yourself into thinking you are preventing a cat from being dumped. The kitten they have now will almost certainly suffer the same fate once it stops being little. Sadly, in my experience, people who treat animals as disposable never really stop.
You didn’t cause this. You are not responsible for it. If you like the cat, and you want this cat, take the cat and be happy. But it seems like you don’t (I may be projecting!) and you think you “ought” to. But you didn’t create this situation and it isn’t your job to fix it.

Best of luck, though, seriously. I only offer this advice because I’m an absolute pushover when it comes to animals, and I’ve ended up with pets I didn’t want, and it always came out badly. It’s only by bad experience I’ve come to realize you have to take the animal on because you want to, not because you feel bad for the creature. Otherwise the cat is just going from one home where it isn’t really wanted to another one, and that doesn’t really help anything. Also, then when you hear about the neighbors dumping more cats, your anger will burn like 1,000,000,000 suns and you will get an ulcer.

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She’s spayed, as they’re not completely irresponsible with pets, just careless. We had to have our old cat put to sleep a year or so ago, and it’s still difficult not to compare one with the other. This one is small like our old cat, but is a tuxedo, so completely different coloring from our beloved pet. She has a funny little squeak of a meow. We would only take her if we feel we’ll give her the best environment, which is what motivates this thread. Good suggestions so far, so I feel more hopeful that it would work out.

12

That’s what I was going to say, too, but it sounds like you really do want the cat. The travelling is a real issue, though - we aren’t going to get any other pets after our current cat is finished with being alive, because we also want to travel, and that’s just a reality of pets - either they come with you, or you have do do something to leave them behind responsibly. It’s great that you want to give kitty a good home, but think seriously about the travel issue.

13

Last night we tried putting some dirt in the litter box on top of the litter, and putting her in it. She sniffed at it, then completely ignored it. :rolleyes:

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Just wondering how it’s going.

15

So when you say that the litter box is a problem, is it she ignores it in favor of the carpet, or that she holds it until you let her out?