drobbins

Unhappy Cat

First a little background. We are a family of 4 with 3 cats. We have lived in the same house in a rural area, for 8 years now. We had a pet door and the 3 cats were free to come & go in & outside as they pleased. They are well trained and we had no need for a litter box. The last 10 months we spend building a new house in which we did a lot of the work ourselves. Last week we finally moved in.
All the cats are very affectionate and are members of our family. "Furbie" is a long haired calico cat about 2 years old and very playful. I think she has already forgotten the other house. "Chumpo" is your typical Garfield cat - After waking up from his nap, he will still stop and rest on the way to the food dish. As long as the food dish is around, he doesn't care where he lives. The unhappy cat is Sammy. We have had him since we moved into our old house 8 years ago. He has spent the last week going from window to window smearing his nose over all of them. Meowing all day & the wee hours of the night. I was hoping that he would get over it sooner or latter (preferably sooner), but no signs yet.
Here are the reasons we do not want another pet door. Our yard is red clay and the cats track it in. If they stay inside, we shouldn't have any flea issues this year. Sammy has started bringing in presents. This year already he brought in - 3 mice, 2 moles, 1 bird, 1 live bird, 1 live mole and 1 live rabbit. An average of one every 2-3 weeks. I think he would do ok as a totally outside cat, but then we would not see much of each other. Anybody have any ideas?

Hey, No wonder the water don't work! This pipe is full of wires!!

SethH

Re: Unhappy Cat

As a kid the cats my family owned were "mostly outdoor cats." We would let them outside each morning, they would spend the better part of each day outside and then we'd often let them inside at night.

One of my cats used to rule the neighborhood for the first 10-12 years of his life. When he got to about 13 or 14 he got beaten up pretty bad and we tried to make him an indoor cat. His reaction was very similar to Sammy's. While his wounds were healing he enjoyed being inside, but once he was better he demanded to be outside. We eventually gave in. I think when a cat has spent more than 4 or 5 years with the freedom of being outside it will be very, very difficult to force him to become an indoor-only cat.

Johnny Angell

Re: Unhappy Cat

Have you discussed this with your vet? This is where I would start. The vet may recommend anti-anxiety drugs for your cat or some sort of behavior therapy. There are some cats that once they are used to going outdoors, cannot give it up.

One thing we've had luck with is an item called Rescue Remedy. Its a flower essence oil. It is marketed as calming agent for people, but cat knowledgeable people recommended it to me. We have found that putting about 6-7 drops in a bowl of water can take the edge off the tension that can occur in a multi-cat household, which we have. Perhaps this could help Sammy.

Here's a link for where I buy it, best price I've found so far: http://www.luckyvitamin.com/741273003922.html

This is strictly a personal recommendation, I don't have any relationship with that site.

I hope Sammy learns to adjust.

Johnny
www.teamfurr.org
Another cat? Perhaps. For love there is also a season; its seeds must be resown. But a family cat is not replaceable like a wornout coat or a set of tires. Each new kitten becomes its own cat, and none is repeated. I am four cats old, measuring out my life in friends that have succeeded but not replaced one another.--Irving Townsend

Eric Samonte

Re: Unhappy Cat

We have a male "unclipped" cat who basically adopted us. He's had us for over 3 years now and he is an outside cat. He only comes home to feed, when he hasn't caught anything outside but he rarely sleeps in. We don't have a pet door so when he wants to go out, he just lets us know and we open the doors.

Johnny Angell

Re: Unhappy Cat

Oh, please, please have this guy neutered. He's going out there and creating more homeless, unwanted cats. Contact a humane group in your area and they should be able to point you to a low-cost vet or show you how to minimize the expense, which isn't much anyway.

I am surprised he hasn't been spraying the inside of your house when you let him in.

Johnny
www.teamfurr.org
Another cat? Perhaps. For love there is also a season; its seeds must be resown. But a family cat is not replaceable like a wornout coat or a set of tires. Each new kitten becomes its own cat, and none is repeated. I am four cats old, measuring out my life in friends that have succeeded but not replaced one another.--Irving Townsend

drobbins

Re: Unhappy Cat

Well, we had visitors yesterday and Sammy made a run for the door and made it outside. He spent the night outside and I got a good nights sleep. If he wants to live outside, I won't stop him. We'll put food and water out for him.

Hey, No wonder the water don't work! This pipe is full of wires!!

Dave_Brown

Re: Unhappy Cat

That's exactly what I did with my cat. I had two and one of them spent the first 2-3 years of his life as an indoor cat, only to make it outside one day. I was a bit worried at first, but he learned to love it. He would still come in for food but as soon as his belly was full, he fought to get back outside. I had one of those window a/c units and he discovered that was his escape route if I didn't let him out soon enough. It eventually got to the point where I would just leave food and water outside for him and he was even happier with that arrangment. He'd still hang by the house, visit every day, but just had no desire to be an indoor cat.

Joe S.

Re: Unhappy Cat

You could send Sammy to live on our farm, we'd kill to have a good mouser around

Honestly, I think it's best just to let Sammy do what he wants. Put some food, water, and a soft bed somewhere (garage?) and let him come and go as he pleases. If it was a dog, I would retrain him. IMHO with a cat, once they are set in their ways, they are SET. I had a stray I adopted once, but it was not an inside cat. So we'd let him in when he wanted, put down a towel on a lap and give him some petting. When he had enough company, he'd go back to the door, outside, and we'd see him next day. Ah well, they're cats...

If anything, just check Sammy's paws for mud when he comes inside and try to use some sort of long term flea/tick solution so he can wander without infecting the other inside cats.

drobbins

Re: Unhappy Cat

I agree, It might be easier to train my wife to let him in & out

Hey, No wonder the water don't work! This pipe is full of wires!!