Catfilter: how to deal with indoor/outdoor cat during house remodel?

September 29, 2023 10:01 AM

Frankie is an indoor/outdoor cat. I tried keeping her inside for over a year but it made us both miserable. Fortunately I live in a pretty safe neighborhood. This winter my house is being remodeled and I’ll have to move out for 3-6 months. How should we keep Frankie safe and out of harms way during this time?

I’ve thought of a few options:
1. Frankie and I move in with boyfriend. He loves Frankie but we both worry that he won’t have the constant vigilance to keep her from escaping. His neighborhood is not great for her to go outside
2. I try to find my own place and move with Frankie, keeping her inside. It’s hard to find pet friendly rentals around here. And expensive- but I’m willing to spend $$$ to keep her safe
3. I rent an RV, park it in the yard and live in it with Frankie. She could still go out when active construction stuff isn’t happening. I have no idea if this is at all realistic though.

posted by genmonster to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

Forgot cat tax:Frankie we already got an AirTag for her collar to help with kitty retrieval
posted by genmonster at 10:05 AM on September 29, 2023

I would go with option three, the RV, if you can. Sounds like the least disruptive for Frankie (who looks like she could be Mimi's sister. Mimi also cannot cope with indoors only, thankfully i have a small safe garden).
posted by 15L06 at 10:33 AM on September 29, 2023

Option 2 but you take her to visit your house on days there's no construction going on and let her hang out in the yard.
posted by lizard music at 10:46 AM on September 29, 2023

Can you spend the money on adding a nice catio setup to your boyfriend's house? Probably cheaper, and it could mitigate her need for the outdoors, especially if it was large and fancy. It would definitely be a more peaceful option. You could maybe do the same for your renovated place eventually
posted by emjaybee at 11:38 AM on September 29, 2023

My worry is about you! Can you seriously imagine living in an RV for 6 months? In the winter? With a stir-crazy cat? With (loud?) construction going on next door? And would the construction workers like that, or do they need room to park their trucks?

I'd vote for #2 (for independence) or #1 (for money reasons). How is the boyfriend's apartment setup? Can you install a baby gate or something so that the cat cannot sneak out without having to scale 2 barriers, and you are able to easily see that the area around the door is cat free?
posted by Dotty at 1:39 PM on September 29, 2023

Definitely not 3 - cats are amazing at getting into little nooks and crannies, of which there’ll be many on a construction site. You won’t always know where they are, and however closely you watch her, she could disappear into some hidey hole at the weekend, get scared or lost or stuck or fall asleep, and then construction is due to start again on the Monday…

There you are scared she’s going to get trapped or hurt by construction, so you have to make them stop work while you search for her in some tiny inaccessible cavity that’s super-hard to find (because: cat).
posted by penguin pie at 2:38 PM on September 29, 2023

Have you tried leash-training?
posted by credulous at 3:10 PM on September 29, 2023

I've moved around with cats that have gone between indoor and indoor/outdoor, depending on the safety of the situation. Not all cats are darters, so it's possible #1 won't even be a problem. Second, while all cats are different, in unfamiliar outdoor environments the cats I've had tend to be cautious- which means when they have escaped, they are usually slightly frozen/overwhelmed, and easily scooped up. So depending on how close your boyfriend's front door is to danger, I'd go for #1 (say, if you can use a back entrance that exits out into a garden/little used parking lot).
posted by coffeecat at 4:02 PM on September 29, 2023

1) Staying with friends -- Best option. Was that your non-pet choice? Do have a backup plan if things fall through or you/boyfriend/cat need a break temporarily.
2) New living quarters -- Best option if money is available and a good rental turns up. Less stressful for all and less chance of an unexpected relocation.
Bonus: maybe after the move Frankie will be more accustomed to indoor life after months in a novel location.
3) Staying onsite -- Don't go there.
You have no control over the environment during construction. Poisons and dangerous equipment are standard. Keep Frankie safe and far away from the jobsite.
Also, remind the foreman that children and pets will be living there upon completion (Frankie is your fur-baby, right?) The crew needs to police the area for hazards before leaving each day -- no random things stuck behind a bush that can cause an emergency medical trip weeks later.
posted by TrishaU at 5:49 AM on September 30, 2023

I would suggest #1 or #2, depending on how dangerous your boyfriend's outdoor space is. I follow someone on instagram who has a feral outdoor cat who lives primarily in her yard, and when she moved last year, she kept the cat in a large catio/cage in the new location for like 6 weeks before she let the cat out to roam her new territory. Forcing the cat to stay put for that long helped her to understand this was her new space and the cat didn't run off and try to go back to her old house. Trying to go for just 6 weeks of indoor living might feel more manageable than 6 months!
posted by possibilityleft at 8:21 AM on October 2, 2023