Kitty wants to go outside!

February 5, 2007 7:39 AM

How do I help kitty become an indoor-only kitty?

I recently moved from a small apartment to a house that's on the corner of a fairly busy intersection. My cat was a stray who adopted me, and was always an indoor-outdoor cat while I was at my apartment -- something all the other tenants loved because she kept other strays away as well as performing mouser duties.

However, I don't want her to now go outside ever again with this intersection right outside my front door. She's been in the new house for two days and is increasingly displaying "midnight crazy" behavior at all hours of the day. I play with her and pet her a lot, she has lots of sunny windowsills in which to perch and look outside, but I feel I could (or should) be doing more to help her acclimate to her new status of indoor-only. Any ideas?

Oh, declawing is out of the question, that's my personal choice.

posted by WolfDaddy to pets & animals (9 comments total)

Get her a kitty companion. A young energetic kitty to wear her out.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 8:14 AM on February 5, 2007

Get her Ping-Pong balls. My cat loved them and she would play with them for hours until she was exhausted. The only problem is that somehow they always end up under the fridge.

Another cat would probably be a good bet, too.
posted by winna at 8:49 AM on February 5, 2007

House Cat might be worth a read.

Thirding second cat, too. Getting a friend for the first one -- who we took in off the street, too -- was one of the smarter things I did. Younger and opposite-sex is the usual recommendation for a new friend.
posted by kmennie at 8:53 AM on February 5, 2007

Don't give in would be my first suggestion. Too often people just give up when trying to keep their cat indoors. It's just a matter of who's going to blink first: you or the cat. One of my cats was a member of a local "colony" of strays. She was 5 months old when I found her and brought her in. She's never been outside, but that first month was a bear. She eventually got over it and has not tried for the door in a long time. Just remember, you're smarter than she is. :)

As other suggested, tiring her out is definitely a good idea. A laser pointer works well and will wear her out very quickly. Just don't overdo it, you can overwork them pretty quickly.

And, good call on the declaw. It's a totally unnecessary and horrendously cruel thing to do to an animal. If you don't know cats have claws, you shouldn't get one. ;-)
posted by Spoonman at 8:58 AM on February 5, 2007

Oh boy, I've got one of those. I've got a new stray from the shelter who had lived outside for all of her three-year-long life. She is a *cranky* little thing when the humans go in and out the front door, and is not above taking a little swipe-and-nip. She's also almost always cranked up with the Hunting Crazies (big eyes, swishy tail, low crouch, etc.)

I spoke to an animal behaviorist, whose first suggestion was a second cat. This strikes me as perhaps not the most practical suggestion (especially since I can only have one cat on my lease) but it seems to be a pretty official response. The shelter where I adopted her also suggested that it can take up to five or six months for a stray to get used to the indoors. I don't tell you that to depress you, but rather just encourage you (and myself!) to look at it as a more of a long-haul process. On the other hand, they said that some former strays adopt to it within weeks, what with the warmth and food and all.

So far my solutions have been based around giving her more to do. I just ordered a Roll-a-Treat ball, which I thought sounded good for a) bored cats and b) former stray/hunter cats. You put treats in the ball, kitty pokes ball all day long to get the treats out.

Frequent play seems to help, but I've started giving her shorter brief sessions with a Kitty Cool Down at the end (slower movements with the toy to try to let her relax), rather than one or two long, intense play sessions.

As an aside, my little nutball was actually unsure what to do with toys at first, and would give me confused "but... these don't bleed" looks. So in a way she had to be trained to play with toys rather than go outside and hunt. Or hunt the humans. So now whenever I see any pounce-y behavior, I give her a short three- or four-minute play session.

I've been considering ordering or building cat furniture, to give her some terrain and sate the need to run and climb. I've also been considering Feliway for a month or two, just to try to calm her down during the transition period. Overall, I've found that I've just got to be a little prepared for some brattiness. Luckily I love my nutball.

If I could, I'd probably go a combo second cat / Feliway route. However, I'm certainly no expert, and totally interested in seeing what other suggestions you get.
posted by lillygog at 9:54 AM on February 5, 2007

winna wrote:
Get her Ping-Pong balls. My cat loved them and she would play with them for hours until she was exhausted. The only problem is that somehow they always end up under the fridge.

Cardboard tubes leftover from wrapping paper rolls work great for blocking under the fridge and stove. You can cut them to the right length to fit and they'll keep the ping pong balls "in bounds" for your feline friends to enjoy.
posted by NoraCharles at 12:47 PM on February 5, 2007

*passing along advice from someone with indoor cats*

"I'd be wary of the second cat... it'd either work really well, or be a disaster.
And the OP says it's a SMALL apartment.
Getting lots of toys and scratching posts is a way to go, and some of that "cat grass" stuff most pet stores sell."


And kudos to you for keeping your kitty safe and NOT declawing!
posted by sleeplessunderwater at 9:28 PM on February 5, 2007

Oops, strike the bit about the "small apartment". ^^;;

And, "That makes getting a second cat a LITTLE less tricky an idea, but still... when cats don't get along, it's even more stressful."
posted by sleeplessunderwater at 9:29 PM on February 5, 2007

I suggested a young cat - because females (in particular) can be more forgiving AND more interested in younger kitties. I also suggested a young cat because of their playful energy.

Although - there do exist cats that will go BATSHIT INSANE if you introduce another cat into the situation (my cat is one of those cats).

Since the cat in the question was a stray - she's probably been around other cats, though.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 10:12 AM on February 6, 2007