Adopting an outdoor cat
January 8, 2025 7:29 PM Subscribe
We've finally bowed to the reality of the situation and are adopting the outdoor cat that adopted us these last few years. Help us make the transition for both parties as smooth as possible. I'd love to hear advice, tips, and best practices around how to both move them indoors.
So first, cat tax here.
Long story, but over the last few years this cat has adopted my partner and spent more and more time with us. Their prior owner wanted them to be outdoors, but closer to home. However, every time the cat was let out, they would run to us and spend like 70% of their time with my partner. We are moving into a place that now will accept cats, told them if they ever wanted to rehome the cat, that we'd love to be a part of that conversation. Happily for us, they told us that they didn't want to fight the cats choice and if we wanted, we could take over care for the cat!
This is awesome, but now leads into my questions.
First of all, I didn't love that they were an outdoor cat. There are cars and coyotes around, and I know cats are detrimental to the local small animal populations. When it wasn't our cat, we could say we'd do that differently, but now that they are, how do we make the transition successful?
I don't know if they are litter trained for instance. If not, how do we help to help encourage them to use the litter box?
How much a a challenge will it be to keep them inside? Whenever they've seen a chance, they have run into our home and generally feel very comfortable inside, but I don't want to just count on that.
Right now, they mainly eat wet food, and while we've fed them once or twice, we've never had to worry about a schedule. How often should we be feeding them. Should we try and introduce dry food too?
Any other tips would be helpful! I'll be taking them to a vet after the move too.
So first, cat tax here.
Long story, but over the last few years this cat has adopted my partner and spent more and more time with us. Their prior owner wanted them to be outdoors, but closer to home. However, every time the cat was let out, they would run to us and spend like 70% of their time with my partner. We are moving into a place that now will accept cats, told them if they ever wanted to rehome the cat, that we'd love to be a part of that conversation. Happily for us, they told us that they didn't want to fight the cats choice and if we wanted, we could take over care for the cat!
This is awesome, but now leads into my questions.
First of all, I didn't love that they were an outdoor cat. There are cars and coyotes around, and I know cats are detrimental to the local small animal populations. When it wasn't our cat, we could say we'd do that differently, but now that they are, how do we make the transition successful?
I don't know if they are litter trained for instance. If not, how do we help to help encourage them to use the litter box?
How much a a challenge will it be to keep them inside? Whenever they've seen a chance, they have run into our home and generally feel very comfortable inside, but I don't want to just count on that.
Right now, they mainly eat wet food, and while we've fed them once or twice, we've never had to worry about a schedule. How often should we be feeding them. Should we try and introduce dry food too?
Any other tips would be helpful! I'll be taking them to a vet after the move too.
I've brought outdoor cats indoors more than once. It's been fine every time. It's possible that a cat will have a hard time adjusting, but I wouldn't worry about that before it happens.
If the cat isn't spayed or neutered, that should be a top priority.
The cats that I brought inside all used the litter box on their own. They naturally want to pee and poop in dirt, sand, or other such textures. If you have houseplants with exposed dirt this can be an issue. (Check that none are toxic if you have them - some can cause serious illness or even death.)
As far as attempting to get outside, this is pretty dependent on the cat. Neutered/spayed cats have less of a drive to roam but still might want to go outside if they're curious/explorer sorts. You will just have to get into the habit of not leaving doors/windows open!
Food: The only downside to wet food is that it's more expensive than dry food. I feed my cats a mix because I can't afford an all wet food diet for them. If I could afford it they would be on all wet food. Some people think that dry food helps keep their teeth cleaner but this is mostly a myth.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 8:53 PM on January 8 [1 favorite]
If the cat isn't spayed or neutered, that should be a top priority.
The cats that I brought inside all used the litter box on their own. They naturally want to pee and poop in dirt, sand, or other such textures. If you have houseplants with exposed dirt this can be an issue. (Check that none are toxic if you have them - some can cause serious illness or even death.)
As far as attempting to get outside, this is pretty dependent on the cat. Neutered/spayed cats have less of a drive to roam but still might want to go outside if they're curious/explorer sorts. You will just have to get into the habit of not leaving doors/windows open!
Food: The only downside to wet food is that it's more expensive than dry food. I feed my cats a mix because I can't afford an all wet food diet for them. If I could afford it they would be on all wet food. Some people think that dry food helps keep their teeth cleaner but this is mostly a myth.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 8:53 PM on January 8 [1 favorite]
You definitely don’t need to feed dry food. Wet food is much better for cats. It has more moisture (cats are notorious for not drinking enough water) and not nearly as many carbs (which cats as carnivores, dont need). Dry food exists as a convenience for humans - it keeps longer when left out, is cheaper, and is often loved by cats… but they need it about as much as we need fries and potato chips :D
posted by cgg at 11:55 PM on January 8
posted by cgg at 11:55 PM on January 8
+1 on the no need /no health benefits for dry food - only for your convenience!
to answer your question about how often - I put out wet food about once a day (twice, if I'm feeling unlazy), and my cats have access to dry food from a feeder 24/7, so if I ever forget to put out wet food, or if I'm gone for a day or two, they won't get hungry. YMMV; some cats can't handle free-freeding, in which case you'd have to be on a stricter schedule or be more mindful about regularly putting food out)
but also wanted to say that it sounds like you have a pretty good track record with this cat already - you'll do great! the cat will probably let you know if you're doing something terribly wrong. don't worry - it's not terribly hard; you'll figure it out - you got this :)
also if you can spring for it, I love my litter robot 4 (change litter once a week as opposed to multiple times a day / every day)
posted by wym at 12:29 AM on January 9 [2 favorites]
to answer your question about how often - I put out wet food about once a day (twice, if I'm feeling unlazy), and my cats have access to dry food from a feeder 24/7, so if I ever forget to put out wet food, or if I'm gone for a day or two, they won't get hungry. YMMV; some cats can't handle free-freeding, in which case you'd have to be on a stricter schedule or be more mindful about regularly putting food out)
but also wanted to say that it sounds like you have a pretty good track record with this cat already - you'll do great! the cat will probably let you know if you're doing something terribly wrong. don't worry - it's not terribly hard; you'll figure it out - you got this :)
also if you can spring for it, I love my litter robot 4 (change litter once a week as opposed to multiple times a day / every day)
posted by wym at 12:29 AM on January 9 [2 favorites]
Re feeding and litter box - have you asked the former owner about their set up and any past problems? You don't necessarily need to replicate but all data points may be useful.
posted by koahiatamadl at 1:30 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]
posted by koahiatamadl at 1:30 AM on January 9 [1 favorite]
My understanding is that some amount of dry food is helpful with dental health.
I have successfully domesticated multiple cats, and all but one rapidly adapted to using a litter box. The one current indoor/outdoor cat still had never shown any interest in going inside, and will insist on going out even in an ice storm.
posted by funkaspuck at 3:13 AM on January 9
I have successfully domesticated multiple cats, and all but one rapidly adapted to using a litter box. The one current indoor/outdoor cat still had never shown any interest in going inside, and will insist on going out even in an ice storm.
posted by funkaspuck at 3:13 AM on January 9
From my experience, most cats prefer staying indoors, so transitioning them from outdoors shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
+1 on the neutering or spaying! It's a top priority. If they’re not spayed or neutered, they’ll likely want to go outside when they’re in heat, so keeping them indoors becomes much easier once that’s taken care of.
Tip: While cats enjoy being indoors, they also love sunlight, so consider giving them a cozy bed by the window where they can bask in the sun.
Thanks for the cat tax! That cat looks very polite!
posted by liza97 at 4:12 AM on January 9 [2 favorites]
+1 on the neutering or spaying! It's a top priority. If they’re not spayed or neutered, they’ll likely want to go outside when they’re in heat, so keeping them indoors becomes much easier once that’s taken care of.
Tip: While cats enjoy being indoors, they also love sunlight, so consider giving them a cozy bed by the window where they can bask in the sun.
Thanks for the cat tax! That cat looks very polite!
posted by liza97 at 4:12 AM on January 9 [2 favorites]
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posted by LadyOscar at 7:43 PM on January 8