Cat desertion problem

[Hoppelchen]

Hi all,

I have a kitteh problem.

My cat is a neutered 14 year old who has quite a feisty personality.

He's been with me for the past 6 years and until a couple of weeks
ago, everything was just fine.

But then I moved a bunch of laying quail into the conservatory and at
the same time, my hubby applied some Frontline (a flea killer) to him,
and, since then his home attendance has been sporadic.

He is chipped, and I did put a collar on him, just to be sure that
no-one adopted him by mistake, but he promptly managed to lose it.

So today I get a lady knock on my door and it turns out he has been
hanging around their place, eating their food and making his space
with her 2 cats and 1 dog.

Lately, a lot of neighborhood cats have left, some died of old age,
some moved away, so I can see why moving in with company would
look attractive to him. However, he was given to me explicitly as a
single cat who would not tolerate a housemate.

I'd really like to retain my cat, he is not only a good mouser, but
also a pet, I'm very fond of him (and it took long enough to civilise
him, he was a crazy biter at first, gah(he was a rescue cat))

What would you advise me to do? I have no problem with getting a
second cat to keep him company, but I am worried that he'll think I've
sacked him.

many thanks,

Hoppelchen

 

[BookWorm243]

To be honest I am not sure, but here is a bump for you. I hope someone can help you out

 

[Sherry]

What kind of food do you feed him, dry or canned? If dry, try giving him some canned food or something he thinks is a special treat that may keep him home.

I have one cat (out of 5) that decided he needed to stay at the neighbors...now he comes home at meal times

 

[benjoycei]

Keep him in the house

 

[itsy]

So he's been good with the other cats at your neighbors? Get another cat! (I'm a baaaaad enabler!)

Wait... get two more cats!

But really - I like the idea of spoiling him a bit with some treat-like food.

 

[Sherry]

Of course, I spoiled the inside cats another way...I bought them hamsters. In a glass aquarium, with locks on the lid and bungee cords holding them safely on a special table. The cats will sit for hours watching them.

Even my pets have pets.

 

[itsy]

Quote:
They're called "petpets"! My dog has lizards!

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Hoppelchen - I forgot to ask, how long is your cat outside for? Maybe he's wandering because he wants to be inside more often?

 

[ChickenWisperer]

Quote:
It's not that simple. You say "Oh, just keep him inside". But ask yourself... is he happy when is forced to be inside? No. I'm going to assume he's spent a large chunk of his life outdoors; he is used to the stimulation he receives when he's outside, especially hunting. It's not fair to take that away from him. I just lost one of the sweetest cats I've ever owned... we saved him from a neglectful family, raised him, and he was my cats (streetwise 2 year old male, rolled once) sidekick. He was run over. I miss him still, terribly, and I'd do anything to have him back... but he was happy. So very happy. Look at it the same way you do chickens freeranging.


You could make an outdoor "room" or run of sorts, much like you do for your chickies, possibly attached to the house. I've seen them before; kinda nifty, don't know about the price though. It wouldn't be the same as free roaming but if you're bent on keeping him indoors then it might be a good idea.

I don't know if he likes to play, but maybe you should rescue a kitten? Chester HATES other cats, but when we brought my sweet Elliot home they got along great, even though they were very different kinds of cats. Ellie was tiny when we brought him home. I think Chester enjoyed showing him the ropes and teaching him, and gave him a pal to play/rough house with.

 

[kjpanda]

Keeping him indoors is truly the best thing for him. Trust me, I see the horrible things people do to animals every day and it DEEPLY disturbs me. If *you* must allow him to roam outdoors, give him a safe and secure place to do it. It breaks my heart every time someone calls me about their poisoned/tortured/eviscerated/hog tied/ duct taped....the list goes on....... cat that just *had* to be outside. I have had cats for almost 50 years and ALL have been indoor cats 100% of the time. I understand barn cats and many of them aren't really pets per say; they have a job and many are borderline feral, but I still get calls from distraught owners of barn cats that have met with a horrible, painful death. People do horrific things to animals, things you can't even imagine and sadly, cats are their primary target.

The punk kid in Miami-Dade County is a prime example of man's inhumanity to animals......

 

[Laurajean]

Sorry I don't have a real answer to the OP's problem, but as far as the cats being indoors vs. outdoors, here's my solution (see pic). They love their stroller. When I lived in the city (with pavement) I'd take them for walks around the block and they loved it. Neighbors thought I was crazy of course, but who cares. Now that I live in the woods on a dirt road the walks aren't practical but I put them out on the deck in it and they watch the birds at the feeders and relax in the sun. No fleas, no getting run over, just nice safe outdoor time for fresh air and bird watching. I have them trained so when I tap on the handle of the stroller they come running and jump in it to go outside, they love it.