i have an cat issue?

Question

My mother in law passed away on frid,No one is left in the house. there are several house guests due to the funeral etc. she has2 cats, 1 female calico 13 yrs,and the other male 1 or 2. We have a female calico 5 years and a male about the same age. We was thinking of taking the older cat, but her cats are out doors and ours are indoors. the female is use to my husband and have a very large house for all. but How if i can retrain the older cat to be indoors. or will that be a problem. (seperating them for a few weeks to get use to each other is not a problem} I just want to make sure the cats are provided for. a family member is taking the younger one already. I think she would probably want us to have her. and do you think the our calico and her calico will have issues, as well indoor outdoor??

Answer 1

Before bringing in her calico cat I would have it vet checked first. After all it may be a carrier of worms from outdoors or maye something else that your cats have not been exposed to.
Secondly I would definately be there when they are introduced incase there is an issue. You will need seperate food dishes and of course the outside cat needs to be shown her own litter box. I think she will adjust to being indoors since the other cats are in the house. I am guessing that the cat is fixed? There is always a pecking order when a new cat is introduced and close watching is all that you need to do. Do not give in to let her out as she will only carry in potential things that you do not need to deal with. When new cats are introduced there is always a time of adjustment, but eventually they find their place in the household

Answer 2

I can see loyalty isn't your strong suit. Can't you understand? She was attacked. Of COURSE it's going to take some time. It hasn't even been ONE WEEK yet, and you're all ready to dump her! Where in heaven's name is your compassion? Did you really think she would come out and frolic and play as if nothing had happened?! Are you nuts? If YOU had been attacked, would you feel like playing, especially if your muscles and joints had been shaken and yanked and ached from the attack? No, of course not. How can you be so foolish? While she may have survived the attack and the doctor may have said she has no broken bones, that does NOT mean that she didn't get shaken up and thrown around. She's been through a traumatic event which almost cost her her life, and NOW she hears her family saying they want to dump her! As if it's her fault! And then on top of everything else, there is the commotion of packing going on around her because you and your family will be leaving. That poor cat. Do you think she doesn't have eyes and ears? Do you think she doesn't see and hear the packing and all the changes going on in the house? How OLD are you?! 10? Even if she hadn't already been through the attack, just the fact that there is a move coming up is enough to freak out some cats. Now add the attack, and your total lack of compassion and understanding and it's no wonder she fears for her life and what will happen to her. And you want to dump her back at the animal shelter! Can you imagine what that would do to her mind? She would wonder what she had done to merit such cruel treatment. If there was any chance of hope for her, taking her back would surely traumatize her some more. You don't deserve to have a pet; you have no concept of how to care for one, nor the education, training, or even just basic love and understanding. That poor sweet little cat. I hope to heaven one day she finds someone somewhere who will truly love her and care about her and how she feels.

Answer 3

If these cats have never been exposed to each other, and it's like bringing in a total stranger, the yes, there will be issues. But, don't worry about it. This will ALWAYS happen when you introduce another cat into the mix. There may be a little hissing & spitting, etc, but this will probably be mostly on the part of YOUR cat. She is letting the new cat know that SHE (your cat) is the "alpha" female around there. What you may want to do is bring the new (older) kitty into your home in a carrier, and keep her there for a little bit before you let her out. Or, if you have a separate room where you can set up a litter box, food & water, you may want to do this for a few weeks with only limited exposure to YOUR cat. Then, gradually, allow them to socialize and see what happens. Yes, there will be territory issues. But, this is a typical "cat thing" and they always have a way of working it out. Good luck to you.

Answer 4

You can always get an outdoor cat to be indoor... but what you should more be worried about is to get the outdoor cats examined because of them getting in contact with diseases that could spread to your indoor cats.. and whatever cat you dont decide to keep just find a good home for it =) Dont be pressured into taking multiple cats if you dont want to!! If you do want to keep the outdoor cat inside just be sure that its not near the door when you open it, it will soon get the point into staying indoors!! Hope this was helpful and so sorry for your loss.

Answer 5

I think you just have to take your stand on the indoor-outdoor question. Most cats can adjust to that. Also when they reach the teen years they can more easily adapt to being inside.

Cats of "color" - the calicos are notorious for their tortitude and two of them together won't be easy. The fact that they are both females is also going to make things difficult and may really try your patience before they make their adjustment.

You should go to www.spiritessence.com and read about using flower essences with cats (or other animals). They have a lot of combinations there - maybe Peacemaker would be good. They also have one called "New Beginnings" which I used recently when a new cat was introduced to my crew. It helped things go surprisingly easy.

Answer 6

Go ahead and take the older cat. Separate the two with a door, so that they can sniff and know that the other is in the house. Graduate to a baby gate, so that they can see each other. This introduction should take about two-three weeks. Cats are a little more standoffish than dogs. They will either learn to like and get along with each other or totally ignore each other.
Don't allow the outdoor cat to go outside anymore. It's not cruel nor is it difficult to accomplish. Three days to two weeks reduces the cat's desire to go out.
I've introduced new cats to existing residents several times. It's always interesting to see the interaction.

Answer 7

I had a cat that was at least 20 years old when we moved into a new home. She was always an out door cat for the 18, 19 years we lived at our old home, didn't even like to come in to eat, and only did when she was really hungry. I moved very close to the old house and was worried she would want to cross the very busy street to get to the old house, so she had to become an indoor cat. I just kept her in and showed her lots of attention. And made sure she knew where the litter box was, (I had to have mine on a outside porch, I have dogs too, 1 would love to nibble at a litter box...YUCH!) She learned, when she had to go , she stood at the front door. She adjusted and lived to be 24 or 25 years old, I had her for at least 23 and a half years. Your baby will adjust. Show her lots of attention. Good luck and I admire you for taking her in, give her a chance, she'll be OK.
Please tell your hubby I'm very sorry for his loss, I know how hard it is to lose a mother. Good Luck and take care....

Answer 8

To keep her indoors, just watch when you open the doors and make sure that she can't run out. As for her getting along with your cats, that will all depend on the personalities of all of the cats. I think it is great that you want to take this cat in and give her a good home. I'm sure she is probably sad over the death of her owner. Just be sure to give her time to adjust, and lots of love.

Answer 9

i think that your two cats will have to get used to one another very slowly.....that by no means that you should have to get rid on ANY of the cats....they will get used to eachother....... as well as the issues of outdoor\indoor...the new cat that is a outdoor cat you should very slowly let the cat in for short periods of times and then let it back out....if you have a covered porch then leave it there even if you have fenced in yard that would be good.... after the new cat is used to being indoors then you can bring it back in for longer periods of time...by the end the new cat should be able to stay in all day but at times you will still have to let it out... i really hope this helps...... i'm very srry about your mother in law... i'm no expert on the introducing thing so i hope these help... if not then just type in introducing two new cats on google or yahoo... hope it helps....

Answer 10

Well, I think that wont be a problem, You can trian a cat to be indoors, does the cat know how to use the litter box, I think when a cat is litter trained, that it wont be a problem