Moving with cat........

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-04-2004
Moving with cat........
4
Mon, 07-05-2004 - 6:41pm
My husband and I are moving to a rural area. My cat Hank who is 13 years old has lived the past 10 years as an outdoor cat. He hates being inside. He does not go anywhere but stays in our driveway and on the porch with his kitty condo. Where we are going, all animals are brought in at night, due to wildlife in the area, ie coyotes. I suggest we buy a cat enclosure for him. It's 4' x 12' x 3' high and I thought this would be great for him. Last time I tried to have him sleep indoors he peed on everything including my daughters bed. We had to get a new mattress. My hubby says he will hate living in the enclosure but I say he has no choice. It's for his own good. Husband wants to just keep him in a smaller enclosure at night only. But what if I can't find him when it's time to go in. He says he does not venture far anyway and will probably stay by the porch. What do you think?

What should I do. I have had him since he was 6 weeks old. He is in great condition.He may not like being in a smaller enclosure the first time and be hard to get him in there a second time. Any thoughts?

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
Mon, 07-05-2004 - 7:25pm
I'm sure someone here will have advise on how to do it, but I really think he would do better indoors only. He will go through an adjustment period, certainly, but he WILL adjust. We have a lot of wildlife (ie: coyotes, raccoons) where I live, in the city or not. I hear stories all the time of people who have lost their cats to coyotes. They are vicious creatures when they get ahold of a cat. They love to come out at night especially - I would often look out the window and see one on the front lawn of the last place I lived. They are brazen and are not afraid at all to come right up onto your porch. I now live on the third floor of an apartment building, and don't have to worry about those things. I still see (and hear) loads of raccoons though.

Try setting up his kitty condo in front of a nice big window, and hang a bird feeder outside so he will have plenty to watch. My Tasha was an outdoor cat for 6 and a half years before I adopted her, and aside from the occasional scratching at the balcony door, she is perfectly content to plant herself in front of the window for hours.



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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Tue, 07-06-2004 - 6:42am

*WELCOME* to Cats Jymee!

Cat =^..^=
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-01-2003
Tue, 07-06-2004 - 9:54am
I would for sure do the enclosure. Someone on the bereavement just posted that a coyote killed her cat!!!!!

Avatar for cl_lcni
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Tue, 07-06-2004 - 10:16am

Hi Jymee.


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