Baxter wants out!

[Crewella]

I could do with some input on what to do with Baxter. He arrived as a foster cat five weeks ago, a stray tom covered in ticks and fleas and scared out of his wits, the vet reckons he's around 2-4 years old. He was neutered three weeks ago and had his first vaccination last week, and he's turned out to be a really nice, friendly cat. I fell for him and moved him out of the outdoor pen (he got lonely on his own out there) and into my spare room with a view to integrating him with my existing gang and, hopefully, keeping him.

All I know of his previous history is that he was seen being thrown out of a car with another cat about 6 months ago, and had been 'on the run' until he was caught and brought to me. He is a lovely, friendly cat, but totally undisciplined - he has absolutely no concept of the word 'no' and is all over and into everything! At the moment I'm letting him have the run of the house for a few hours every evening. He's met all of my gang and there are some growls and hissing, but he's a nice cat and nothing too worrying - my Basil hates the sight of him, but I expected that and am sure things will calm down. I think it best to keep returning him to the spare room for most of the day for a bit longer, just to give everybody a break and avoid too many ructions.

My concern is that Baxter seems desperate to get out, and in his 'free' time in the evenings spends most of his time clambering over the furniture and trying to get onto the window sills. I'm an antiques dealer, and there is a very firm 'no cats on the furniture' rule in this house! I usually turn a blind eye for a couple of days when new cats arrive, as I understand that they need to explore thoroughly, and I find they usually soon work out where they can and can't go. With Baxter, however, I can see this is going to be a problem. I don't want him to spend his entire 'free' time being shouted at, nor do I want to just let things ride and let him keep clambering all over everything. I've also noticed that the resident cats are starting to jump on things they shouldn't ..... taking their cue from him, I guess.

He's a big, athletic, boisterous lump of a cat. What I'm really tempted to do is let him out, which is what he wants. He's been with me for 5 weeks, we have a good bond and I don't think he's likely to run off. He has another 2 weeks until his booster vaccination, and I know he's not properly covered until he's had that ...... but he was out and about for months with no cover before he came to me, so I am considering it.

What do you think? Any advice would be much appreciated - thanks for taking the time to read this.

[Kay]

have you tried putting him back out in the outdoor pen for at least part of the day/night? being a bit closer to the big outdoors might be enough to settle him a bit, at least until his vaccinations are complete

[Crewella]

Doh!! Kay, as soon as I read that it seemed so obvious I could have kicked myself! You're absolutely right - I'll try that. Thank you!!

Luckily, the pen is still free at the moment, though probably not for long.

[bobbys girl]

Oh girls, I did laugh when I read your posts.

Sometimes we don't see the answer when it is right under our noses.

Glad to hear Baxter is doing so well.

there is a very firm 'no cats on the furniture' rule in this house!

how the heck do you manage that? RESPECT!

I don't mind mine on the bed or sofa (just try and stop them) but I really hate it when I find little footprints across the breadboard! My shopping list each week starts - disinfectant, cat food....

[Crewella]

They are actually allowed on the chairs and sofas - the rule is if it's soft, they're welcome, but if it's a hard surface - keep off! Every surface is cluttered with ornaments (I don't do 'minimal'), so it's actually not as difficult as you'd imagine. I have had to change the rules slightly since we moved here as the old house had no proper window sills but the new one does. I decided trying to keep cats off all window sills was going to be a losing battle and too big an ask, and anyway it seemed mean to deprive them of one of the great cat pleasures in life, so the lower sills that look onto the garden have been left free of clutter for them and classified as 'not furniture'!

This is how keen Baxter is - he'll even try clambering over me!

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[bobbys girl]

Yeh, we have 2 sofas at right angles to each other. I usually sit in the corner of one. The cats use me as a roundabout.

[Crewella]

Thanks Kay, that worked a treat. Putting Baxter out in the pen for a couple of hours before letting him loose in the house with the others in the evening just gives him a chance to let off some steam. I still had Basil sitting under the sideboard growling all yesterday evening, but Baxter ignored him and came and lay down with me on the sofa. It has really helped for him not to be so 'hyper' when he first comes down.