Taking in stray cat with 4 existing cats and limited space

[treehouseofhorrorv]

Hi there!

I have been browsing the forum and looking online for advice related to taking in a stray cat, with already existing cats in the household. I think I've got a good idea of the best steps to take, so this post is more of a 'if anyone has any further advice they can offer' or maybe your own personal experience of things that were helpful if you have been in a similar situation!

Been feeding a stray for a few months now, but he has been visiting the garden for longer than that. He is in bad condition, and has very clearly been on the street for a number of years. Have taken the appropriate steps to find an owner, nothing. Have also contacted basically all the rescues in my area and they are all full. So we have decided to take him in ourselves, as I cannot bear to think he might freeze to death this winter with no home.

I suspect he will end up being FIV+, which at first worried me as our existing cats are FIV-, but after doing research I see this isn't really much of problem and the two should be able to co-habit just fine.

We don't have a spare room in the house, and that is our biggest hurdle I can think of. We have only one bathroom, which is a wetroom so slightly larger than a typical bathroom, so we are thinking that this can be his temporary home whilst we introduce him into the house. Does this sound like a smart move? It's not ideal, but the only other option is just leaving him in the streets until a rescue place opens, which could take months.

I have also seen people using a big dog cage to keep a cat in to introduce them, my only concern is with it being such a confined space. I was considering getting a cage, to put him into when he has been living with us for a couple of weeks, to bring him out into the rest of the house to let the other cats interact with him but with the barrier of the cage for a few hours each day, but concerned this may be stressful for him?

One advantage is that we have a catio that our cats go into everyday, from which our cats have met him already and interact with him regularly, so I am hoping that introducing him into the house will go a bit better because of this, as they are already familiar with him.

Sorry for the length, I just really want some input on how to make this transition as smooth as possible, so that they all get along nicely and he feels as comfortable as possible in his new home

[Kay]

Having fed a couple of homeless cats myself for many years, I have a couple of questions - is this boy neutered? If not it would be wise to get that done, and give his hormones a couple of weeks to settle before moving him in

secondly, you don't mention whether you are providing him with shelter at the moment - if not another interim step might be to set up a kennel near your back door for him to bring him closer

I never did get either of my homeless cats inside - and I regretted it when they got sick and had to be euthanized - that final journey to the vets was the first time I had ever been able to handle them, and the worry I went through trying to keep them warm and dry outide was almost certainly worse than any worry of trying to get them indoors, even if my own two cats would have been initially hostile, so I think you are definitely doing the right thing

[Sniper1]

We have introduced many cats to our own in the past being an ex rescue and we have always used the crate method rather than the separate room.My suggestion would be if you can handle him ok get a large crate and bring him in at night cover the crate with a thick blanket leaving just the front open they usually settle better that way and can only be approached by or see your other cats from one side so easier for everyone . In the daytime you could put him outside again providing a warm shelter for him that way it gives him chance to get used to being indoors and the other cats a chance to get used to the idea that he's moving in without risk of direct confrontation. If he does accept this method give him a few weeks then start by letting him out of the crate for a short time every day to meet and greet your gang and start feeding together,gradually extending this time as you judge everyone is comfortable until you remove the crate completely

[treehouseofhorrorv]

Having fed a couple of homeless cats myself for many years, I have a couple of questions - is this boy neutered? If not it would be wise to get that done, and give his hormones a couple of weeks to settle before moving him in

secondly, you don't mention whether you are providing him with shelter at the moment - if not another interim step might be to set up a kennel near your back door for him to bring him closer

Thankyou for replying!
He is not neutered, that is the very first thing we intend to get him booked in for, as soon as possible

As far as current shelter outside, we have set up two places for him to sleep in, but he is never bothered. He just comes for a couple of hours at the most each day and then leaves. We did find out, after posting about him on Facebook, that there is a lady living 5 minutes away that has been feeding him for 3 years, and she lets him come into her flat and chill there, so I am at least a bit more happy that he is going to some form of shelter most days, until we can get him into our home.

In regards to your last point of regretting now getting the homeless cats inside- that's exactly our worry, and we do feel that although it may end up being difficult and challenging, I feel we would really end up regretting it if we don't help him and something happens to him, I do feel strongly that helping him even imperfectly would probably be better than nothing at all?

[treehouseofhorrorv]

If he does accept this method give him a few weeks then start by letting him out of the crate for a short time every day to meet and greet your gang and start feeding together,gradually extending this time as you judge everyone is comfortable until you remove the crate completely

Thankyou for the response! This has given me some good ideas, I didn't think of the introducing feeding together slowly. My only concern was the size of the crate being too small and too cramped for him to be in for an extended period of time, do you have a recommended minimum size that would be okay for him to be kept in? I've seen a few online that are '3 tiered' and quite large that I'm hoping will be big enough to give him enough space? I've seen people recommend just an XL dog crate, but just worried this will be too small of a space?

[Mollycat]

If he's not bothered about the shelters you put out for him and someone else is feeding him and letting him in the house, perhaps working with this lady might be sensible before making a decision the cat may not agree with, and your cats may not be happy about?

[treehouseofhorrorv]

If he's not bothered about the shelters you put out for him and someone else is feeding him and letting him in the house, perhaps working with this lady might be sensible before making a decision the cat may not agree with, and your cats may not be happy about?

What do you mean by working with the other lady? She doesn't seem to want to take him in herself, so I'm not sure what else to do other than to help him. We can already tell he is going to need some medical help- his teeth are in an awful state, he'll need a neutering, has a high chance of being FIV+ and we spotted a strange lump on his belly not long ago that is concerning too. I'm not sure what other option we would have other than to bring him into our home, I don't feel comfortable spending £1000+ on vet bills to then just send him back outside with insecure shelter arrangements and inconsistent feeding

[Sniper1]

Hi again the size of crate you would need would have to be big enough for a litter tray a bed (which doesn't have to be fancy a cardboard box cut to fit and couple of towels is fine) and a water bowl.Remember as he's already living in the area the cage only need be a nightime arrangement so bring him in an evening pop him in his crate give him food and when he's eaten remove the food bowl and replace his water.In a morning give him breakfast and put him outside and once all the cats seem comfortable with him being indoors in his crate at night start letting him out into the room for short periods and feeding them together. A large dog crate would suffice obviously if you have space and funds a bigger size would give more room you can also get similar cages for cats nursing kittens if you do a little googling which would also be suitable