will stray cat adjust to home? when?

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Mama G
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will stray cat adjust to home? when?

Post by Mama G »

I let a very friendly stray cat into the house yesterday. She and our very sweet and calm house cat already knew of each other and have met (supervised). The stray is very very focused on food and that seems to be the only source of potential conflict between the two cats. Will this subside over time, and if so, how quickly? I have a separate room for the stray but she meows loudly and wants to come out into the rest of the house. I'm trying to figure out if she will adjust to life in the house or if I should put her back outside. I'm happy to feed her out there and make her a heated home. I would be fine with her being both inside and outside but, frankly, she has to fit into the life we already have. I work at home and can interact with her some but I don't need lots of stress and chaos over a long period of adjustment.

She is generally quite responsive to me. She loves attention and I can pick her up, she comes onto my lap when I call her. But she does not really relax (which I can understand - she's been fending for herself outside). I just don't know whether and how much and when she'll adjust. If I'm going to end up putting her back outside, it's probably better to do it sooner.

Any thoughts on what is typical in such a situation would be appreciated.
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Mollycat
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Re: will stray cat adjust to home? when?

Post by Mollycat »

If the cats get on well in the house in every other respect, then to be honest I would look at how you are feeding rather than keep them separated I think.

A lot depends on how you feed your cat - do you free feed or are there set meal times? I'm not selling anything but I resolved issues around feeding with two microchip feeders, so both cats need to be microchipped and then each one has a separate feeder and each cannot access the other's food. Make sure you always put them down in the same places, maybe in different rooms, and make sure your stray always has food, so that her anxiety around where her next meal is coming from can gradually subside. One of my two adoptees was very food anxious while the other was totally laid back, and that's how I solved that problem.

Most but not all cats will regulate their own food intake if there is always food for them. In my view a few extra ounces are worth it for a relaxed cat. So personally I always make sure there is some left to throw in the bin or in my case in the dog.
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