Transitioning indoor/outdoor cat to indoor

[Seniorgal]

I have a male, neutered cat 6 years old. I live in a mobile home park in the country. He had lived in this park fending for himself for two years. I adopted him four years ago. He has been an indoor/outdoor cat for the last 4 years. There has been a problem with him visiting another residence in the park since she adopted a male kitten. Her kitten is now a year old and has been neutered. He is strictly indoor. My cat and hers have an ongoing verbal battle between a screen. When this happens her cat turns on her and attacks her. She wants me to either keep mine indoors or put him on a leash to take outside. I’ve kept him in now for five straight nights and days. Spent money on natural calming products to try and keep him calm. It’s not going well. He’s not happy. He wants out desperately. Any suggestions? Personally I think her cat has the issue.

[Mollycat]

It's not a matter of whose cat has the "issue" they are both trying to do what comes naturally to cats - padding about, smelling the flowers, rolling in the grass, chasing butterflies, and getting into scraps. It's your neighbour's choice to keep her cat indoors in a very small space with a view on the world including your curious cat - a lot of people come to this forum in desperation because their cat is getting visits from another cat, marking in the house and sometimes attacking them in displaced frustration.

There isn't a simple answer and from what you say I can't imagine putting your own cat in a cage (a house is just a big cage, sadly I have two caged cats myself) is going to help. If he lived as a stray then accepted your kind offer of a home while still enjoying all the benefits of freedom, he isn't going to take kindly to being caged. In fact, how long before another cat moves into the territory and you have the same problems with your cat as this woman has now with hers?

And why should you make your cat miserable just to appease hers because of her choices?

I don't think she is 'wrong' or her cat has 'issues' but I also don't think it's down to you to pick up the pieces. If there is something you can do to help, by all means be helpful, but locking up your cat is not the answer.

Incidentally - my ex's aunt had a beautiful 6 year old cat who got into a lot of scraps and sadly got FelV and had to be kept indoors to avoid infecting other cats. He was so miserable and wild and became aggressive to the extent he had to be put to sleep. For some cats, confinement is just not something they can cope with.

[booktigger]

I think you need to explain to your neighbour that as much as you sympathise, your cats history means he isn't going to be happy being confined and as a cat lover, surely she would appreciate it isn't fair on him

[fjm]

Would it be possible to time share to some extent - agree times that you will try to keep your cat in, and other times she will keep hers in another part of her home? Offer to contribute to blinds that she can pull down to hide your cat's visits? And start the process of getting the two cats more accepting of each other's presence, with exchange of scents, etc? I don't think your cat will be happy confined, and he was there first after all, but a degree of compromise may help to keep everyone on better terms.

[booktigger]

Would it be possible to time share to some extent - agree times that you will try to keep your cat in, and other times she will keep hers in another part of her home? Offer to contribute to blinds that she can pull down to hide your cat's visits? And start the process of getting the two cats more accepting of each other's presence, with exchange of scents, etc? I don't think your cat will be happy confined, and he was there first after all, but a degree of compromise may help to keep everyone on better terms.

That's a good idea - my previous cat liked to beat up other cats, so me and my neighbour had to do a rota system, and we would text each other to check if they could go in/out.