Domesticating a 3 year old cat...

redseat1

We found a kitten 3 years ago, and since then we have looked after him. I guess he's semi-feral. We bring him to the vet, feed him daily, have an outside cathouse and big old sheds where he sleeps. And he hunts, we're in a rural area and find him stuck into mice, birds, even rabbits and rats. He likes being rubbed, but it takes a lot of coaxing, he seems nervous, he won't jump into our laps.

Recently he seems more reluctant to leave the house. We have a conservatory so we used to bring him in there to feed him so he could relax and not look over his shoulder for the neighbours cat. He used to jump out the door, but recently seems to want to stay in and curl up in the furniture there. I have no problem keeping him in all night and putting in a sandpit or litter. But would keeping him in be cruel after 3 years of roaming and freedom? A cat flap might be tricky in a conservatory.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

Faith

It sounds like he’s already domesticated, tbh. A semi-feral cat wouldn’t easily tolerate being in a house or brought to the vet. It sounds like the cat is just settling into being an indoor/outdoor cat, rather than entirely outdoors. You could try keeping him in overnight and seeing how it goes. Is there a window or anything you could leave open for access, especially as the weather gets warmer? A cat flap wouldn’t be impossible in a conservatory, but you’d just need to get a pane of glass replaced, most likely.

Graces7

I had a catflap in a glass door way back. There are special surrounds

Anawilliam850

It's great to hear that you have been taking care of this kitten for the past 3 years. It's understandable to be concerned about keeping him indoors after being used to having the freedom to roam outside. However, keeping him indoors can be a safer option for him as he ages and his hunting skills may decrease.

One thing you could try is creating a comfortable indoor space for him. Make sure he has access to food, water, and a litter box, as well as some toys and things to scratch on. You could also try providing him with a perch near a window so he can still observe the outdoors. It's also important to provide him with enough mental and physical stimulation through playtime and interactive toys.

If you are concerned about not being able to install a cat flap in the conservatory, you could try installing one in another part of the house or even consider training him to use a doorbell or similar mechanism to alert you when he wants to go outside.

Overall, keeping him indoors can be a good option for his safety and well-being, but it's important to make sure he still has plenty of stimulation and opportunities for exercise.

IceT

I've had a little experience with this, we had a semi-feral cat who would like the odd rub from some neighbours or my housemate or myself and would accept food from us but very much on their own terms. She got injured while she was pregnant so we took her in but had her in our conservatory with a cat flap that was not locked, initially she ate the food and hobbled back out but luckily it was raining so we left her to it and she came back in shortly after. Over time she basically became a guest but would hide when we came in with food and water but later would become more friendly.

Honestly she never became a house pet though, she had her litter but her litter was starting to become semi-feral, day by day they were getting worse picking up from their mum, they were rehomed and we heard great and comforting stories from all homes. The mother then would visit now and then, eat the food, drink water and stay the night or day sometimes but never because "domesticated" really.

I've since moved out and about 5 years later nothing much had changed, my old housemate was still feeding the cat, cuddling sometimes and staying over in the worst of the weather. Its been almost a decade since the last update so I must ask but the long and short of it is that it worked well on her terms but it was on her terms. Otherwise it can be quite stressful, an outdoor cat will always want to be outside from time to time.

I have 2 cats myself who spend most evenings outside, when the weather is horrible and they can't/won't go out they drive me up the wall and get stir-crazy looking for stuff to do, and they are fully domesticated lap cats (well one is a shoulder cat actually). My two are very different, both rescues. One is skittish, was skittish when I got him at 5 months, 8 years later he still runs if I try to pet him or pick him up when it is not exactly on his terms, and even then its a coin toss.

Try what was suggested, a cat flap and see how it does. I would advise forcing it as little as possible.

redseat1

Thanks for all the comments.

Over the past few weeks, he seems to be getting more and more domesticated/trusting, he now has no problem being lifted up by me or the kids. As the nights got milder we let him in for a few hours in the evening but he seems comfortable being let for the night then. So might stick with that as we move into the summer. Did keep him in a couple of nights to find he had pooped in a pile of cushions so will need to put a litter together, and figure out training.

Faith

They pretty much litter train themselves. The instinct is to find something soft they can scratch into and ideally use to cover the poo, so that's why he'll have chosen cushions over the floor, for example. I'd start by using a natural litter like pine pellets as it should feel more instinctive to him as he learns (and a decent size litter tray with plenty of litter in it, don't skimp if you want to encourage him to use it!)

redseat1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120473733#Comment_120473733

What is really remarkable is that our kitchen has a drain/sluice in the floor, covered with a metal grill (like those ones you get in commercial kitchens so the floors can be washed down into a drain) and a couple of times he has come in and urinated into it. Even though he can't scratch into it, it's as if he can sense there's a drain underneath. Not that we encourage it, but it surprised us how neat he is. This weekend's project is a large litterbox...think I'll be commandeering one of the kids old sandpits!

Faith

A sandpit could be a touch on the too large side for your space! Something like this https://www.petstop.ie/collections/all/products/classic-litter-tray-with-rim with a few inches of litter in it would be fine. Remember you need to change the litter weekly (scooping solids daily) so you don’t want too big of a tray because that’s wasteful very quickly (mad hard work!).