Conference misery::feline_v1

    Indoors.  It took Pussycat about two weeks to adjust from outdoors
    to indoors.  I don't even want to think about the times he came
    home hours late, or the time he had a big gash that just missed
    his eye, or the time he was late and there had been an open moving
    van down the street that morning.....
    
    

    
    addendum to base note:
    
           How can I get her to understand what the litterbox is for?
    She held it as long as she could (almost 20 hours!) and then messed
    on the rug.  I had place the litter pan in the bathroom filled with
    (don't laugh) beach sand. It was late Sat. nite, my daughter was
    already in bed and I couldn't go out.  Plus I thought it might work
    better, as she is used to using the outdoors. Well, she won't go
    near it.  When I cleaned up the mess I put a small piece of paper
    towel with some yuck on it in the litter box and covered it up the
    way kitties do, hoping this will give her the hint.  I also found
    out where she was hiding...underneath my neigbors shed, which is
    up on concrete blocks so she can squeeze through.  She is out there
    right now, but won't come in - I can see her, but she won't let
    me grab her.  (I have been trying to bribe w/some barbaqued chicken
    but she is no dummy) One time I almost grabbed her and in the trying
    I pulled her tail a little bit so now she's probably mad at me!
    
    she was a doll last nite tho... she slept with me all night, vs.
    the first night where she wouldn't jump up on the bed till about
    4:00 a.m
    
    Sorry to go on and on...I just feel like she is the perfect cat
    for me , and I am just being impatient for her to get used to the
    place.

    I think that was a good idea to cover up some of her mess in the
    litterbox.  Have you *introduced* her to it since then?  
    
    My first cat, Kiwi, came from the local dairy farm.  She was about
    8-9 months old and had been living outdoors for probably 5-6 months.
    Someone probably dropped her off when she was a kitten.  As I remember,
    she wasn't very ambitious.  She used to sleep all day and one could
    usually find her behind one of the milk coolers in the small store
    where it was warm.  I felt so bad for her - she didn't fit the life-
    style of a farm cat, and probably wouldn't have survived too much
    longer anyway.
    
    Anyway, she is an *indoor only* cat now, after 2+ years with me.
    At first I would let her outside because we lived on a dead-end
    street.  Then I became more aware of disease, etc. and decided
    against it.  This was approximately the time we took in our second
    cat, Weazy, from the same farm.   They are all fine now, and do
    have a lot of fun playing together (up to four now), even though
    I do catch them peeking outside as if to say "I wonder what's out
    there."
    
    About the litterbox again: all of my cats were put right IN the
    litterbox, so they knew where it was.  I've had no problems with
    any of my four so far.  Maybe you should try this now that her
    *mess* is in there so she'll notice the smell.  Even try holding
    her front paws, and teaching her to scratch like this is the dirt
    outside.  Maybe she'll get the hint!
    
    Good luck.
    
    Pam
    
    

         Loki has always been an indoor-only cat.  He was solitary until
    eight months ago when my fiance moved in with his cats.  Anyway,
    Loki never seemed to have any trouble being along - he slept all
    day until I came home, then was an absolute doll while I was home.
    A little bit of cat mischief every so often, but nothing serious.
    
         My fiance's cats, Fluffy and Bigfoot, were indoor-outdoor.
    We decided to try to make them indoor as I didn't want Loki going
    out and becoming feral again.  So ... it was wintertime when they
    moved in and it was really too cold for them to go out, so they
    didn't.  Now that it's springtime, they love sitting by the windows
    and smelling/seeing the great outdoors, but they don't really want
    to go out anymore.  Bigfoot completely ignores the open door; Fluffy
    still has a bit of the urge, though the few times he's sneaked out,
    he's only gotten as far as the front steps, then looks back as if
    to say "Aren't you coming too?".
    
         So ... one cat indoors only is okay.  You *can* train an outdoor/
    indoor cat to be indoor, though there might be some crying, etc.
    for the first few days, perhaps weeks.  After that, no problem!
    

    Beach sand?  Maybe there is something about it that she doesn't
    like.  You might try a plain unscented regular cat litter (some
    cats object to the smell of scented litter).  If that doesn't work
    in a few days, try the other stuff, what is it, alfalfa based? 
    I think it's called Litter Green.  Holly only accepts flat sheets
    of newspaper in her box, so you may have to experiment a little.
    I second the idea of showing her the litterbox each time she goes
    somewhere else.
    

    This is gonna sound kinda weird, but one of my cat books recommends
    the following techniques for a non-cat Mom to teach a kitty how
    (and why) to use the litterbox.  The book says you place the cat
    in the box right after it eats and very gently stroke its 'privates'
    with the tip of a finger.  The book says this is what the cat Mom
    does to train them, but she licks the kitten (which I somehow can't
    recommend...).  The book suggests wetting your finger first, as
    this will more closely simulate the cat Mom's wet tongue.
    
    I'd also try the unscented cat litter.  And if she does mess on
    the floor, clean it up and dump it into the box (along with her).
    It's gonna take some patience, but love her to death after the box
    visits.  She's very scared right now, but she still needs you!
    
    Good luck!
    Mary

    Luckily, litter training was the one thing Aja picked up on quickly.
    
    I put her in the box when I got her (5 weeks old), and she used
    it. End of training.
    
    Edd

    I had the same experience with Crybaby when I took her in.
    She was the neighborhood stray and wild.  I'd suggest
    leaving her in the bathroom with a box for a day or two
    just to ensure that she does realize the box is a place
    to go.  If she should sh*t outside the box, put it all
    right in the box, then her.  Crybaby sh*t and peed all
    over my bedroom (including on the bed) when we first got
    her.
    
    I'm sure the cat won't like the confinement but you have
    a challenging behavior modification task ahead of you,
    especially if you decide to transition her to the indoor
    life.  The initial confinement may be the only way to 
    accomplish the first hurdle of litterbox training.
    
    Good Luck,
    Donna

    update on Sassy:
    
          Things are going great!  She did go out yesterday while I
    was working, and was right there in the yard when I came home. 
    AFter she ate, she stayed in for a while, then wanted to go out.
    I let her out for about 10 min., then called her, and she ran right
    in.  Same thing right before bed.  She cried to go out again but
    I said "no way", and she stopped after a few minutes.  She now sleeps
    on my bed even when I'm not in it.  And.............last nite in
    the middle of the night she USED THE LITTER BOX!!  I got regular
    Kleen Kitty, and she was pleased.
    
    She did not want to go out today, so she is in for the day, maybe
    for good???
    
    /gail

    If Sassy wants the occasional trip outside why not let her out before
    you feed her.  She won't go far and it won't be for long.  She'll
    be back as soon as you rattle the tin.
    
    Just a suggestion.
    
    Kate
    UK Reading

    If you can keep Sassy indoors without any protesting, then I say
    "go for it."  It very well could have been that the reason Sassy
    did not come inside the first few times was because she wasn't quite
    sure if your house was really home (you did mention she was a stray,
    didn't you)?  Cats should be kept inside for at least 1 to 2 weeks
    in a new environment, not only for the adjustment period, but also
    because if they were abandoned once, they will think it is happening
    again.
    
    My Nikki was a feral cat who was trapped and brought to the humane
    society.  They tamed him and adopted him out; unfortunately to a
    woman who abandoned him a short time later in the apartment complex
    where I was living.  He reverted back to semi-feral; however, I
    brought him food every day and night until finally, he came to trust
    me to the point where I could capture him and bring him to the shelter.
    
    I just recently moved and adopted Nikki.  Chauncey, my other cat,
    has always been indoor/outdoor.  I kept Chauncey in for a week after
    we moved so he could get used to the new place and then started
    letting him out.  Nikki, who is very attached to Chauncey, would
    sit pitifully by the picture windows watching Chauncey ouside and
    look at me meowing as if to say, "why can't I go out, too??"  Well,
    it has been a month since we moved and Nikki has made so much progress,
    that last night, I let him go out, and he did just fine!  (he did
    sneak out on a previous occasion and came back on his own so I wasn't
    really worried about him).  Anyway, the moral of this story is that when
    I adopted Nikki, the humane society people told me he should be an
    indoor-only cat because he would no doubt revert back to feral
    if let out.  Well, cats are not stupid - they know where the food
    and love comes from, and we happen to live in a very safe area where
    no dogs are allowed and the main road is quite a distance away.
    I tried doing the opposite - making Chauncey an indoor only, but
    he would not hear of it and would sit by the door all day long just
    waiting for a chance to escape.  It just isn't fair to let one go
    out and keep the other in, especially since they are so attached
    to one another.  And they *never* go out when I am at work, and
    like your Sassy, don't wander too far from home when out.
    
    Anyway, sorry I rambled on.  There are very definite reasons why
    people keep their cats inside; however, it is a personal issue.
    You have to do what you think is best.  Consider the area in which
    you live, the safety of the neighborhood, and Sassy's ability to
    survive the great outdoors (some cats are not "street smart" by
    nature, although there are situations which arise that even the
    most street-smart cat cannot conquer).
    
    Please keep us posted about Sassy.  It was nice to hear of a new
    addition to this notes file.
    
    /Roberta
    
    

    RE:  .10
    
    I do this with Chauncey in the morning - let him out BEFORE breakfast
    so by the time I am ready to leave for work, he is ready to come
    in to eat - hasn't failed yet!
    

Keep her in if you want her to live long...disease, dogs, cars, and unfriendly
people are too much of a threat...anywhere you live in the world these days.

She will ask to go out...and cry at the door for awhile.  When she does, try
substituting a good game of "catch the rope" or other interactive game with
her.  It will pass.  Sam and Nick cried for several weeks, and then gave up.
Now they don't even try to go out when the door is open.