Conference misery::feline_v1

    No, no, many stray cats have become wonderful house pets.  Just
    give TC a little time to adjust to the new surroundings and routine.
    I'm sure it will work out within a few weeks.
    
    Jeanne, Cali and Sam
    
    P.S. Oh! about waking you at 5:30.  I think all cats keep this
    schedule, whether they are indoor or outdoor kitties!  Welcome to
    the world of being a "morning person" 
    

    Good for you for being concerned about these little ones who have
    lost their way.
    
    We took in a stray last December (to our knowledge he had been a
    stray for 3 months) and found it impossible to make him an indoor
    only cat. Some folks have had just the opposit results.
    
    If you have an appointment with your vet on Sunday, call them back
    and ask if they have cat carriers. You could go by there if they
    do and pick it up first. Our vet always stocks the cardboard
    variety and for a temporary measure they work great. I think it
    was around $4.00.
    
    You certainly are taking the right steps for a healthy cat.
    
    Let us know how things work out.
    
    Barbara

    #1. Where to get a cat carrier around Newton? Try Debby's Petland
        on Walnut St, or Dr. Pet in Watertown at the Arsenal Mall.
    
    #2. Can it be an indoor cat after being a stray? It sure can, but
        it will takes some patience on your part. Of my 7, 4 were feral,
        one was just a "stray". Everyone gets along really well now,
        although there are occasional disagreements, just as in any
        family. After their "quarantine" period, most of them cried
        (endlessly) to get out, but in all cases, once they realized
        that they were now getting regular meals, had a comfortable
        bed to sleep in, and plenty of room to run and climb not only
        did the wailing stop, but they don't even rush the doors when
        they are opened. I might add that they were whisked off the the
        vet and "fixed" within days of their adoption, so that might
        account for the loss of the desire to roam/yowl.
    
        As for behavior, I've found that these cats are *very* eager
        to please, learned to use the scratching posts, etc. without
        much difficulty. As for spraying, I've been real lucky as only
        Spiro did, but luckily he only sprayed in the box. A covered
        litterbox solved this problem. The only really annoying problem
        that I've had to deal with, and it seems that only time and
        patience fixed it, was that these cats were so used to having
        to scrounge food that eating in piece was next to impossible.
        The cats were always trying to steal food from my plate. Shots
        for tapeworm helped, but it was the kind of thing where once
        the cat comes to the conclusion himself that he is being fed
        regularly, then he realizes that there is no need to act this
        way anymore. The key to this problem is to be patient and let
        time take care of it (With Niky, it took about 4 months).
    
    If you've got any questions, please feel free to send me mail.
    
    Deb
         

    How old were the cats when you brought them in?  Just curiuos about
    my mom cat in note 1712.  What do you think about her being able
    to stay inside?
    
    				Mary

    Alexandra (the stray) was about 9 to 12 months.
    
    Panther and Eirene were just a few weeks
    
    Nikolas was about 2 to 3 years old. He was living outside of my house
       for the 1.5 years that I had been living there prior to adopting
       him, so he was probably on his own all of his life.
    
    Spiro is believed to be about 5 or 6, and also was living outside
       of my house from at time I moved in, which was a little over
       2 years at the time I adopted him. My neighbors said that he
       had been around for a long while before I bought the place). 
    
                                              
    Deb

    Congratulations on your new addition, and on saving this baby. 
    Yes, I am sure indoors is best.  It took my first (feral) cat about
    two weeks to adjust to being indoors.  All my babies, now quite
    content indoors, love to lay on windowsills and bask in the sun,
    watch the birdies, etc.  I have made sure they have places to do
    this in various areas of the house.
    

    P.S. just about any pet store should have cat carriers.  Call them
    first to save yourself a trip if they don't.  You can probably get
    a book of cat care there too.  I would also get an expandable collar
    and a name tag (usually you have to mail away the tag to get it
    engraved with your phone no. etc.).  The collar should be expandable
    so the cat can get out of it if it gets caught on something.  You
    should be able to slip two fingers under it when it's on;  recheck
    it periodically as they tend to sometimes stretch or it may get
    too tight as the cat gets heavier.  I think it's really important
    even for an indoor cat to have a name tag in case it accidentally
    gets out.
    
    Basically, my advice is to mellow out for the first couple of weeks
    while everybody adjusts to things.  With a little baby you're probably
    run ragged already and may tend to overreact to transitory adjustment
    problems.  
                      

    I adopted a stray as the mother of my two kittens, she passed away
    giving birth, but for the 4 months before that she seemed to adapt
    fine to being a indoor cat.  In fact, she liked it more not going
    outside because it showed her we loved her and we weren't going
    to abandon her.
    
    Good luck with your cat.
    
    Kathy
    

    Before my stray adapted, whenever she started getting crazy at the
    window I'd grab a toy (pref. catnip) and go mental with her.
    
    As if to say "look at this, aren't we having fun?"  "You don't want
    to go outside now, do you?"  It only took her about two weeks. 
    Of course, she still loves to wake me up exactly an half hour before
    my alarm goes off every morning!
    
    Francine

    Jesse was somewhere between 11-13 years old when we adopted him.
    He was a stray, whole male cat.  We were able to convert him to
    indoor only rather easily.  Probably was grateful for the comforts
    after taking care of himself for all those years.
    
    Jo

Thanks everyone for your advice.  I've used most, if not all your advice!
    
    After a visit to the vet Sunday, we learned that TC (temporary name) is a 
girl cat about 11 months old.  We thought she was as much at six months 
younger, however the vet said she had to be older because she has her 
permanent teeth.  TC got a distemper shot and her nails clipped.  The vet 
said she looked very healthy.  I'll bring her back in about 4 weeks for 
another shot and after all neccesary shots have been given will get her spayed.

I feel much better about TC being an indoor cat, it looks like she's on her 
way.  My new concern is that she adjust to being in the same house as our 
two year old. She is terrified of my daughter Julie.  Julie hasn't done 
anything other than be a normal, noisy 2 year old.  TC has spent all day in 
hiding coming out only to eat. She must have had a tough time on the 
"streets", compared to the other stray we had briefly, TC is very easily 
frightened.  
    I now know that things can change quickly for the best so will 
be patient, HOWEVER WOULD BE INTERESTED IN KNOWING IF THIS COULD BE A 
PERSONALITY TRAIT??? Maybe it'll just take Julie being older so I can reason 
with her.  It's very difficult to convince a two year old to be quiet and 
walk softly.

Brenda
                                       

    A friend of mine has a two years old (you should all get medals).
     It took Casey Cat awhile to decide it was safe around such a being,
    but they became great friends.
    

    This morning TC ran into a closet to get away from Julie (our 2
    yr. old), so I gave Julie a ribbon to play with TC.  While she was
    focusing on the ribbon, she was quiet (and obviously not running
    after the cat!).  TC seemed to feel safe in her little corner so
    perhaps this will be one experience TC will remember as a safe 
    interaction with Julie...