Can you train an outdoor cat to an indoor cat

Question

he is 4-6 months old

Answer 1

I have to say yes because I have a cat that was living outside and I brought her in and she is spoiled now.I even offer her to go outside on my deck and she won't even stay out there for five minutes.

Answer 2

Absolutely. Provide them with plenty of toys, climbing, and scratching places (such as a cat tree) to entertain them, and they will live a longer, happier, healthier life. They will also enjoy a good window perch.

You need to first make sure the cat is litter box trained. Keep it in a room with the litter box until you are sure they are using it and not the floor. Then introduce them to other parts of the house, making sure they know where the litter boxes are.

They may beg at the door for awhile, and even try to run out, but make sure you never let them out. They will eventually lose interest with the outdoors.

One of our cats was a stray who went from exclusive outdoor living to always indoor. He has only run out once, and that was because my wife left the door open too long.  

Answer 3

Cats that live indoors live longer, healthier lives. Statistically, the life span of an indoor cat averages 12 to 14 years, whereas it is only about four years for the outdoor cat. More than 1 million outdoor cats are killed each year by dogs, traffic, and exposure to disease. In the long run, keeping your cat indoors will also save you money in vet bills.

There are many risks that come with letting your cats roam free outside:

- They have a much higher chance of catching diseases and other illnesses such as: Feline Leukemia (FeLV), Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP), Feline Herpes Virus (Rhinotracheitis), Feline Distemper, Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), rabies, tapeworm, ringworm, heart worm, hypothermia and urinary tract infection

- Ingesting chemicals or poisons such as pesticides, home garden products and car/motor products

- Getting fleas or ticks

- Injury/death due to dangerous traffic

- Eating poisonous spiders, insects or plants

- Injury/death due to cruel humans, hunters or neighbors

- Attacks from dogs, other cats or wild animals

- Other accidental injuries

- Getting lost or stolen

Switching from outdoor to indoors

Although it takes patience, an outdoor cat can be turned into a perfectly content indoor pet. The key is to make the conversion gradually and provide lots of attention and stimulation while the cat is indoors.

Cats are creatures of habit, so you must be careful to slowly replace your cat's old routine of going outside with the new exciting routine of staying in. If your cat is outdoors most of the time, bring your cat inside for increasingly longer stays. Gradually shorten the length of time the cat is outside until you no longer let him or her out at all.

Substitute outside excursions with periods of special play time. Supervised trips out on the patio can also make the transition from outside to inside little easier. Cats need human companionship to be happy, and when they spend all their time out of doors, they get very little attention. An outdoor cat may welcome the indoors if he or she gets more love, attention, and play.

Provide plenty to keep your cat occupied indoors. Provide your cat with secure cat condos which offer acceptable and interesting places for your cat to lounge, play and scratch. You should also provide scratching posts, corrugated cardboard or sisal rope for your cat to scratch and praise your cat for using them.

To encourage your ex-outdoor cat to exercise, offer interesting toys, especially those that are interactive. These usually consist of a long pole and attached line with fabric or feathers at the end of the line. Some cats enjoy searching for toys. If your cat likes to explore the house looking for "prey," hide his toys at various places so he can find them throughout the day. Be sure that the toys are not so small that they can be swallowed or get stuck in your cat's throat. Cats also enjoy ping pong balls, paper bags and cardboard boxes.

Provide your indoor cat with fresh greens. You can buy kits that include containers and seeds to grow, or plant pesticide-free alfalfa, grass, bird seed, or catnip in your own container. This way, your cat can graze safely and not destroy your house plants.

Your geographic location may affect your schedule of change; choose a good time of year to bring the cat indoors. In many parts of the country, the easiest time of year to make this conversion is prior to the cold winter months when your cat is more likely to want to be inside anyway. By the end of winter, your cat may be completely content to remain inside.

If your cat remains stubbornly committed to life outdoors, help her adjust by providing an outdoor covered enclosure or run that the cat can access through a window or pet door. Such a facility gives the cat some of the advantages of being outside while minimizing the dangers. You can make the outdoor enclosure interesting and appealing by adding objects for the cat to explore, such as tree limbs, multilevel cat condos, tires, toys hanging from branches, and boxes in which the cat can curl up or hide.

If you cannot or prefer not to offer your cat a run or enclosure, consider leash-training the cat so you can supervise her time outside. Attach the leash to a harness. Your cat may resist leash-training at first, but she will eventually accept the leash. Never leave your cat outside unsupervised while on a leash or lead.

Some cats may develop behavioral problems when they are no longer allowed outside. Most of these problems can be attributed to a change in routine that is too abrupt or lack of attention and stimulation inside. Review your steps and keep working with the cat. Be patient and continue to praise your cat when she plays with her toys, uses her scratching post, and does what she's supposed to do. If your cat becomes destructive or unhousetrained, consult a veterinarian or animal behaviorist to find ways to solve the problem. Remember that these symptoms can also be attributed to boredom and loneliness.

If you have just adopted a cat that stayed outdoors all the time, you should keep the cat inside from the beginning; otherwise, you run the risk of losing your cat. Using a long-range water pistol or a shake can when the cat asks to be let out is a very successful and harmless way to curb a cat from wanting to go outside. And don't forget to give your cat extra attention during the transition!

Additional tips for a happy indoor cat:

Trim your cat's claws every one to two weeks to keep him from damaging furniture, rugs and drapes, or glue on artificial nail caps called "Soft Paws" every six to eight weeks.

Provide one litter pan per cat and scoop the litter pan at least once daily. With unclumping litter, change once or twice weekly; with clumping litter, change every two to four weeks.

Many cats enjoy the companionship of another cat or compatible dog of the opposite s*x. If you can make the financial and emotional commitment, consider adopting another companion animal for yourself and for your cat.

Answer 4

Of course! He'll be so much healthier and safer for it.

http://www.geocities.com/heartland/point...  (Scroll down and there are links to articles on converting outdoor cats to indoor cats).

Answer 5

you can bring them in, but they will always want to go outside. because they won't get as much exercise be sure to play with them alot and stimulate them with new tows and things to climb on .

Answer 6

He is young enough to bring inside, after a year old it's been my experience that they try to get out every time the door opens. I assume he's been fixed, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Answer 7

Im gonna say yes. I had a kitten (this was years ago) whom we found outside... for about the first 3-6 months she stayed an outdoor cat but when winter came we brought her insidea nd she remained an indoor cat for the next 14 years. At first, she still seemed to have her outdoor tendencies.. she would go to the bathroom in the plants we had inside, and would sometimes go to the bathroom on the carpet.. but after a lil while she got used to everything and used the litter box, woul sit out on the deck by herself for hours and not jump off and was a great indoor pet. compared to my other cat you could tell she used to be an outdoor just by her personality and she was a little rougher but she was great.

it might take some training but itll be worth it.  

Answer 8

yes!

4 of mine came from outside and two were adults when they were found and brought in. My girl especially doesn't want to go back.  She was found as a pregnant stray and had at least one previous litter.  She immediately became a sweet indoor cat.  The other was a bit of a hassle because for awhile he got to go in and out and got a bit too spoiled.  The other two were kittens (6 months and 5 weeks when brought in).  They are interested but seem to just want to look.  No one cries at the door unless one of their people leaves.

Be consistent.  Keep him inside constantly, if he goes in and out it will be even harder to make him an indoor cat.  Take away anything that might be confused for a litter box, like large potted plants and even filled laundry baskets.  Placing the kitty in the litter box a few times is usually enough to help them to understand but some may take a little more patience.  

Provide your kitty with toys and scratching posts to help him keep busy.  

He may whine for awhile but he'll get over it.  It doesn't work out for all cats, but at that age he should probably be able to manage.  Our kitty who came in at that age was thrilled with the toys, I think that was the big thing that won him over.  

good luck!