Cat

We have one cat that was a house cat for 3-4 years until she decided not to be. The past two Winters, she has lived, primarily, in the cold tractor shed, coming in to my heated shop, on occasion, for a bite to eat. She’s not interested in coming into the house. We have another, that used to hang out in the shop with me. Last year she decided not to come in but seems to be living in a brush pile, out back. She does come to the back door for food. She had the prettiest coat this winter. I went out, just a few minutes ago, and retrieved one of my wife’s favorites off the road. She’ll be pretty upset when I tell her. We had 15 cats, 14 now.
 
Sorry to hear about your loss. We have 9 plus the one that was just put out so that makes 10. We live about 300 ft from the road, so they don’t go out there
 
Gary Dotson":36kcv3ol said:
We have one cat that was a house cat for 3-4 years until she decided not to be. The past two Winters, she has lived, primarily, in the cold tractor shed, coming in to my heated shop, on occasion, for a bite to eat. She’s not interested in coming into the house. We have another, that used to hang out in the shop with me. Last year she decided not to come in but seems to be living in a brush pile, out back. She does come to the back door for food. She had the prettiest coat this winter. I went out, just a few minutes ago, and retrieved one of my wife’s favorites off the road. She’ll be pretty upset when I tell her. We had 15 cats, 14 now.
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I have 2 inside the house and 2 that come in the garage at night then back out each morning. Lost one of them to a passing car last week and it's the worst I've been upset in over 50 years when we lost our house dog to a neighbors car. 50 years I've had nothing to do with any dog or animal because of this and I let it happen again. This weekend I've stopped by the shelter twice. They're closed but the lady cleaning and feeding let me inside to view kittens. Old guy sitting in a clean room watching 15 or so kittens play with toys.... I've decided I want them all. :{_}:
 
I was right, my wife took it pretty hard! I buried it in one of her flower beds. Cats can be incredibly different, on to the next, that’s why we enjoy them so much.
 
Ok i was out feeding the other cats And I called for him and I heard faint meowing. I kept calling him and he came from under the porch. He let me pick him up. He and the other cats are still hissing at each other. I put him in the garage for the night.

now what do I do? He is still skittish about the outside and the other cats. I thought about getting a harness and leash and seeing if he will get used to being outside.

any other suggestions? Im afraid if i let him loose again he will go back in to hidding

im just happy he is ok
 
He needs to establish his position in the pecking order of the group. If you want him to be an outside cat, leave him out. But, keep checking on him.
 
cats outside is something that varies due to your location and conditions. I once thought my cats where vulnerable to wildlife. I suppose it could happen but many cats can and will back down wildlife as big as bears. I have live cam security cameras I watch. I have learned a lot about the local fauna. A grey fox isn't hardly as big as my biggest cats. a raccoon here is bigger than the fox. both coons and foxes will eat shelled corn and sometimes menace each other over the right to eat it. The raccoons back off when the foxes have numbers, 3 to 4 when they are all here. The cats seem to stay about 15 to 20 feet from the coons. The grey fox dont like the cats and will leave. The deer dont mind the cats. some have touched noses and stepped over them. not all deer will do this and not all cats will sit underfoot when the deer come. The fact is the single thing I fear when it comes to my cat is a disease carried by ticks called bobcat fever. there is no treatment for it and you will lose a cat very fast, like 3 to 4 days and the cat is gone. We do try to get all six cats inside when the weather is bad. some still like to stay outside. I am glad you found your cat. bottom line, he is a cat and will do as he pleases, no matter what his pet human does ;)
 
Indy4570":iz2q3r3c said:
cats outside is something that varies due to your location and conditions. I once thought my cats where vulnerable to wildlife. I suppose it could happen but many cats can and will back down wildlife as big as bears. I have live cam security cameras I watch. I have learned a lot about the local fauna. A grey fox isn't hardly as big as my biggest cats. a raccoon here is bigger than the fox. both coons and foxes will eat shelled corn and sometimes menace each other over the right to eat it. The raccoons back off when the foxes have numbers, 3 to 4 when they are all here. The cats seem to stay about 15 to 20 feet from the coons. The grey fox dont like the cats and will leave. The deer dont mind the cats. some have touched noses and stepped over them. not all deer will do this and not all cats will sit underfoot when the deer come. The fact is the single thing I fear when it comes to my cat is a disease carried by ticks called bobcat fever. there is no treatment for it and you will lose a cat very fast, like 3 to 4 days and the cat is gone. We do try to get all six cats inside when the weather is bad. some still like to stay outside. I am glad you found your cat. bottom line, he is a cat and will do as he pleases, no matter what his pet human does ;)
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Well I just want to give him a chance to learn his surroundings before I let him loose. If he walks with the harness and leash ok. If not I’ll carry him. The leash is so he won’t run away. I didn’t do that before and I suppose he was really scared.
 
Does he still have his claws and is he neutered? If no claws, I wouldn’t let him be an outside cat. He needs to be able to defend himself. Also, if he’s not neutered, he shouldn’t be an outside cat. First, they are more aggressive to other cats when not neutered. Second, we really don’t need any more feral cats roaming the world.
 
Harness should be here Saturday so I will try then. I know it will take time to get him used to the outside. Just a few hours each day.
 
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