Hello from Ohio

[lisareier]

Hello! New here & have enjoyed reading so many comments. I have 3 Ragdoll cats/kittens. Gracie is 1 yr old & I have her 2 cousins, who are sisters that are 7 months old. Plus 4 cats who live in their own cat house steps from our back porch & 1 who lives in the garage. Lisa

[lisareier]

I'm not sure how to use or post to this forum. I have a question about a stray cat we have living in our garage. I have taken him to the vet and she does not have any solid answers for me. I have tried the felliway plug in and I've had him living in the spare room for a few weeks to get him acclimated...Not sure if you offer advice but here goes...We've had a stray cat coming to our house to eat off and on for over a year. He's a tuxedo cat who is already fixed. The vet guesses about 2 or 3 years old. To make a long story short, he's sorta a neighborhood cat with no home to call his own. He's always so thin but a very beautiful cat! I also have 4 outside cats who live in their own cat house just steps from our back porch, was once a milk house converted so it's really a large building and 3 Ragdoll cats inside. Our big Ginger Cat, (outside) male also fixed does not like him & won't let him stay on the property. The tuxedo cat who we call Oreo does not have any fight or stand his grown in him!( all my cats are fixed, inside & outside) So Mango, the ginger cat, who was once a stray himself, runs him off! He'll come back days later, sometimes sooner sometimes weeks later, and want to eat so I let him in the garage to eat. Well last summer I did try to make him a house cat but he peed on everything. Cat beds, dog beds. We have a 12lb Yorkie also indoors. I'm sure he was marking his territory. He does know how to use a litter box but he will pee on blankets laying inside pet beds or crates. Thank you in advance for any advice!

[Nan]

Hi! Looking forward to hearing about your cats!

[Marcia]

Originally Posted by lisareier

Well last summer I did try to make him a house cat but he peed on everything. Cat beds, dog beds. We have a 12lb Yorkie also indoors. I'm sure he was marking his territory. He does know how to use a litter box but he will pee on blankets laying inside pet beds or crates. Thank you in advance for any advice!

Wow you have your hands full, don't you??!! I commend you for trying to make this guy an indoor kitty, but like you, just çouldn't have tolerated the peeing everywhere. Some basic questions: are you using a good quality scoopable litter like Tidy Cats and actually scooping it a couple times a day?? Is the litter box in a quiet, safe place AWAY from dogs and kids? Is there a lingering odor of pee on surrounding surfaces that draws him back there when/if he does not feel comfortable using a litter box? All these issues need to be HONESTLY researched by you. If you are confident you are doing everything right to make this a place he wants to stay in, then perhaps he has an "outdoor" cat mentality after all and I can't help you at all with that.

Our Annie was a stray that had been dumped on a Navy base. I got her fixed and decided she was going to be an indoor cat because I could not handle the fleas (this was before the great meds available now a days). She cried and cried to be let out, roaming the house looking out the windows. It took a couple weeks before she finally settled down, but once she did she was very best lap cat in the world.

Our Maddie was at the SPCA with a big sign "LITTER BOX ISSUES - does not like to have her tailed pulled or chased". Duh. That was a death sentence I figured so I made a deal with her: I would not pull her beautiful tail, nor would I chase her as long as she used the litter box. 6 years later she has yet to have an accident and we've both kept our word. The litter boxes (I have 5 cats) are in quiet corners of the laundry room and upstairs in a spare BR corner. (No wonder I don't get house guests! ), but they are clean, quiet and available. No issues unless one is sick. Good luck, I hope this helps.

[Gaius]

Sorry to hear about the issues. We were lucky, as the cat we brought in adores being indoors, despite having run away once (and coming back a week later begging to be let in).

However, it took our other cat a few months to acclimate to having him around. We had to keep them in separate rooms or she'd attack him until he had to protect himself. He's very sweet and submissive, so it worried me. They get along well now, and even cuddle every once in a while, but it took much longer than any times my parents got new cats.

Sometimes it just takes time...lots of time.