How to turn a “homeless” cat into a domestic cat
Persuading a cat that spends a great deal of its time outdoors to become a strictly indoor cat is usually not difficult, though it is often quite wearing. The whole thing comes down to your being a more strong-willed, better prepared and more observant creature than it is.
Cats are creatures of habit. You will grasp the full meaning of those words the moment you try to change something. Your cat is used to spending time outdoors every day, checking the boundaries of its territory, calling in at its favourite places for sleeping and scratching, ambling round the best of the chipmunk-hunting grounds. Most of the interesting events of its life, in fact, happen outdoors. So if you propose to shut it in the house for good, it will certainly have something to say about that.
First of all make sure the cat has everything it needs indoors: a litter tray of the size and shape it likes, with litter it is willing to use; fresh water and food within reach; an acceptable place to scratch; a corner of its own where it can retire and nobody will bother it. It also needs a proper outlet for its hunting instincts — which matters especially if it used to be a successful hunter. That means playing with it every day, sometimes twice a day. But mind your fingers: hunting games excite some cats a great deal, and they take them entirely seriously. Once the cat has everything it needs, it is time to begin.
Name the day on which your cat becomes an indoor cat and nothing else, and let it be so. No more going out, not even for a while. Weaning it off the outdoors by degrees will not work. Simply stop the outings and have done with it. After that the cat, like any creature trying to break a habit, will have no fun at all. It will mew at the door, gaze at you imploringly, mope, complain, mourn its lost freedom and curse you in every way it knows. And then what? Let it out even once and the only thing you have taught it is that whining works — and next time the mewing will be longer and louder.
Do not give in. Through the first week you can expect unwanted behaviour from the cat. The change in its life will distress it, and distress can produce behaviour you will be far from glad to watch. Exercise helps; even so, do not hesitate to shut the cat in a separate, safe room if it starts being destructive, or stops using the tray out of sheer frustration. All of it passes as soon as it settles into the new routine. Here is what you can do to make the change easier.
Use positive encouragement
Doing everything you can to make being indoors as pleasant as possible for the cat will help it feel contented. Go over to it a few seconds after it comes away from the door. Reward it with something it enjoys — praise, a treat, a game.
Punish the cat
Making the front door a somewhat disagreeable place for the cat will help bring the noise level in your house down. Squirt it with a jet of water from a plant sprayer to shut it up. Shake a metal can of coins. If that turns out to be no use, throw the can down somewhere near the door — but not at the cat, please. That will do it. Combine these with the reward the cat gets every time it comes away from the door, and things will go smoothly.
Keep its mind busy
Play is not the only thing that helps a cat adapt; training helps too. Teach it whatever you like — a few simple tricks, anything at all. It strengthens the bond between you and gives the cat a great deal to think about. It will change its habits if you encourage it.
Once it is used to being indoors all the time, you can let it get some fresh air now and then. Stand a large cage screened with wire mesh by the window: it lets your cat spend the time outdoors it longs for so passionately, and at no risk whatever. See that there is no getting out of the cage. Put a large log in it for the cat to climb, plant catnip, think up something amusing. Your cat will adore this private oasis of feline pleasures.
You can also take the cat out for a walk. It takes a little while to get used to a harness and lead, but once it has, it will take enormous pleasure in walking round its favourite places with you. There is one rule I would apply here: do not take the cat out when it demands to go. Do that and you merely encourage demanding behaviour and end up back where you started. Put the harness and lead on and set off when the cat is being quiet and is somewhere else in the house. Then it never knows when the moment is coming.
Never tie a cat up outside on a rope. It can become easy prey for any dog that happens by. And if you tie it near a tree in the hope that it will climb if anything threatens it, you also risk its hanging itself.
The “door-dashing” habit
Cats are nimble, extremely quick animals with a superb sense of timing. The combination can produce a cat in the habit of bolting through an open door. It will race for the door in hope of freedom the moment it hears keys in the lock.
It is a dangerous habit, and not only for the cat: also for whichever poor soul is on the outside of the door with bags in their hands. Fortunately, door-dashing is not hard to correct if you show a little foresight on your side. Pick a time when you can set the thing up, when you are in no hurry and not loaded down with shopping. A couple of corrections, well timed and well delivered, may one day save your cat’s life.
If your cat cannot bear being squirted with water, use a plant sprayer set to a single jet. If it cannot bear a loud, sudden noise, use a can of coins or a siren to make it think again. Whichever tool you pick, use it as follows.
Take the tool with you, or leave it outside the door. Coming home, get it ready and open the door a crack. If the cat is there, correct it with your tool. Say nothing — you want the cat to associate the unpleasantness with the open door, not with your presence.
If the cat is not there, open the door as slowly as you can, so that you have time enough to react when it suddenly makes its dash.
If the cat catches you off guard, use your keys. Throw them down straight in front of you. It frightens the cat without doing it the slightest harm. The keys may not be the ideal instrument, but they are always in your hand when you come through the door.
If the cat breaks through the blockade, do not turn round and punish it as it runs off — that only teaches it to run away from the house as fast as it can. Once the cat is out of the door it is already too late to teach it not to go. Let the experience be a lesson to you: next time either open the door more slowly or use something else the cat is more afraid of.
As far as cats go, another two or three experiences like that and they will keep away from the door while you are opening it.