AboutJessica Expertise The areas in which I have gained the most experience are cat health and feral cat management/rescue. I provide supportive care to chronically ill cats, hospice care to terminally ill cats and also am involved in trap-neuter-return efforts. My specialities lie in taming feral cats and in the allopathic treatment of cats with illnesses or special needs. I also have owned Siamese, Himalayans, Abyssinians, Russian Blues, Savannahs, Bengals, Peterbalds, Don Sphynx and Oriental Shorthairs and am well-versed in cat breeds as well as cat behavior and nutrition.
Experience I have 15 years of extensive experience with cats ranging from breeding to medical care. My daily routine consists of caring for cats with diabetes, thyroid disease, kidney failure, feline leukemia, feline AIDS as well as feral cats. I have experience with liver patients, heart patients, feline infectious peritonitis, cancer, recovery from amputation and trauma, congenital deformities and most every disease in between. I have assisted cats giving birth and hand-nursed kittens who were neglected by their mother from 2 days old through weaning.
Question I have 4 only outdoor cats that I inherit when moving to this house with 10 acres, now I'm moving to a new house about 5 miles away with a small back yard. I want to have them indoor only so they won't run away. Is this possible?
Thanks.
Answer Yes, Veronica, absolutely! And I'm glad you've decided to do this! You will find the cats much healthier and happier as indoor cats. And doing it with a move is easier than making them indoor cats when they're used to their surroundings.
When they move to a new place, cats feel most comfortable in small, confined areas. In fact, I recommend you limit them all to one room for the first few days.
Chances are they will feel too nervous to be dodging out the door at the new place. However, you'll still need to do a surveillance of the area before you leave the house to make sure no one is waiting around to run outside. If they are, see if you can distract them with a tasty treat or some catnip in the other room before you leave.
You can make the transition easier by providing them with a pot of cat grass, which you can grow with seeds available at pet stores. Some pet stores sell ready-grown pots. Also, there are videos of birds and butterflies and fish, etc., available for them to watch on the TV. You can check some out at www.cattv.com. And if you have the money, you can even get them a pet fence to go outside in without risking losing them or subjecting them to disease or the danger of cars. See http://www.kittywalk.com/enclosures.asp Make sure they have plenty of toy mice, balls and scratching posts, and they should be pretty content indoors. When I converted my outdoor cats to indoor-only cats, it took about 2 months before they really settled into their new lifestyle. Now most are terrified of the outdoors unless they're in their cage.
