She has adopted us and comes in the house especially if it's cold outside. Recently she got in a cat fight, squirrel and was caught challenging a snake. The last cat fight required a vet visit. She is fine now, and has been in the house for 3 days. I can tell that she is not happy about this. She has a nice spot downtairs in the den with all the necessary items. She comes up stairs at anytime she wishes and has particular spots she like to spend the evening. She know her name and comes to me on command, she eats wet and try food and use her sand box on a regular basis.
I hate taking away her outdoor life from her, but I fear for her she is such a little scrapper. Any thoughts to make the transition easier would be welcome. BTW this is my first experience with cats, I usually have a small indoor dog, but no more 🙁
Hi Lea, I have provided some counseling to folks on this topic before. I think the first thing to understand is that the final result is not entirely in your hands. Cats are very independent and will decide what they want. You may have to accept that this kitty may never be content as an indoor only cat. If a cat has lived outdoors for a long time already, it can be very difficult or impossible to completely eliminate that from their instincts. I have seen folks try to force cats to stay indoors and results can include scratched up door and windows with their attempts to get out, inappropriate elimination (more due to them being upset vs. inability to use a litter box), and sneaky attempts to skirt around people when they use their door to go in/out, resulting in the cat getting out anyway.
Now, that being said, I think the good news is that you have a described a cat that has taken very well to aspects of your home and lifestyle. If you have no other cats, this may be an ideal situation for this cat, who can feel safe and unencumbered by competition in the home.
We do know that there are a number of ways to enrich the home environment to support cats. This includes having one more litter box than the number of cats in the home (for one cat, two litter boxes), having quiet, safe places they can retreat to, having places they can see outdoors like window perches, and having quality activity time.
Outdoor cats are often accomplished hunters. One tip is to try to emulate that activity indoors. You can hide small treats or portions of dry food around the house that your cat can "hunt" for. One product is called Doc. and Phoebe's Cat Co. indoor hunting cat feeder kit. You can also rig toilet paper rolls to do something similar by folding in the ends and cutting small holes in the sides.
Other folks will see if they can bridge a cat's need to go outdoors while staying safe by purchasing or buying an outdoor cat playpen/enclosure, something like this from Wayfair. I have seen folks find a way to connect an outdoor structure like this with a small catdoor in the home, so that the cat can go "outdoors" to their playpen whenever they choose.
Beyond those ideas and providing the most supportive environment you can, we all have to leave some of this deciding up to the cat. As you're well aware, outdoor cats can get into trouble. It's helpful to keep a budget for veterinary expenses related to injuries like you've seen.
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