How can I transition my cat to be completely indoors?

[Waitbytheriver]

Does anyone have any advice or tips on how to keep my cat happily indoors? Has anyone done this successfully?

My cat is coming up to 3 years old and she currently goes outside. Last year she fell outside and tore her cruciate ligament in her back leg which resulted in an operation, lots of vet visits and 6 weeks cage rest, followed by room rest and then she could be in the house but not go out for a while. I said I wouldn’t let her outside again but she wore me down, relentlessly crying and scratching and yowling and sitting by the door and trying to find any possible escape through windows etc. We made amendments to the place where she fell from to make it safer and let her back out but still try to keep her in as much as possible.

A few weeks ago she came in limping on her front leg. Vets xray show nothing wrong but she still limping just as bad so looks like we are going to have to do strict cage rest once again to see if it heals. I can’t keep doing this. She is so accident prone. Always getting int mischief, always getting stuck somewhere or falling off something, and now we have another period of strict confinement on our hands which was so unbelievably stressful the first time.

I really cannot let her out again after this. We can’t keep going in circles. We do not have a back garden so there is nothing for me to cat proof. She has lots of toys, springs, mice, balls, wands etc but also lots of energy and I do have to work. I can’t sit with her 24 hours a day to play. I play with her in the morning and in the evening before dinner and just before bed. But she’s young and has lots of energy and gets bored easily. A lot of the time she isn’t even interested in her toys and just sits watching me trying to engage with her.

Please can anyone tell me if this is possible? I am trying to do right by her and be responsible but I’m so stressed out at how difficult this is going to be and whether it’s just going to break her spirit. Can anyone help?

I know someone who's cat broke its leg and similarly had lots of ops and cage rest for months, now the cat is entirely indoors as it's just not safe for her to go outside. It's worked out fine, the cat was a bit miffed at first but is now used to it.

The logistics of how you do it isn't really the issue here- just stop letting her outside and push through her cries till she gets used to the idea- what you really have to work on is your guilt and feeling like you've failed her by not letting her out. You're actually doing right by her by keeping her safer than she would be outdoors.

You won't "break her spirit". Cats are incredibly adaptable. She will be okay.

Oh and edited to say as someone with an indoor cat myself, if you do want something practical, get flatcats for your windows so you can open them in the summer without her getting out- https://www.flatcats.co.uk/

Could you cat proof your garden? Ours has high fences that she cannot jump, so our cat still gets to go outside but just in her safe garden and she seems content with that.

Apparently it takes cats two weeks to adapt to new things, try and ignore her cries and she'll stop eventually.

Do you have space for a catio?

It literally says in the post that OP doesn't have a garden to cat proof

You’re doing this for you, not her. Incidentally, how do you know a) that she hurt herself falling and b) won’t she fall from the bannisters or the top of a door if she’s bored and frustrated inside?

I would have space for a very small catio, we open the back door to a very small paved area where we keep the bins and then beyond that is a communal space that people use to park their cars. It would be pointless putting a catio there. There’s nothing for her to see or do. She may as well be sat looking out of the window

I wouldn’t do it. I think that would be cruel.

My best friend recently had similar happen to her dog, with 12 weeks in a crate needed in the end, and if anyone suggested it become an inside dog, she’d be called insane.

some cats take to having exercise wheel

I have five indoor cats and a catio. The catio gives them some outdoor space and fresh air, although this year they have actually refused to go out in it as it’s ’too Cold’. They were used to being outside and adapted really easily once they had the illusion of being outdoors - in the catio.
other things to try are cat walls - were you put a series of shelves up a wall so they can hop/jump from one to another, a bit like a fixed cat tree/tower. I have those in every room. Never tired a cat wheel - suspect my cats may think I have totally lost the plot as they love their sleep especially on the top of cat trees and shelving.

I just glanced at this title and read "How do I transition my cat..." and thought ohhh boy 🍿

Disappointed now.

Can you make the inside more appealing? A bed next to a hot radiator, a bed hanging off a hot radiator? a climbing tower, many scratch pads, tunnels etc (ikea do a good one)? Is the DCat happy with the indoor litter tray? Have a calming cat-friendly vaporiser running: Feliway or there's a more natural one called Pet Remedy to calm her down when she's inside.

A cat, who free roams and goes who knows where, is clearly quite different to a dog who is only taken out under supervision of its owner.

I have an indoor cat, he's visually impaired so going outside is not possible for him. He misses jumps a lot so I sympathise with having a clumsy cat, thankfully he's never hurt himself falling.
I hope you can find a solution that works for you.

My cat has an exercise wheel, it was expensive but he does enjoy running on it.

We have something similar to this for our indoor cat - it makes our living room look really weird but she seems happy, gets lots of exercise, bounds around between all of these attachments.

A friend has installed similar but drilled strong hooks into all the attachments, then rails up on to her walls so she move the attachments around to keep things interesting.

www.amazon.co.uk/YITAHOME-Climbing-Furniture-Scratching-Platforms/dp/B0CWNYV9XR/ref=asc_df_B0CWNYV9XR?mcid=0870fdb9715234c893c629c1d180b0cb&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=697298965825&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7665197674010301520&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006567&hvtargid=pla-2336421992594&psc=1&hvocijid=7665197674010301520-B0CWNYV9XR-&hvexpln=0&gad_source=1

😆

In the kindest way, I agree... a long life in prison isn't "better" than a life of freedom even with some risk entailed that they might have another accident or two because they're allowed out.

Not meaning to guilt trip you OP! But a cat's a cat and if they are used to being outdoors I do feel they should be allowed to, risk and all. Perhaps hold off on rushing to the vet for minor sprains and things, they so often get better by themselves (not meaning to be controversial or cause offence, just that I grew up on a farm!)

Would a second cat help keep her entertained? I personally would let her go out even if she gets hurt, they are roaming animals.

"I would have space for a very small catio,"

I know you don't think it's worth doing, but if it is at all possible to create (albeit a tiny) catio then I really think it would help. Just opening the door for her might give her a sense of "control" and it would offer some fresh air.

I don't agree ,she'd get fresh air. That's like saying it's pointless for a human to sit outside they might as well look out the window.

I sympathise because my boy when he was a youngster was always doing similar, but he’s calmed down hugely now as he’s got older. I did not make him an indoor cat though. I think it is a bit cruel once they’ve tasted the outside to then take it away from them. I did only allow him out during the day time though. Night time they were indoors. I have relaxed that now they are older and less inclined to get up to mischief. I do live in a safer area for them than what you describe though.

If you MUST do this then you need to invest in LOTS of big, tall cat trees or DIY cat stuff that she can run, jump, climb, navigate across rooms without touching the floor etc. Lots of ways to scratch / maintain claws etc, Free rein of the house, no closed doors, at least two litter trays. Maybe consider stopping night time outdoors first rather than permanent.

You could consider introducing a playmate of a similar age so they run about the house together and amuse each other, but that can present issues if the introduction doesn’t go to plan and they don’t get on.

Any catio would be good with open door free rein too. Put in different levels and relaxation platforms.

I do agree that a lot of catios are pretty pointless - boring and barren places, they remind me of a prison exercise yard. But it should be possible to make them more inviting - a few square of turf growing on a large plastic tray (the kind of thing you get in the bottom of a dog crate), a small tree in a pot, such as an olive tree (my cat likes sharpening her claws on ours and has been known to climb it),some potted plants including catnip and flowering ones (make sure they're non toxic for cats!), a very small pond (washing up bowl size) with an aquatic plant and a large rock so insects can land on it to drink the water. You'd need to water them (especially the turf), but with these additions to your catio you would have insects visiting which she could stalk, probably more birds around because of the insects which she might like watching, leaves falling down which she could bat around, and she would probably enjoy rolling in the catnip, basking in the sun, and experiencing the sights and smells of the natural world much more than in the bare, concrete catios that you're thinking of.

My other suggestion...how about a male kitten/young cat to keep her company? It's a bit of a risk and if she fights with other cats, it might not be worth it, but I have introduced a young cat to a resident young cat of the opposite sex in the past and they got on very well.

I agree with these comments. I have a rescue cat who has always gone out. He does cause me some anxiety as he's into everything but he creates madly when I have to keep him in before vets etc. He would be really sad if I never let him out. I would feel like I was keeping him in a prison. It's different if they've always been a house cat.

I do tend to agree with this usually, which is why my cats do go outside and why I still decided to eventually let her back out. But there surely must come a point where you have to learn from past experience. She is not even three years old yet, has had two serious injuries and a few more emergency vet trips. Often I will look out of the window and see her in a cat fight or stuck somewhere and I have to go out and help her. My other cat is much more street smart. Whereas this one doesn’t seem to fare well outside. How can I know that and still continue to put her in harms way? She walks with a constant limp on her back leg now, that leg will never be normal. And now there’s a problem with her front leg. Do I keep letting her out until she’s injured ever single leg or worse? Or do I try and find a way to keep her safe and healthy whilst also being happy indoors? That’s what I’m trying to do. If it doesn’t work and she is absolutely miserable then I’ll have to take it from there. We will be moving house eventually and will be prioritising a home with a garden that we can cat proof, so it won’t be forever but that’s a few years away yet