Forcing cat to be a house cat. Success stories?

[LittleLostThing]

My kitten is nearly one and I think I’m going to have to keep him as a house cat . I’ve been letting him out in the mornings since he was neutered at 5 months. He comes home at 5ish for his tea and is generally knocking around in the garden or within shouting distance.

We live in a fishing town and I’ve just found out that he’s been causing absolute chaos for nearly 2 months at the fish market . The fish market is about half a mile of us and I have no idea when he goes there as I thought he was always nearby. A trawler had to turn round last week because he’d stowed aboard. I only found out after one of the mums was showing a video of a cat being chased about by the fish quay and I realised it was him.

Anyway, since then I’ve been trying to keep him inside but it’s a nightmare. We have to go out the door in shifts as he’s always trying to bolt. We have a biggish balcony that I put his cat tree and a few things on to keep him busy. He jumped off the balcony after meowing for hours, luckily he was ok but I now can’t let him on the balcony in case he jumps off again.

Has anyone successfully made the transition? If so, how long did it take before your cat accepted it? He seems so sad at the moment and it’s a nightmare whenever I need to open the door.

He looks like a cat with a secret in that photo.

The roads dangerous, all joking aside we don’t want him run over on it.

Cat proofing can be discrete. I’d dig a fish pond while your at it.

Are you quite sure it's him as other pp have suggested?

On enclosures, we used to have cats who roamed free. I'm so, so glad we now have the enclosure. We live with a wood in the back of our garden and a small road on the other side. After the enclosure, gone are the nights, where we wondered the outskirts of the woods calling (sometimes at 1 at night) one of our cats got run over and died. No more vet visits caused by fights with other cats. I can really, really recommend it, especially with large roads nearby.

Our enclosure is simply a part of the garden fenced in, about 15-20 meters x 10. What a relief it has been .

I totally understand that his shenanigans are a problem, but he's an outdoor cat - he roams, he hunts, he scavenges - which is what cats naturally do. I don't know what the answer is but to suddenly keep him confined to a house would be very cruel, and very probably cause stress and behavioural problems. Could you keep him in on market days? Or get someone to call you when he appears and make a short term habit of taking him home and keeping him in for a while to try and change his behaviour?

we cat proofed with waist height walls no problem

We made an enclosure. She'd much rather be an outdoor cat and will still occassionally bolt if she gets chance but it's not safe for her to be outside.

She does like the enclosure but doesn't spend as much time as I thought she would in it.

I don't think it's really fair on the (very gorgeous boy) cat to turn him into an indoor cat when he's so used to going out & causing fishy chaos!

My old cat Millie was an outdoor cat but when she became very frail due to cancer she had to spend her last days inside for her own safety.
Well, she hated it & still really really wanted to go out. But sadly I couldn't let her.

However My current rescue cat has been an indoor cat since I adopted her & shows no interest in going out, in fact the idea is very scary to her as she's a very nervous cat.

He bolted out of the house last night and hasn’t been seen since . I’ve spent the day wandering around the harbour tapping his food bowl but no one has seen him. He’s never missed a meal before and he’s now been gone for 24 hours. I didn’t realise pet ownership was so stressful.

Eek.

Pets are bastards. Steal your heart then trample all over it.

Oh no! Hoping he shows up soon OP

Could you put up posters? (He is well known in the area at least!)

Oh no! I'm sure he'll turn up OP. My little rascal disappeared for six weeks once and then just appeared at the back door one day (not his only "adventure", but the longest).

Sorry though - it's really distressing when they disappear. Second putting up photos.

About a year ( however my one is ill) the other still tries his luck now and then!

When he deigns to reappear

double bell him - one on each side of his collar
and pop a couple of signs up at the fish market with his picture and name and your mobile so that fishermen can pop him in a crab pot if he's being a PITA
an hour of being trapped down there will put him off

Hope he reappears soon he’s a handsome fella.

I like the idea upthread of tracking him if he’s a wanderer. Sounds like he would be miserable indoors.

Hope you find your cat soon xx

On no, he's really putting you through it at the moment isn't he?

I hope he comes home soon. My cat who had never ventured further than the garden once disappeared during a storm.

Came home all dusty and thin 5 days later. No idea where he'd been and he's never left the garden since.

Make sure you leave food and something that smells familiar to him (blanket? Litter tray?) outside so he can smell home if he's lost.

Hope he comes back soon. Get a fish to tempt him back.

You could turn your house into a big fish market then he wouldn't need to go out

Do you live in Beer? Don’t answer that, just know I am really jealous if you do.

You could always do this:

The above is a cat cage we built fir our cats when one was knocked down. So they go out just not out across roads or to fishing quays to harass fishermen 😁

Oh no! I hope he didn't get scared off by his sudden celebrity status. Hopefully he just pinched and ate a big fish which he's eating and digesting slowly.