Hi! I'm new here and I have a problem that I hope someone can help me with. Lately a sweet cat has been coming up to my patio. I've fed him and let him inside. He just so sweet and I want to adopt him but he still wants to go back outside--even in the freezing weather. I have 2 inside cats and don't really want an inside/outside cat. I've taken this new guy to the vet--he a neutered male and is in good health. (I'm pretty sure that he got dumped)

Is there any way to convert this cat into a strictly inside cat? I tried keeping him in but he won't settle down and wants out after a few hours. He is so relaxed and gets along fine with my other two cats--amazing!

We will be moving into a larger home soon and I'm also worried about moving him if he goes outside. I'd hate for him to get lost.

Any ideas? Maybe a gradual change?

Any help would be greatly appeciated!

No idea how to "convert" him - I've got 2 innies and one outie and understand the practical difficulties but, just to say, did the vet scan him for a chip? Just in case someone owns him - maybe that's why he's desperate to get out even when it's freezing?

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Harry: Ginger & White b. September 2002
Oscar: Black b. 7th May 2011
Kitty: Grey Tabby b. 7th May 2011

Our lovely cat family

are you sure he's a stray? my neighbours well kept cats are food stealers ( my mum calls those type cats 'six dinner sids')

i'd paper collar
Stray cats - Feral cats | RSPCA

if no response post photos of him on
mymoggy.com
animalsearch.co.uk

etc - he may have an owner searching for him....even if its been months
( one of mine has been missing 6 months & i'm on a missing cat forum run by mymoggy.com theres lots of longer term missing owners who are still trying)

Yes we had him scanned...no chip. He sleeps in a chair on the patio every night--I put a warm blanket there for him. He doesn't have a collar on and is pretty thin. He first acted like he was starving and wanted to be petted for hours.

Maybe I'll put a collar on him and put a note on it....if he is someone else's cat they can let me know. I've looked for "lost" signs and registered him as a "found" cat on the local web site. So far he is a mystery cat. I not sure what else I can do.

How does he get on with your two cats?

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Black with white around his private area



Black Tortoiseshell




R.I.P Patch my well behaved boy dog
R.I.P. Abby and Rebel my beautifull litter sister cats

The colar is a good idea

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Pretty much how we got our first beautiful cat - she kept on visiting us and eventually spent all her spare time round our house. She wasn't a stray, so we found out who she belonged to and asked if we could keep her. Luckily they said yes.

To convert yours to an inside cat, I would just keep him locked in until he accepts it. We've done that with our two strays with no problem.

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We live and work in Spain at Nerja Holiday Rentals and we have adopted one dog and three street cats

If he goes back to his real home when he is out, he will not be reported as missing.

My cats used to have collars with their address on, until one of them hurt herself on a collar, then I took them off altogether. But when they still had collars, I got several phone calls from people in the neighbourhood who had 'found' my 'missing' cat. He bluffed his way into every house where there was cat food, or even dog food, to be had, and bullied the resident pets into sharing. He even broke into kitchens and stole steaks and chicken legs from the work top and even out of the pan....

But though he behaved like a stray in all respects, stealing food, demanding attention everywhere he could, he would always come home at least once a day, and he would eat at home, too, so he had never been missing at all.

His 'home claiming' behaviour and food stealing got so out of hand, we had to rehome him to a farm, where he has no neighbours to terrorize.

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Jiskefet & the mognificent Dutch bunch

My little angels at the rainbow bridge

I just wanted to reinforce what everyone else has said about making sure he is an actual stray, not just a very good actor. Both of mine are more than capable of making themselves look starving in order to wheedle food out of our neighbours and also regularly visit houses where there are other cats to get more food. This is in spite of the fact that they both eat plenty at home!

My cats are indoor/outdoor and I am not sure I would fancy the job of converting them to indoor only. One might not be too bad, the other one really doesn't like being confined even for an hour or two. He will happily sleep all day on the sofa but if he realises the cat flap is locked at any point then he is a nightmare. There are people on this forum though who have successfully converted cats, even stray/feral cats so there is hope if you are prepared to be patient.

I converted mine from an outdoor to indoor after he was run over in June! Admittedly he was very weak and poorly for a couple of months after he came home from the vet but I've found it pretty easy tbh! Very occasionally he tries to get out but I anticipated loads of problems but he's been fine! We have built a run though so he can have outside time

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