I adopted a stray cat outside my apartment a few years ago. She was originally aggressive both to cats and people, but after I started taking care of her she warmed up to the neighbors, too. Since she’d lived outside for about a decade, I let her out in the yard (supervised) and she came to love lounging and waiting for passers by to give her scritches.
Unfortunately, I’ve had to move. No more outdoor time for the foreseen future, partially because she’s in a completely new town, and partially because there are so many birds around here I don’t think I’d be able to keep her from running off.
There isn’t even a window facing the walkway where she can interact with people through the window, which was another thing she liked doing in our old place. It’s just me to entertain her, and I can be gone ten hours a day.
She has lots of toys and beds and things to climb, but since she loved the neighbors so much, I’m worried she needs a companion. Anyone else been in this situation? How do you help your cat adjust?
Years ago when it was just my cat Maeko and I, I had to travel for work fairly regularly and would be gone for a day or two, sometimes longer. At first, she would wreck up the place and I’d come home to find entire bookcases emptied all over the floor - even with friends coming by to check on her while I was away.
I set up a little shallow window box outside of a window she could perch at and would fill it with water for the birds to use as a bath, and put one of those one-way privacy window clings on it so she could watch the birds without them noticing (unless she batted at the window, which definitely happened with some regularity). After that, she stopped having as much difficulty when I was away.
That’s a great idea, thank you! I just got her comfortable climbing onto her window bed yesterday :)
Most cats do like company if introduced very slowly. Like over a couple of months. If it was me I’d probably try it.
I’d like to, I guess I’m concerned about the logistics. I know you’re supposed to keep them separate for a while, which means one cat has to be stuck in a single room while I work out of town. And if they never fully warmed up, I’m afraid it would just be a ton of stress on the other cat if I had to send them back to the shelter.
I’ll probably save up some PTO before I try it, so I can be home and make neither of the cats are being neglected during the process.
You can add lots of toys and treats to keep them amused. Remember at a rescue place each cat has much less space than a room, sometimes a glorified box. It would be really sad if you have to send them back, but I will say I’ve adopted a lot of adult cats and it’s never happened to me. There’s a chance, but I think it’s fairly low.
Have you considered fostering for a rescue? That way you can save a cat and you can get a better idea how your cat will react.
That’s reassuring, thank you. I actually have plenty of extra toys because I learned it’s slightly cheaper to add extra cat toys to my order and get free shipping whenever I refill my kitty’s flea medication
