Mother Nature created the great outdoors specifically to
satisfy a cat’s natural instincts…at least that’s what the cats would like us
to believe! Trees to climb, prey to
chase and capture, patches of warm sun in which to lie, the freedom to choose
any of the above opportunities, or nap on his own schedule. Ahhh, livin’ the
dream!
But the great outdoors is also fraught with risks that
include predators, both two- and four-legged, diseases, parasites, moving
vehicles, lack of food and water, and a myriad of other hazards that can turn
the good life into one of peril for even the most outdoor-savvy feline.
Transitioning an outdoor cat into an indoor cat requires
patience and a good understanding of the needs and desires of your feline
friend. Let’s face it, our homes are
designed around human comfort, not necessarily creature comforts. So let’s look at our home through a cat’s
eyes and devise ways of satisfying those natural feline instincts.
Climbing Trees: Cats love heights! Observing the world from a predator-free
pinnacle provides kitty with a feeling of security and confidence. There is a fantastic variety of kitty
furniture available that fits in with any décor and provides kitty with a high
place to perch as well as enclosed places to hide and retreat from frightening
activities. These items also provide
irresistible scratching surfaces (like trees!) that satisfy the kitty’s natural
scratching instincts.
Multiple Vertical
Levels
Nature also provides a myriad of activity-inducing obstacles
for our vertical-loving felines.
Outside, cats will jump from stumps to branches to fences to walls to
mounds of dirt and back, and love every minute of it! Look at your living areas and see if that
opportunity abounds. If not, check out
that empty vertical space and fill it with multi-level opportunities for cat
activity. Window perches, tables in
front of a window, cat tunnels (very much fun!!), different sized cardboard
boxes—providing this sort of variety doesn’t have to cost a lot, and in many
cases rearranging your furniture just a little can satisfy your cat’s need for
multi-level vertical space.
Chasing, Hunting,
Capturing Prey: Hunting is one of
the strongest feline instincts, and one that has endured throughout centuries
of domestication. Luckily for us, the
availability of prey-like toys is endless, from inexpensive, tiny stuffed mice
to interactive battery-operated toys like the Undercover Mouse. Interactive play with humans (and/or other
pets) is essential for a cat transitioning to an indoor life. The Cat Catcher, Cat Dancer, and other
wand-type interactive toys are fun for both human and feline. Not many kitties can resist those laser
lights, either! Interactive play for twenty
minutes or more a day is a great way to bond with your cat, give him the
exercise he needs, and make him forget about those pesky outdoor creatures he
used to chase.
Nighttime Naughties
Although cats gradually adapt to human schedules, many cats
transitioning to indoor life initially maintain a nocturnal schedule. To avoid sleep deprivation, providing a
portion of your kitty’s dinner right before bedtime will encourage a long
nap. A rousing game of chase-the-laser
right before lights-out will also lead to sweet dreams for kitty. If his predator instincts are well-honed,
“hiding” his prey-like toys on windowsills, between couch cushions, on his cat
furniture, and in other creative nooks and crannies will give him nocturnal
excitement that does not include pouncing on your toes at 3 AM.
Extras
Bird feeders outside of sunny windows will keep kitty
entertained for hours! Cat grass
(available in seed kits or already growing) will give him a taste of the
outdoors. A Catnip Party every few days
will liven up his life. A soft and cushy
bed near a sunny window will be irresistible.
During this transition you may run into a few issues. Two of the most common are:
Meowing, Howling,
Scratching at the Door
First, you need to make sure you have satisfied your cat’s instinctive
needs (see above). If kitty still
insists that she cannot live without being outside, you need to ignore the
yowling, scratching, and howling.
“Whaaaat? She’s driving me
crazy,” you say! Remedying this sort of
behavior requires a “distraction plan” that redirects the behavior before it
begins.
Cats are creatures of habit, and their behaviors can be
observed and modified. What does kitty
do BEFORE the meowing, howling, scratching begins. She sees you, she walks towards the door, and
begins to vocalize. The distraction
needs to happen in the “sees you, walks toward the door” phase of the behavior
so as not to reward the undesirable yowling and scratching.
You can create the scenario for this to happen, but you need
your distraction plan in mind. Have your
kitty’s favorite toy, or favorite treat in hand. As kitty walks toward the door, sees you, but
before the vocalizing begins, toss the treat or toy away from the door for her
to chase. To make this more fun for
kitty, have a large paper shopping bag (sans handles) on its side or a
cardboard box in the area, and toss the treat/toy into the bag/box. This redirection from her initial purpose
into a fun game generally takes her mind off of the door. The more this is practiced, the sooner the
behavior will change.
Door Darting
This behavior is annoying (and very scary) for humans and
self-rewarding for kitty. Each time she
is successful, the behavior is reinforced.
There are a couple of ways to inhibit door darting.
Provide kitty with a pleasurable reason NOT to dash out the
door. Remember, cats are
pleasure-seekers, and she has learned that she gets pleasure from darting out
the door. Establish a place away from
the door to reward good behavior when you leave or enter your home. Before you leave, call kitty to that
particular place (a couch, a chair, an end table, a perch on her cat tree) and
give her lots of love and her favorite treats.
While she is indulging in the treats, proceed out the door without
looking back. When you return home and
open the door, if kitty is right by the door ignore her (don’t let her out, of
course!). Close the door, walk over to
your special hello/goodbye place, give her lots of love and her favorite
treats. Make this a habit, and ask other
members of the household to do the same.
Kitty will learn that it is more fun to be away from the door than to
try to dash out, and will routinely go to that special “place” for her
pleasurable reward.
Placing a tall cat tree or scratching post with a perch by
the door will also provide an opportunity to make staying inside more
pleasurable than dashing out. When you
prepare to leave and kitty is by the door, lure her to the perch with treats or
her favorite toy, and while she is enjoying the treats, leave the house. When you return, again lure kitty to the
perch and reward with treats. In no time
she will choose to jump up on the perch for rewards and forget all about the
rewards of outdoor life!
A passive deterrent in front of the door can also be used in
addition to behavioral modification. A
clear vinyl carpet runner flipped nubby-side-up will encourage the cat to avoid
walking near the door. Cats do not like
to walk on nubbies!
Satisfying your newly-indoor cat’s natural feline needs and
instincts will lead to a happy and content couch-potato-kitty in no time at
all! A feline friend to curl up with is
an added bonus. Lots of love, attention,
readily available food and water is a double bonus, as these are things that
were lacking in kitty’s previous life.
Patience is essential, as each cat is an individual. The reward for both human and cat is an
indoor lifetime of security, love and entertainment without any of the perils
of an outdoor existence.
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