Bringing An Outdoor Cat Inside

 I have been doing lots of  internet searches  research on bringing an outdoor cat inside, what cats do at night and lots of other cat related things.  Big Daddy and I both grew up with outside cats that were strays that had wondered up and stayed around because they were fed and given attention to.  Once we realized that Rainbow was getting injured in fights, we wanted to keep him safe.  Research states that having a male cat neutered should reduce fighting and wandering by about 90%.  Of course, it also helps control the pet population and it breaks my heart to see stray animals.  The best way to protect them from predators, is by having them inside.  Since I saw a fairly large coyote right across the street from our house last Friday, Big Daddy and I decided that we HAD to keep him inside at night.

When we took Rainbow to the vet for his shots, we scheduled the appointment to have him neutered.  He would have to be at the office around 7am and would need to be inside ALL the time for a minimum of 48 hours.  We gave him the litter box a week before surgery and hoped that he would sleep well in the house on the night before surgery.  We wanted to make sure that Rainbow didn't have anything to eat after midnight and decided that bringing him in for the night would be the easiest way.  He went to sleep well and then was up meowing at all of the bedroom doors around 4am.  I sat up with him and he was happy just having one of his people around!  Big Daddy left for work around 7am and took Rainbow by the vet on his way.  The doctor called around 12:00 to let me know that he tolerated the procedure well, but had an upset tummy.  I went to pick him up around 4:00 and he seemed excited to see his family.  The tech warned me that he had been a little aggressive and even growling at them.

I decided to have Maggie and Ellie play in their rooms while I took Rainbow, still in his crate, into the laundry room.  When I opened the door he went straight to the litter box.  After that, he prowled around the house like a tiger looking for a person to eat.  He jumped on everything!  The kitchen table, the dining room table, all of the beds and the couch.  After a couple of hours, he crashed!  Sweet boy went to sleep and woke up around 4am.  He was once again, meowing at the bedroom doors.  Big Daddy and I decided that we would try to leave our bedroom door opened the next night.  He seems to enjoy just being in the room with us, even if we're asleep.

And things have been great ever since!

Rainbow sleeps most of the night.  We do not hear him meow, but can sometimes hear the kuh-thump of him chasing his toys in the living room on the hardwood floors.  I have gotten up during the night to use the bathroom and he will be asleep in our bedroom floor.  We are super- thrilled with how well things have been going.  On Monday, we decided to let him out in the morning and he has been staying out for a few hours before coming home...to nap.  He loves looking outside during the day and has several perches that we have given him so that he can enjoy the views.

Much to my surprise, I have done surprisingly well with both the cleanliness issues and my asthma and allergies.  I have found more of my hair (and our new American Girl, Caroline) on the floors than  I have cat hairs.  I dust mop daily (except for Sunday) and generally keep the house quite clean.  From what I've read this is probably why my allergy to cats seems to be under control.  If I carry him or rub my eyes before I have washed my hands, I will get itchy and watery eyes and a little sniffle.  I comb Rainbow (which he loves) daily, but that doesn't seem to pull off a lot of hair.  I guess we'll see how much he sheds when warm weather comes!  I clean out the litter box daily and we haven't had any odor issues except for right after he potties.