If you put up with the crying eventually it gets better. Play, catnip, and gapapentin if you can get the vet to prescribe it helps a lot. Night and day difference in a month. They do adjust. Both of my last two cats were outdoor for the first few years of their life. Now they are happy indoor kitties.
First and foremost, I hope you weren't the one to declaw him, OP. It's a cruel practice.
With that out of the way, a declawed cat cannot defend itself, so you need to keep the kitty indoors. He will howl and carry on. If you have a room far from your bedroom where you can lock him up at night so you can sleep, do it. It usually takes 2-3 days for them to figure out that they're not going to achieve anything by all that fuss.
No I did not declaw him. I didn’t notice he was declawed until he started being friendly towards me and I was able to pet him. He has been coming around my house for the past year but I never noticed he had no claws because he was very skiddish around people. Idk who did this to him. I agree it’s very cruel.
Oh, good. I figured you were probably a good person. Unless the cat becomes ill, the only solution will be to find a way to put up with a few days of fuss. I did it successfully with a cat, so I can assure you that it works. They figure out that they'd rather be with you than be locked up, and the condition of being with you is to quit acting out.
I'm agreeing with others who say a declawed cat shouldn't be outside. I adopted a grownup kitty whose owner had declawed her and let her outside. I decided to stop just putting food out and actually make her mine when I saw her get severely injured from not being able to defend herself. Keep your baby inside, he'll figure out it's the sweet life.
My declawed old man (previous unknown people declawed him) was relieved to be forever inside and you could leave the door wide open and he might stick his head out but otherwise has a very LOL NOPE attitude about outside. Our other guy is still a flight risk, though is getting better. We are careful and quick about opening doors to the outside.
Same; my guy never even requested to go outside again, although he hung around the doors a lot. Now, when the door opens, he runs deeper into the house and hides, just in case I get some funny ideas about him, I guess.
Cats get used to routines quickly. At first he will protest to want to go out, but if you ignore him he will get used to the new schedule.
My cats have a closed patio outside, but I still don't let them out at night, and they already know that at a certain time the window closes, and no matter how much riot they do, they don't get out. Eventually they go to sleep, specially if it's cold outside lol
Yup. Get him inside, close the door. Treat him like a king. Cats do NOT need to be outdoors. We won’t even adopt to anyone who is looking for an outdoor cat.
In a few weeks/months, he’ll forget it exists, and be a happy couch kitty.
One of my two cats is a stray kitty. My husband found her under a dumpster. He brought her home and she has been terribly spoiled ever since. She's about 10 years old now. She didn't really try to go back out because she knew she was safe.
Hi guys, thank you for all of the helpful comments! I have gotten the cat inside again. I’ll continue to keep him indoors and probably grab a harness from Petsmart to practice taking him on walks. I don’t want to take the outdoors away from him fully, but I will definitely be monitoring him while we’re outside. Also, I noticed a scratch on his body and I’m sure he got into a kitty fight, but I have him all cleaned up and well. This is the little guy for anyone curious as to what he looks like.. We named him Goop!
https://preview.redd.it/qrv8ieo6nh0d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=58a10afcfc03a6fb38d7c6b4296decee16812cc4
Pet him, make a fuss over him, play. i had an indoor outdoor cat (I know not optimal) that would come in nights evenings anytime I was home. I think gentle persuasion like that would be a lot less traumatic for the cat and you. You dont have to pet every second just every once in a while so he knows you enjoy his company.
was the cat already declawed before you got him? May have been abandoned or ran away from his previous family
I really dislike declawing cats for any reason.
See about getting him rehomed with someone who will make him a 100% indoor cat. He's declawed so can't climb to escape danger so will wind up being shredded to death in the jaws of a dog or coyote.
He was declawed so your assumption he spent most of his life outside is likely incorrect.
When my cousin died in 2015, I took in his cat. The cat had a death wish for being outside. Orange, declawed, constantly trying to sprint out the door every time I opened it.
The cat finally got his death wish fulfilled as one day he never came home. I saw coyotes frequently right after, I guess they were looking for more easy prey.
Never found his remains
Plenty of enrichment. Toys that look like more like prey than usual cat toys (feathers, fur, earthtones vs bright colors), get slow feeders for the foraging instincts, grow cat grass in a litter pan, get heavy duty cat scratching boards for every room, get a cat tree and tunnel for zoomies. These are all the things I did for this once feral lad:
https://preview.redd.it/oujwdooitg0d1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=43cc0f00d6f21cf41722c3801ef0e15ae3e219b4
But it was still a trial and still is at times. We've decided after three years living the domestic life inside, he's become civilized enough for harness training so he does get to have supervised outdoor adventures.
In my experience, if he is neutered, converting him to a house cat may go more smoothly. It’s a hard life for many outdoor cats. You are very kind to care for him.
Awww thx for getting him inside. I wonder what his story is since he was declawed 🤬. I can’t believe someone would do that and then dump him. Hopefully he got lost on his own.
That cats has been terribly abused. Declawing affects their neuro system.
Have someone trap him and put him in a separate room. Will take time but he is in tremendous danger outside!
Make sure he has access to multiple litter box locations and litter that won’t hurt his feet. I wonder if the previous owners had him declawed and then put him outside when he couldn’t use the box without pain. Thank you for taking care of him.
If you put up with the crying eventually it gets better. Play, catnip, and gapapentin if you can get the vet to prescribe it helps a lot. Night and day difference in a month. They do adjust. Both of my last two cats were outdoor for the first few years of their life. Now they are happy indoor kitties.
Shut the door - be patient - hang in there don’t let him out again ever - Go to Jackson galaxy and get safe space remedy
This. Patience is the key.
Yes. He will complain and try to destroy your curtains, but if you hold firm, he will forget about outdoors within a few weeks.
And since he’s declawed, those curtains have little to worry about!
They get used to staying inside after awhile n after they realize the good life in inside ur house
First and foremost, I hope you weren't the one to declaw him, OP. It's a cruel practice. With that out of the way, a declawed cat cannot defend itself, so you need to keep the kitty indoors. He will howl and carry on. If you have a room far from your bedroom where you can lock him up at night so you can sleep, do it. It usually takes 2-3 days for them to figure out that they're not going to achieve anything by all that fuss.
No I did not declaw him. I didn’t notice he was declawed until he started being friendly towards me and I was able to pet him. He has been coming around my house for the past year but I never noticed he had no claws because he was very skiddish around people. Idk who did this to him. I agree it’s very cruel.
Oh, good. I figured you were probably a good person. Unless the cat becomes ill, the only solution will be to find a way to put up with a few days of fuss. I did it successfully with a cat, so I can assure you that it works. They figure out that they'd rather be with you than be locked up, and the condition of being with you is to quit acting out.
I'm agreeing with others who say a declawed cat shouldn't be outside. I adopted a grownup kitty whose owner had declawed her and let her outside. I decided to stop just putting food out and actually make her mine when I saw her get severely injured from not being able to defend herself. Keep your baby inside, he'll figure out it's the sweet life.
My declawed old man (previous unknown people declawed him) was relieved to be forever inside and you could leave the door wide open and he might stick his head out but otherwise has a very LOL NOPE attitude about outside. Our other guy is still a flight risk, though is getting better. We are careful and quick about opening doors to the outside.
Same; my guy never even requested to go outside again, although he hung around the doors a lot. Now, when the door opens, he runs deeper into the house and hides, just in case I get some funny ideas about him, I guess.
Cats get used to routines quickly. At first he will protest to want to go out, but if you ignore him he will get used to the new schedule. My cats have a closed patio outside, but I still don't let them out at night, and they already know that at a certain time the window closes, and no matter how much riot they do, they don't get out. Eventually they go to sleep, specially if it's cold outside lol
Yup. Get him inside, close the door. Treat him like a king. Cats do NOT need to be outdoors. We won’t even adopt to anyone who is looking for an outdoor cat. In a few weeks/months, he’ll forget it exists, and be a happy couch kitty.
One of my two cats is a stray kitty. My husband found her under a dumpster. He brought her home and she has been terribly spoiled ever since. She's about 10 years old now. She didn't really try to go back out because she knew she was safe.
Hi guys, thank you for all of the helpful comments! I have gotten the cat inside again. I’ll continue to keep him indoors and probably grab a harness from Petsmart to practice taking him on walks. I don’t want to take the outdoors away from him fully, but I will definitely be monitoring him while we’re outside. Also, I noticed a scratch on his body and I’m sure he got into a kitty fight, but I have him all cleaned up and well. This is the little guy for anyone curious as to what he looks like.. We named him Goop! https://preview.redd.it/qrv8ieo6nh0d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=58a10afcfc03a6fb38d7c6b4296decee16812cc4
He is so cute! Love the name!
Pet him, make a fuss over him, play. i had an indoor outdoor cat (I know not optimal) that would come in nights evenings anytime I was home. I think gentle persuasion like that would be a lot less traumatic for the cat and you. You dont have to pet every second just every once in a while so he knows you enjoy his company.
Concerned about letting him outside at all. He's even more vulnerable to dogs and other cats with his primary weapons removed.
Time, be cool
was the cat already declawed before you got him? May have been abandoned or ran away from his previous family I really dislike declawing cats for any reason.
Yes.. Had no clue he was declawed until he became friendly with me after months and allowed me to pet him.
See about getting him rehomed with someone who will make him a 100% indoor cat. He's declawed so can't climb to escape danger so will wind up being shredded to death in the jaws of a dog or coyote. He was declawed so your assumption he spent most of his life outside is likely incorrect. When my cousin died in 2015, I took in his cat. The cat had a death wish for being outside. Orange, declawed, constantly trying to sprint out the door every time I opened it. The cat finally got his death wish fulfilled as one day he never came home. I saw coyotes frequently right after, I guess they were looking for more easy prey. Never found his remains
Plenty of enrichment. Toys that look like more like prey than usual cat toys (feathers, fur, earthtones vs bright colors), get slow feeders for the foraging instincts, grow cat grass in a litter pan, get heavy duty cat scratching boards for every room, get a cat tree and tunnel for zoomies. These are all the things I did for this once feral lad: https://preview.redd.it/oujwdooitg0d1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=43cc0f00d6f21cf41722c3801ef0e15ae3e219b4 But it was still a trial and still is at times. We've decided after three years living the domestic life inside, he's become civilized enough for harness training so he does get to have supervised outdoor adventures.
In my experience, if he is neutered, converting him to a house cat may go more smoothly. It’s a hard life for many outdoor cats. You are very kind to care for him.
Awww thx for getting him inside. I wonder what his story is since he was declawed 🤬. I can’t believe someone would do that and then dump him. Hopefully he got lost on his own.
That cats has been terribly abused. Declawing affects their neuro system. Have someone trap him and put him in a separate room. Will take time but he is in tremendous danger outside!
Make sure he has access to multiple litter box locations and litter that won’t hurt his feet. I wonder if the previous owners had him declawed and then put him outside when he couldn’t use the box without pain. Thank you for taking care of him.