AKICOLJ - rehoming cats

[adaeze]

Some of you will know my sister is moving to New Zealand, of all places, in a few weeks' time.  Some of you will also know that her cats aren't, and that one of them is coming to live with us.

My mother (who is taking the other two cats) says keep her indoors for a month.  Wellinghall's grandmother says "just butter her paws!" (not an option, as Molly has a weight problem).

I know a few of you have adopted adult cats / are heavily involved with re-homing charities (no, thanks, we don't want a hound to complete the menagerie), I wondered if anyone has any advice on getting them settled.

Comments

[helflaed.livejournal.com]

Your mother has the right idea. It worked well for us- although you might want to consider a harness and lead to begin with when she's allowed out, but do try indoors first as some cats don't like it.

Buttered paws will only result in an annoyed cat, possibly with a runny tummy, and butter everywhere.

[helflaed.livejournal.com]

Oh and get her microchipped.

[adaese.livejournal.com]

Already done - will need to inform the chipping company.

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

I kept mine inside for (I think) about 3 weeks. I have no idea how necessary this was, but I didn't want to take any risks. I made the (possible?) mistake of unleashing them on the entire house at once, which I think they might have found overwhelming, but I understand that it's better practice to get them used to one room first, before expanding their territory to include new and scary places.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

We usually do the restrict to one room thing to start with - multiple doors between cat and outdoors make it less likely you will mislay cat in first few days before they know you, and also mean they won't have any difficulty finding the litter tray.

I really wonder if that paw-buttering thing was invented by some sort of early troll. Can't imagine it achieving anything other than an upset cat and a hell of a mess!

[adaese.livejournal.com]

ISTR paw-buttering being dismissed as extremely old-fashioned unreliable "advice" when my mother was adopting our childhood cats, mumble mumble years ago. I was very surprised when Wellinghall's grandmother trotted it out as a serious suggestion.

Restricting to one room to start with sounds like good advice.

[philmophlegm.livejournal.com]

But be sure to spend lots of time in that room.

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

Butter on paws is good if cat is yakking up hairballs. I usually tried it with my long haired guy, before resorting to hairball meds. Also, i suppose, might work for constipation-- although vet might be better for that.

The butter for knowing where they live may be realted to knowing where they eat? Very old fashioned though. And messy for nice furniture.

[didiusjulianus.livejournal.com]

The clue is in the word *grandmother* ;)

Why do I not have a cat icon?

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

I've only been associated with rehomed adult cats who had been neglected, and therefore knew that they were on to a good thing even as they objected in the meantime. That said, the keeping them indoors for some time method seemed to work. They yowled. They complained. They sulked. But when eventually allowed out, and I must admit that we snapped before we intended to, they didn't run away.

Oh, and leave your name and address and a description of the cat with the new occupiers of your sister's home, just in case.

Enjoy your new housemate!

Re: Why do I not have a cat icon?

[adaese.livejournal.com]

I clearly need a cat icon as well.

Molly has been rather neglected (in the opposite fashion) over the last few months - in all the hassle of arranging the move, my sister has not been doing terribly well at stopping her from raiding the other cats' bowls. Since this is an essential part of keeping her weight down, she has recently ballooned, and I'm therefore going to get the blame for not allowing her to stuff herself with as many dinners as she feels like. I can see this being quite a problem.

Re: Why do I not have a cat icon?

[chainmailmaiden]

You need high protein food for her. Most cheap cat food is loaded with carbs which are empty calories for cats. Applaws is good and for dry food Orijen. You can get both from Zooplus which is good for all sorts of things pet related.

Also when you let her out the first time, do it just before a mealtime. If she's food-orientated she'll come back when you call her for her meal. We tap the bowls together and call their names before feeding, it's an excellent way of making them appear from no-where anytime you want them :-)

You might also consider getting a Feliway diffuser & some spray for the room she'll be in, it can help calm them down.

I think the butter on paws things comes from the fact cats like butter & are likely to return somewhere where they get it. It is good for hairballs, but if she's overweight then grooming is probably a better solution (& cleaner) than giving her butter and encouraging her to cough them up on your floor as believe me, she'll do it indoors rather than out :-)

Re: Why do I not have a cat icon?

[helflaed.livejournal.com]

I may try my two with Orijen- they are a bit on the plump side at the moment. They are on Bozita wet food and James Wellbeloved dry.

Re: Why do I not have a cat icon?

[didiusjulianus.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's worth letting her eat quite a bit while you do the rehoming thing and then doing the kitty diet when she's settled? As in humans, surely 4 weeks more of being obese won't (probably) make THAT much difference??

[emperor]

I think "keep inside for 3 weeks" is current best practice, but your vet will know this sort of thing...