What does it take to start keeping your cat indoors, especially if your tiger is used to roaming free, ducking cars and dining on wildlife?
Be Proud
Your cat is hunting native animals that have no defense against a feline, and your decision to keep it indoors will be a positive impact on the Australian environment. Congratulations for making a decision to keep your cat indoors, where he won’t kill vulnerable birds, reptiles and mammals. Perhaps you’re doing this for their own good, and be proud of that, too.
Get a Cattio
A netted area that gives your cat an outside experience will make the transition all the easier. There’s still a transition, it’s still challenging, but your cat will have some nature available and that’s valuable.
Take it Slowly
Introduce the aspects of a domestic lifestyle slowly. Food is a good start, if you feed your cat indoors he will start to associate indoors time with comfort. You can also do the transition in winter, when a nice warm cat basket seems more attractive than the rain. Get a scratching post and a litter box. Do all these things before you restrict the cat’s movement, so that indoors seems like a nice place to be.
Make it fun
Make sure that indoors is a stimulating place. Have some cat toys around, so that they can hunt and kill something. It does not have to be a top end item, a feather duster or a christmas tree decoration will keep them amused, and there’s always the old ball of yarn. Get some cat mint or cat grass for them to roll in and chew on. Put rocks in the pots so that they can’t deficate in the soil. Make sure they have some sun to bask in if you can, a window ledge will make them very happy. To keep your cat cool on hot days, add cold, fresh water and shade. And finally, give them plenty of attention, and they’ll be happy whether indoors or out! Finally, give them plenty of attention, and they’ll come to realize that indoors is a pleasant place.
Understand the transition
Your cat won’t be wild about it to start with. Cats are like us, they need time to understand and accept a transition. There’s plenty of information on our resources page about this subject, but engage with your online community and search some forums for ideas too. Just remember that you never have to resort to hitting or shouting at a cat, they will just learn to fear you, there is always a behavioral solution.
