Why Does Your Rescue Insist on Indoor Only for Your Adopted Cats?

This is a question we face regularly. Many people feel that cats should be allowed to roam freely. Ultimately, that would be nice wouldn't it? Unfortunately, it just isn't safe. I won't even go in depth with regard to the damage they can do to bird populations and peoples' gardens, or the spraying of doors and windows that happens. You see, what our biggest concern is what can happen to your kitty. As a rescue, we see what happens to cats who are permitted to wander around. 

Sometimes, we are mending them after they've been hit by a car. Sometimes that car was intentionally aimed at them. Sometimes we are mending them after a human being with malicious intent gets hold of them. The lengths to which some people will go to harm a defenseless creature for their own amusement would make most people lose their appetite.

This is Audrey, after whom our rescue is named. She came to
us with a broken hip and needing extensive surgeries. She also
needed to be spayed before she got pregnant and had a severe 
parasite load. It took months for her to recover.

Sometimes, they will get into fights with other animals. This almost never goes well for either animal, and the injuries can become infected. 

This cat was in a fight with another, and his guardian
let him back out before the antibiotics were finished.

While this is terrible, if the wounds are cared for and healed, the cat will be okay. PROVIDED your kitty is properly vaccinated, they might even escape catching FeLV (feline leukemia virus) or FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus). Of course, your cat doesn't need to get into a fight to catch panleukopenia or chlamydophila. Maybe a touch of feline rhinotracheitis? I mean, yeah most cats are prone to it, but why increase your baby's chances of catching it? Then there is the all-too-common feline calicivirus.

What we are trying to do by having the indoors-only clause is not be controlling doody-heads. We are trying to protect your new family member from the many dangers out there. We don't let dogs, birds, bunnies, guinea pigs, reptiles, hamsters, or toddlers (and let's consider for a moment how similar cats and toddlers are) wander free, so why are we doing it to cats? 

So, now I've written out a whole bunch of reasons for you to not let your kitty wander free. So what are the solutions? 

Before you do any of the following, make sure your companions are fully up to date on all vaccines!

We love taking our little goobers out for walks if they're willing. A good harness, ability to provide shade & water, and some waste bags and you're set! Don't forget, you're walking with a cat so really the cat will be walking you. Be prepared to see a lot of slinking low in the grass, statue imitations, and once the kitty becomes more comfortable with it, rolling around and playing. You can tether the kitty outside in the back yard on a harness as well if you like, but don't leave them unattended. This has resulted in tragedy when the leash or tether becomes hung up on something or the cat tries to jump over something that there isn't enough slack left on the lead for too many times. 

Our absolute favourite method is the catio. This is an enclosed area outside which can be either a box with chicken wire attached to a window, or something more elaborate and fancy. What you have room and permission for are the only limitations with this solution. If you're in an apartment, you can always enclose your balcony, or if you don't have one you can build a window box which doesn't need to be affixed to the building. Googling "removable apartment catio" brings up scores of ideas for this. We have 2 window catios on our home, and have decided this year to undertake converting our gazebo to a catio extension. Once we get that completed, we will post photos!

We will be offering some fantastic leash and harness sets soon, so stay tuned!

Aaargh! He Peed On My Clothes Again!

 Inappropriate urination in cats can be so frustrating for guardians. Our home and belongings become soaked in urine and the smell is unbelievable. Of course our first reaction being that of upset is natural, it feels like a slight against us. But let's look at why it happens. 

Not our kitty, but she made us laugh so we shared.

First and foremost, take your little one to the vet. Trust, a visit to the vet now is a lot less expensive and painful than a visit when it gets worse. Also, crystals and urinary blockages can be fatal. Do not pass go, do not collect $200 (although that might help with the vet bill), just get to the vet. The most common reason for urination that we have experienced here is urinary crystals, urinary tract infection, and in one case, renal failure (our amazing vet was able to fix her up, thankfully!). Another issue that can arise is if the cat has been declawed (please don't do this, it's so barbaric). The pain experienced on the tips of those little toes can be further exacerbated by rough litter. For that, you'll want to try the softest litter you can find. For that we recommend ökocat litter and a perusal through the website for City the Kitty.

If you've ruled out any mechanical concerns at the vet, now it's time to look at the next culprit; behaviour. Now, a lot of people believe that cats will urinate inappropriately because of some vendetta. Let's put a stop to this right now; unlike people, animals are incapable of malice. Period. They do not plan to upset us, they do not punish us, they do not piss because they are upset they got in trouble and they want to exact revenge. Yes, we do need to anthropomorphise animals to an extent because we don't understand much about them and it keeps us attached to them, but this is a thing that can go too far. Not anthropomorphising them at all will keep us too detached, but anthropomorphising them too much makes us get a little more fussy than we ought to be. Strike a balance. ANYWAY. Let's get on to how to suss out why kitty is peeing where she shouldn't.

1. Look at where it's happening. Is it by windows and doors? Look around and see if there are neighbourhood cats hanging out in your yard or worse, marking by entrances to your home. You might have to look pretty hard for that, or even use a black light at night to determine if that's the case. If it is, use the detergent I'll leave the recipe for at the bottom of this post to eliminate the urine and set out deterrents to keep cats out of your yard. We have used coyote piss, bear piss, wolf piss, and cougar piss to keep cats off of our property with pretty good success, but you have to acquire it during hunting season and I won't lie, it stinks. You'll want to spray it around the perimeter of your yard so the smell doesn't get in the house, and I strongly recommend wearing disposable gloves when you handle it. You'll need to renew it every once in a while or if it rains. If you can't get ahold of predator piss, try a motion activated sprinkler. Place it where your mail carrier won't get hit with it of course, but you could put it close to the side of the house near the windows. We've had success with this for keeping cats out of our garden.

2. Is it where another cat has peed in your home? Think hard, you may have forgotten about the habit of a cat who used to live with you. Or maybe, a cat who lived with the people who were in your home before you moved in. You can determine this using a black light. You might need to pull the carpet up a little to see the underlay or subfloor in order to determine just how much work it will take to eliminate the hot spot. Again, there will be a recipe for what we use.

3. Has something changed in the home? Some cats can be kind of neurotic about stuff. New people, new or rearranged furniture, a new cat, sometimes even a new deodorant or scent can trigger upset in cats. (And honestly dear reader, a lot of perfumes make your author here want to misbehave too, so can you imagine having a sense of smell as acute as a cat's?) Check out any changes that have happened in the house. With us having just gone through a major worldwide event, a lot of people were home all day and now that many are returning to work, some of our animal companions will not know how to react to this. If you suspect it may be an anxiety response, we recommend trying a small shirt (we use size small and medium dog shirts, depending on the size of the cat) to help your kitty feel a little more secure. The Thunder Shirt is a well known tool for this, but sometimes people may find that cost prohibitive or heavy for their needs, so we do like to start with the simple shirt. Calming treats and CBD (please be mindful of dosage and do NOT administer THC to your cat) can be very helpful in this situation as well. Please avoid using essential oils without first looking into which ones can be safely used and how. We don't recommend following the advice of those selling the oils because a lot of the time they're misinformed and can sell you something which can cause toxicity. We have a short blurb with a link to the CVMA (click the pic on the article) article about oils. Sometimes you might have to go as far as using an anti-anxiety medication prescribed by your veterinarian.

4. This one is obvious, but is the litter box clean? Are there enough boxes? There should be 1 box per kitty plus one. So if you were like me and had 10 cats (listen, the kids moved out okay? Don't judge!) you would need at least 11 boxes. We have 13 and still sometimes have pissing incidents. If you have 2 cats, have 3 boxes, 3 cats means 4 boxes and so on. Also, does your cat like the litter? Is it too coarse? Is it perfumed? Please don't use perfumed litters, they're awful for their little lungs. 

The thing to remember is that inappropriate elimination is almost always a cat's way of telling you something is wrong in their world. Something hurts, they're confused, stressed or anxious. They aren't being malicious or bratty, your kitty still loves you. They just really need you to figure out what it is and help them solve it. Best of luck, and try to remember, scolding or punishing a cat for this doesn't teach them a lesson, it teaches them not to trust you.

Settling A New Cat Into Your Home

Congratulations! You've added a new feline companion to your home. Be prepared, your life is about to become so much more interesting in so many ways. Cats are wonderfully diverse creatures, with different personality traits, moods, quirks, and routines. The wonderful thing about them is that, despite popular opinion, cats can be taught. 

William and Maggie took to each other like peanut butter and jam.

So you've brought your kitty in and they're a little skittish. They're going to need some time to adjust. Wherever they were before landing in your life is what they know, and the new smells, people, and surroundings are going to put them off their game a little bit. They're going to hide for a little while (possibly a week or two!), maybe even be off their food for a day or two. That's okay, place some food and water close to their hiding spot so that they at least meet those basic needs. They're likely doing so when you're out of the house or sleeping, but it's no fun to go hours without water when you're thirsty, and cats can be stubborn. 

Audrey walked into our home like she owned it
and promptly made herself the queen,
much to the chagrin of George and Gracie. 

If they aren't the only animal in the home, they're also going to need time to adjust to the new friend as well. This can be a little scary for everyone involved because we aren't so sure if there will be fights or if they'll hit it off immediately. Chances are that there will be some vocalization, perhaps some poofing up of kitties, but it's not a guarantee that there will be fighting. Some people recommend keeping a barrier between a new cat and existing resident animals, and we agree with that to an extent. Our usual method of introduction of a healthy cat to a new home with resident animals is to allow open, supervised visitation between them, keeping a watchful eye over the interactions to ensure that they aren't violent. Hissing and growling is normal, and we recommend allowing that type of interaction, but ensure that there is an adult human close by to intercept if there is going to be a physical confrontation. Give treats (but not too many!) when you see that they are all sharing space without confrontation, and praise them all equally.

If there are times when there won't be an adult human present to supervise, or if the companion animals are having a hard time adjusting, then you'll want to do the following;

1. Set up a room with a door for the new cat. Include food, water, toys, litter, and other sources of stimulation for the kitty. You'll also want to set something up for you to be able to spend time comfortably in there as well, because kitty is also going to have to get to know you as well.
2. Put a blanket where kitty is likely to sleep. Also put a similar blanket where your existing companion animals sleep. You're going to swap these back and forth between animals every 2 days for a while, to get them used to the scent of the other.
3. Feed all companion animals close to the door of the room. Not immediately at the door, but close enough that they can sense each other but know that there is that safety of a barrier and some space.
4. Go in and spend time with the new companion animal. Be it homework, or just doomscrolling (because let's be honest, nobody "surfs the net" anymore, we all doomscroll social media now), your quiet presence in the room will help settle your new friend. Bonus if kitty comes up for snuggles, because you'll be leaving the room smelling like the new kitty, and you can go immediately to your established companion and show some affection while smelling like the new kid.
5. Swap the aforementioned blankets between the animals to help them associate the smell of the new companion with sleep. Swap them every 2 or 3 days to help move things along.
6. Eventually, you'll want to start encouraging face-to-face time with the animals in the home. Do so slowly, heeding all of the warnings from prior to this list. Eventually, you'll be able to just let everyone free roam in the home without worrying.

We have also found that Feliway plug in diffusers help immensely, as well as Royal Canin Calm food (available through your vet). There are some "homeopathic remedies" out there for cats, but few of them have actually proven to us to be effective and many of them are quite fragrant. We use LucyLoo #hashtags essential oil blend in our main foster home because it's safe, non-offensive, and actually seems to help our animals when they decide to go all West Side Story on us. It's available exclusively through Hashbrowns Homestead Supplies in Red Deer, Alberta. Please refer to our post about cats and essential oils before going ahead and using oils with cats in the home.

Other methods we have found help the process are;

• brush the new kitty, and without removing the hair from the brush, brush your existing companion animals with the same brush to transfer scents between them
• put one of your dirty shirts in with the new kitty
• stuffies that can be swapped between the animals
• spending time around your new kitty without fussing if the cat is somewhat skittish toward you. If you go into their space and just spend time being there without being a force, they will become curious and come see you for affection. BUT...
• some cats respond to what we call "forcible affection". That's something you will want to ask the foster family about. This is exactly what it sounds like; scooping kitty up and snuggling them whether they are game or not. Again, ask the foster family about this and if you or they aren't sure, err on the side of respectful distance instead

Again, every cat is different, and they can either waltz in like they already own the place or they will take a few weeks to get settled enough to snuggle. You absolutely need to practice patience. It doesn't matter if the 6 cats you had before settled in like nothing, this 7th bebby might be the challenge who ends up being worth it. 

That said, some cats are just not meant to live with other animals. We had a lovely little girl named Harlow who had her umpteenth litter of kittens while in our care (she was on the street prior to that) and after her babies were weaned, she wanted nothing to do with any other cat. No matter what we did, she just was not interested in having any other animal friends so she had to go live with a lovely lady who has no other companion animals. She is thriving there and is treated like the queen she is.

Miss Harlow was not having any of this "friends" business.
We know that some kitties just don't want to do it, so we 
respect that and placed her so she will be the only cat.

What are other ways you have helped new kitties settle in to your home?