scrappyhappymama Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 I have a cat dilemma. We have been living in a rental house for the past year and a half. When we rented the home, there were several "issues" that the landlord did not disclose to us until after we'd signed the lease, and then a few until after we'd moved in. At first, we didn't mind because we'd gotten such a great deal on the house, but of course the "oh-by-the-way"s ended up making it not such a great deal after all. Anyway, one of the post-move-in surprises was that the detached garage "came with a cat." :001_huh: Our landlord told us the cat has lived in the garage for over 10 years and they couldn't move him now. She and her (now-ex) husband were moving into an RV and couldn't take him, and she said he would die if they took away now anyway. Plus, she said he "wasn't really their cat" they just fed him. And his name was Harley. :glare: Whatever. We didn't mind too much and Harley is a nice enough cat. He's an outside cat and he's an excellent mouser and birder. We leave a window of the garage cracked, so he always has access to a dry place and his food and water. He likes us to pet him and he drools when he's happy. Overall he's been a nice, low maintenance, not-really-ours pet. Now, we are buying a new house and our landlord is selling the house we are in. And we don't know what to do about Harley. Honestly, we wouldn't mind taking him with us, but we really don't want to do so if he will hate it and he dies right away or runs away. The house we live in now is in a small country town and is on an acre of land and Harley has the run of the neighborhood and the garage. The house we are buying is in town, in a regular neighborhood. The yard is decent-sized for a neighborhood house (1/3 acre), but the garage is attached and wouldn't have an easy access point for the kitty. There is a nice looking shed out back, but definitely nothing like Harley is used to and no window to leave open. On the other hand, we hate to just leave him here, and to the whim of the new owners. They are just as likely as not to have him hauled away, and I would hate that! I seriously doubt that our landlord plans to take ownership of the cat, because she has never once inquired about him or provided for him in the time we've been here. I do intend to ask her if she has a plan for Harley with regard to the new owners, but I want to know what we'd like to do first. So, what do you think? Can Harley be relocated? Should we leave him here in the only home he's known and let him take care of himself. He's a pretty street-wise kitty and will probably be ok, as long as the new owners don't have him taken away. We like him and would be happy to take him, but we want to do what's best for him. And I'd really rather not have a kitty funeral with the kids immediately after moving to a new home. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 Cats are actually very adaptable. He will be fine if you take him with you. We have 7 cats of our own right now, and are feeding several "strays" that supposedly belong to the neighbors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiobrain Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 Yes, you can relocate him. What you are doing is very nice, and far more considerate than your landlord. When you do relocate, just make sure you have the food and water ready, and maybe keep him in the shed for a day or at least let him loose in it. Make sure he knows that is where you are, and that you have food ready for him. He might disappear for a while to go exploring... but he should come back. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 Take Harley with you. The biggest cat mistake I ever made was letting a cat live on our farm while we were building a new house instead of taking him into town to live with us. He would have moved easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3lilreds in NC Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 Definitely take him with you. Your landlord LIED to you - he would not have died if he'd been moved. That's just silly. If he'd been a 25 year old cat, maybe, but it would have just been his time anyway. We just moved our older cat who is a similar age to yours and he is fine. Well, he has issues, but they are the same issues he had before we moved and have not gotten worse. Like radiobrain said, just keep him in his new shed for a few days and make sure he has food & water. Does he use a litter box at all? If you have to keep him in the shed, I'd recommend putting a litter box in there with him so that he at least has an option to use it. It will make your shed very stinky if he doesn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 (edited) Cats are very adaptable! I'd take him along. When you get to the new place you should plan on keeping him inside for a few days to let him get used to the new digs. Just because he has been an outdoor cat doesn't mean he couldn't become an indoor one. I'm a big proponent of not letting cats roam. If you do let him out, I'd do it in small doses and keep tabs on him so he doesn't get confused or lost. If you take him with you, plan on taking full ownership too....shots, tags, the whole thing. It sounds like you've pretty much adopted him already. :) Edited July 2, 2010 by 2cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journey Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 He should be just fine but here is what we do when we move cats from one (barn) place to another. We keep them in a cage for 2 weeks (we were told that after this amount of time they forget where they used to live) not sure if that's true or not but it's always worked except for one cat who took off as soon as he got out of the cage. Just keep his food, water and litter in there and you should be fine. I'm not guaranteeing that he will stay around because he might not but if you think it's better to take him because the new owners won't care for him then take him. If it were me and I was moving into your old house, in the country, I would take on the responsibility, it's just a cat and they don't cost too much, so maybe you could mention it to the new people of you talk to them. They might be cat lovers! On another note, we just got rid of our cat the other day. We live in a townhouse and found this cat over a year ago on the side of the road. Now we're moving and cannot take her so I called a local no kill cat rescue and pled my case to the owner and she took the cat. I was so thankful because her ads said that she didn't take owner surrenders. So that might be an option except that Harley would probably hate it because he wouldn't be able to come and go as he wants to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 It's a myth that cats are more attached to a property than to people. By all means take him with you! They make cat doors - similar to doggie doors, which would work as well - which you can put in to allow him access to the outdoors. If you brought him to a vet and made him an indoor cat, you might find that he enjoys more time indoors than out. They're just as easy to have indoors as out and are very entertaining as well. :) I would suggest getting a carrier now, so he has time to get used to it. Maybe put the carrier - with the door of it open - in the garage, and put his food bowl in it. The more familiar he becomes with the carrier - or a larger cage could work too - the easier of a time you'll have getting Harley in it for the move. You might also want to buy him a collar now. Make sure it has the breakaway feature. You can get a tag made with your name and phone number on it, so if he does wander, he can make it home. Most cats are great at finding their way back on their own, but it's good to have anyway. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 Harley will move just fine. If there's no window for him to get in and out of in the new shed, add a cat door. Be careful about the litter situation - I might be willing to let him roam about if he's an independent minded cat. And if he won't wear a collar - consider microchipping him. Most vets and shelters have the readers and they'll know that he belongs somewhere should he roam too far. I adopted a barn cat off a farm in Georgia many years ago. Our first formal introduction was coaxing him into the carrier and into the car for a 12 hour journey North. Poor cat didn't know what a litter box was so we had to do rest area stops with a collar and leash! My point is that cats are extremely adaptable and can learn new tricks (carriers, collars, leashes, litter boxes, etc.) very easily. Kitty and I spent many years together indoors and he was the best cat I ever had (don't tell my current ones). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 In their lifetimes Gilbert and Prissy have moved 4 times and been just fine. When we moved the first time we tried to keep them in the house for 2 weeks so they learned their slaves were in a new place. That didn't work. And we haven't even tried it again. I think Harley should be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 Gad, I hope someone neutered this guy & he hasn't been out there contributing to the homeless cat population..... Take him. Vet him, bring him utd on shots, micro chip him, put a collar on him with your name & #. (I use Beastie Bands) I would work hard to make him an indoor cat - & I know that will not make me popular with some. But the cat rescues I support have all their domestic cats adopted out to indoor only homes. Only the ferals which are trapped & neutered/spayed go to outdoor access homes. If the cat is not feral, they'll adapt to being indoors. You can make cat enclosures like this & you can install a cat flap on pretty much any window. (You put the cat flap inside a piece of wood the thickness of the window, paint the wood to match the window trim & 'close' the window against the wood. ) Someone needs to be responsible, step up and help this animal. Don't abandon & fail him again as others have done. :rant:(Oh & probably my least favourite phrase in the world? "It's just a cat." already came up in this thread. :glare:) Cats have a less than 1 in 10 chance of being adopted from a shelter (because people don't s/n their pets & some even breed on purpose! Kittens! So cute! :glare:) & if they land in a no kill shelter it just means they live out their lives in a crowded cattery. Everyone who dumps an animal at a rescue - I sure hope you're giving a hefty donation....... some of us are fundraising like crazy to deal with your animals..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 When we moved the first time we tried to keep them in the house for 2 weeks so they learned their slaves were in a new place. That didn't work. :lol::lol::lol: My cats have always known where their slaves are.... :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrappyhappymama Posted July 2, 2010 Author Share Posted July 2, 2010 Gad, I hope someone neutered this guy & he hasn't been out there contributing to the homeless cat population..... He IS neutered- that's the good news. In fact for a while we didn't know if Harley was a he or a she. :D Thanks for all the replies so far! It's very helpful and encouraging. One concern I have, but don't know how important it is: since we are moving from a rural to a suburban setting, the wildlife hunting opportunities will be fewer. And Harley LOVES to hunt- at least once a week he loudly meows for me to come see his latest kill. In the country, it feels like the circle of life, but I don't think he'll find as much to hunt in the new neighborhood. Is this a concern? Will it make him unhappy or will he simply adapt? Also, he is not litter box trained at all. On an acre- no big deal. But again he won't have as much room to roam. I'm afraid he'll find some neighbor's flower bed and... that doesn't seem very neighborly. Could he adapt to a litter box in the shed do you think? I know for dogs, there is a poop-scoop law- how does that work for outdoor cats? Sigh. I really like Harley and would love to take him with us, but I do think we'll talk to the new buyers first. If they are happy to have a "barn cat" who is a good mouser, it might be most humane to leave him here. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 Don't know about the litter box - perhaps someone else might. He will probably adapt and most outdoor cats tend to "go" out of the way and bury their mess so maybe it won't be so bad. I live in the middle of a fairly urban suburbia and there's PLENTY of wildlife - squirrels, birds, rabbits, etc. I have no worries about the outdoor cats in the neighborhood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3lilreds in NC Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 He will have no problems finding things to hunt, even in suburbia. Trust me. As far as I know, there is really nothing you can do about a cat and where it chooses to "go" outside. I have had neighbor's cats stalking my birdfeeders, and as much as I would like to make them go away, what are the neighbors supposed to do exactly? Give them a stern talking-to? That works so well with my indoor cats... :D That being said, I know there are cats around here and have not had a problem with them so far. I've seen them in my yard and have not noticed anything amiss. I have not yet set up Schmooey's sand box and plan to keep it covered when I do, but other than that, haven't had a problem in my 12 years of suburbia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosiermom Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 My guess is that if you keep him in the shed for a few days w/ a litterbox, he will use it. Once he's free to roam, however, I'm not sure which he'll choose, but I don't think it will really be an issue either way. And, yes, he'll find plenty of things to hunt in your new place. I like the idea of finding out if the new owners are cat lovers. If not, I vote to take him with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazilsara Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 Eveyone has given great advise! I think it might also be a great opportunity to talk about Responsibility with your kids--the landlord just left Harley to fend for himself and at your mercy, but your family is responsible, and will take Harley with you, doing all the things necessary to take care of a pet. A couple of things I think are important: 1) It will be very important to keep him inside for AT LEAST a week! This has been mentioned, but I want to stress it--from bad experience! Especially since you are moving him into a very different situation, he may get confused more easily. He needs to stay insdie for as long as possible to "reset" his inner compass to the new "home". 2) Even great hunters, in great feeding grounds, are still domesticated animals. They are no longer designed to totally feed themselves. So it's important that they have a secondary food source. Giving him food once you've moved away from the prime hunting grounds will be even more important. On the other hand, he won't be harmed by having less to hunt, and he WILL still find things to catch--just make sure to keep him vaccinated and wormed. 3) Most cats PREFER to use a litter box rather than going on the open floor--when they go outside, it's usually in sand or open dirt where they can bury their excriment. If you provide him with a litter box, just take him to it, dig his paws through a couple times, and he'll probably get the idea. If you catch him not using it, gently scold him and put him into the litter box. It really doesn't take much for most cats! Good luck, and enjoy taking owner-ship of your kitty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 If Harley's calling for you to come see his prize catch, he already considers you his master (or slave). Cats really aren't any different than dogs in their attachment to their humans. I guess I'm hoping you'll be taking him with you. Yes - it's instinct for cats to use a litter box. If you intend for him to remain an outdoor cat, you could also make a sandbox and most cats readily gravitate to those. I would still scoop it to keep it clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.