I would be interested in hearing others' stories of bringing inside an FeLV
'former feral' - to permenantly indoor. I don't let out my kitties, but Whimsy
has gone from a cagey feral to "almost house cat" status. He has the sunroom
to himself, and has been out in the daytime and with us some evenings. When
out, he was staying in the yard, but the past few days has started to explore
like he used to, and we have caught him across the street, etc. Obviously, it's
a big fright for us and since we were planning on him being inside 24/7 with
Halloween coming up, this might be the time to break the news to him....it's
not safe for you to be out at all without your mom and dad.
Because he was so feral, and it's taken him so long to get to this point, we
have worked at his pace - we didn't have a choice when we couldn't trap him,
couldn't handle him. Now he comes when he's called. I want to make the leap
now for peace of mind and his safety, and now that I can handle him (picking
up, cuddling) it seems like the right time - I don't want to stress him more -
he does sometimes get upset being cooped up. Should we just toughen up and keep
him in all the time, except when he is with us?
He does get lonely and paws at the door to be let out if he's alone too long,
and I don't want him to get depressed. Adding another FeLV kitty would not be
the best financial move, given the whole clan we have with various ailments. I
also wonder if another FeLV could make him worse off, if that new kitty had a
more serious 'version' of FeLV. Whimsy for now has been asymptomic, and is
around 2 yrs 3 mos old. I hope he's one of the ones that can sustain health
for a long time. I also don't know how he'd act around another kitty.
so, in summary -
1) is forcing him to be inside only the best thing to do?
2) any ideas on how to make the transition emotionally easier for him?
thank you,
Shannon and Whimsy
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