Hi Guys,
We've been in Dubai now for almost a month and in that month our three cats have settled down to their daily routine of eating, sleeping, bird watching and going for their afternoon walks. There's a lot more stuff for them to do as indoor cats in a duplex on the ground floor than there was in an apartment on the 19h floor... !!
Anyway, there was a stray cay hanging around outside our place. After checking with the other residents that she was in fact a stray me and my husband took her in to get her spayed and vaccinated. She is fully recovered and is now living in the maids quarters outside which are empty but for the washer and dryer some sporting equipment some shelving units and her basket and her kitty litter and some fod and water for her...
i am certainly not an advocate of keeping cats outdoors... I think that you guys all know how i feel about cats being outdors... our cats are indoor cats but they started off that way. I'm not sure she will adapt to living indoors with three other cats no matter how careful i am with the introductions.... we have weighed the ros and cons and made the very diffcult decision to let her out during the day [the maids room and bathroom have their own entrance just by our front door] but keep her in at night.
Now she is very sweet natured to us but we are having some serious problems with her meowing!!
She has a terrible habit of meowing on top of her lungs whenever i go into the house and leave her alone outside. We can turn a deaf ear to her but our neighbours are bound to start complaining soon.
The problem is that she is used to getting stuff when she meows like crazy... I simply can't stay outside with her the whole day and the darn thing is that she'll meow for about 10mintes in front of our door on top of her lungs then she'll go off and sit on the car and then half an hour later she'll start again.
The guy next door to us already made a comment this evening. He suggested that we put her to bed because she was making so much noise...
What do we do? I can tell her not to meow and it's impossible to explain to her why she needs to meow softer.
I don't want the neighbours to get mad at us either....
Any advice?
feral cat dilemma
Re: feral cat dilemma
You said you weighed the pros and cons about keeping her indoors, however, you haven't attempted it, so....what have you got to lose?
My advice? Acclimate her indoors and give the introductions a chance.
My advice? Acclimate her indoors and give the introductions a chance.
..........Traci
Re: feral cat dilemma
I replied to this earler but it didn't get posted....
?
anyway, traci, i can't make her an in door cat right now because my husband has said no and he means it. he is the main con. so... you're right i don't have anything to loose but at this point in time it is not an option for me and if i force the issue it's not going to make things any easier.
the only thing i can do is start the introductions while she is an outdoor cat, which i have been doing anyway, and then once they are sort of used to each other then i can try letting her in.
so long as there is no serious fighting i think he'll be ok about it... so i don't forsee her being outdoors forever but at the moment i don't really have that much choice.
hopefully we will buy our bungalow soon and then we can use a cat fence in system and let her have the run of the garden without worrying about her getting out. then i can let them get used to each other slowly... that way everyone will be happy.
anyway, i hope that clears up where i am on this. i've been a member of this board long enough to know that cats should be indoor cats... i just don't feel like i have too much choice at the moment.
back to the meowing....
i need to get her to stop meowing so loudly. the neighbours are going to start complaining. any advice?
?
anyway, traci, i can't make her an in door cat right now because my husband has said no and he means it. he is the main con. so... you're right i don't have anything to loose but at this point in time it is not an option for me and if i force the issue it's not going to make things any easier.
the only thing i can do is start the introductions while she is an outdoor cat, which i have been doing anyway, and then once they are sort of used to each other then i can try letting her in.
so long as there is no serious fighting i think he'll be ok about it... so i don't forsee her being outdoors forever but at the moment i don't really have that much choice.
hopefully we will buy our bungalow soon and then we can use a cat fence in system and let her have the run of the garden without worrying about her getting out. then i can let them get used to each other slowly... that way everyone will be happy.
anyway, i hope that clears up where i am on this. i've been a member of this board long enough to know that cats should be indoor cats... i just don't feel like i have too much choice at the moment.
back to the meowing....
i need to get her to stop meowing so loudly. the neighbours are going to start complaining. any advice?
Re: feral cat dilemma
Unfortunately, you can't stop an outdoor cat from meowing, vocalizing...she could be doing so because she is hungry, cold, wanting attention, affection, or that she knows you have other cats and she is curious, wants to get associated with them. Also, what is the room like for her at night? Is it cold and dark? Does she have a comfortable bed? Things to consider for her comfort level. If she can hear you nearby, or your cats, she doesn't understand why she can't be with you/them....
..........Traci
Ok, i'm pretty sure she is comfortable in the maids room. It's warm and we leave the toilet light on for her. She has a kitty litter in the toilet and a large cushioned basket to sleep in which she has become very fond of. Food and water are always available to her at all times. When we close the door and go inside she doesn't meow too much, just a few times and then she settles down in her basket and goes to sleep.
She only meows when she is outside and i am inside... and she doesn't like our cats very much. She saw one of them through a gap in the door last night and lunged at her. . . and then for the next half hour she was very very jumpy.
What i have decided is this, and i can't think why i didn't think of it before, we are going to keep her and try and find a home for her where they can keep her indoors but also let her into the garden should she want to go out. I think it would be terrible of us not to try and find her a proper home where she can be an indoor cat.
I think she would also need to be an only cat for now anyway... She's had her vaccinations and has been spayed and is toilet trained so she won't be TOO much trouble and i think the meowing will stop once she has someones undivided attention.
There is a large community of expats here and hopefully someone will offer her a good home. Will be doing all the usual things like putting up posters at the vets and emailing people etc. I just hope she gets somewhere with a bit of a garden.
She only meows when she is outside and i am inside... and she doesn't like our cats very much. She saw one of them through a gap in the door last night and lunged at her. . . and then for the next half hour she was very very jumpy.
What i have decided is this, and i can't think why i didn't think of it before, we are going to keep her and try and find a home for her where they can keep her indoors but also let her into the garden should she want to go out. I think it would be terrible of us not to try and find her a proper home where she can be an indoor cat.
I think she would also need to be an only cat for now anyway... She's had her vaccinations and has been spayed and is toilet trained so she won't be TOO much trouble and i think the meowing will stop once she has someones undivided attention.
There is a large community of expats here and hopefully someone will offer her a good home. Will be doing all the usual things like putting up posters at the vets and emailing people etc. I just hope she gets somewhere with a bit of a garden.
Re: feral cat dilemma
Just a silly thought. You say she seems fine in the maids house and only cries when she is in the garden. Why not let her be an indoor cat in the maids house. This would mean you'd need to spend some time in there with her (or out in the garden with her) but it might serve as a stop gap until you find her a good home.
Re: feral cat dilemma
well the maids quarters is tiny. it's just the size of one very very small room with an attatched bathroom. to be honest she spends most of her day in there asleep in her basket. in the after noon she naps on the neighbours jet ski. the place we live is very very quiet and far away from traffic. all the residents know her as we found out yesterday that she has been living in this compound for almost 3 years... we've just put a safe cat collar with a reflective tag on her. the collar is supposed to snap as soon as it gets seriously snagged.
she's very sweet... just a wee bit noisy.
yesterday we put some posters up. i made about twenty... today i'll be emailing as many people and companies as i can find in the yellow pages and on the net asking them to print out a copy of the poster to find her a home....
she's very sweet... just a wee bit noisy.
yesterday we put some posters up. i made about twenty... today i'll be emailing as many people and companies as i can find in the yellow pages and on the net asking them to print out a copy of the poster to find her a home....
Re: feral cat dilemma
You do intend on personally and carefully screening potential adopters, don't you? I would strongly advise against people you do not know (especially internet communications), you cannot guarantee her safety with those measures.Yzma wrote:today i'll be emailing as many people and companies as i can find in the yellow pages and on the net asking them to print out a copy of the poster to find her a home....
..........Traci
Re: feral cat dilemma
it would be rather ignorant of us to just give her to someone that we have not screened and interviewed... i have a very clear idea of the type of person that i would like her to go to and i'm not prepared to compromise my expectations.
i am sure that we will be able to get her a good home with trustworthy guardians and i am also sure that i know enough about cats and cat care to be able to sniff out any non-genuine people. ideally we would like her to go to someone that we know personally, OR someone that we know by proxy.
anyway, i'll keep you posted.
if you have any suggestions re: things we should ask them please go ahead and list them. i certainly want to make sure i have everything covered.
i am sure that we will be able to get her a good home with trustworthy guardians and i am also sure that i know enough about cats and cat care to be able to sniff out any non-genuine people. ideally we would like her to go to someone that we know personally, OR someone that we know by proxy.
anyway, i'll keep you posted.
if you have any suggestions re: things we should ask them please go ahead and list them. i certainly want to make sure i have everything covered.
Re: feral cat dilemma
Update:
Mystery found a home a few weeks ago in an apartment with a middle aged russian man. He was looking for a cat for sometime. He will be taking her to our vet so she will keep an eye on them both... I think they will both be happy together he was very gentle and has had cats before. I think we made the right decision letting her go to him.
Mystery found a home a few weeks ago in an apartment with a middle aged russian man. He was looking for a cat for sometime. He will be taking her to our vet so she will keep an eye on them both... I think they will both be happy together he was very gentle and has had cats before. I think we made the right decision letting her go to him.