It is currently Fri Mar 29, 2024 12:28 pm

All times are UTC [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 2 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: Outside/Inside Issues
PostPosted: Wed May 27, 2015 5:09 pm 
Offline
Bengal Kitten

Joined: Wed May 27, 2015 4:55 pm
Posts: 1
Hi! Quick backstory!

3 years ago I bought my Bengal/Tabby mix. He was a kitten and I bought him because I wanted a cat with extra energy. I lived in an apartment with him and he was great! He never missed the litter box and never scratched any furniture ever (and he has his claws.) We moved into another apartment and I had the same experience. I then moved into a house with a backyard and he became curious. My parents kept letting him out by accident and I finally just let him go explore. Well... He loves it out there. Now I wasn't sure where he was pooping and what not so I made sure he went to the bathroom inside before letting him out. This continued for a few months until he had a urinary blockage. He was unblocked once and it appeared that he became blocked again. We were going to put him down and I let him out once last time and he went to the bathroom outside. Now he only goes to the bathroom outside. This has gone on for four months now. I got back into school and I want to take him back to the apartment life with regular walks but I don't know if that is a good idea now. He is harness trained and he'll pee outside on a harness but I have been letting him go poo on his own. I just can't decide if I should take him to school and hope he goes to the bathroom like a dog on his leash or if I should retrain him to use a litter box somehow or leave him behind now to roam the woods of my parents' estate :( ??? I leave in August.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri May 29, 2015 12:53 am 
Offline
Asian Leopard Cat

Joined: Thu May 23, 2013 2:21 pm
Posts: 9217
First of all, there is nothing wrong with a cat going to the bathroom outdoors! That's their natural way. However, as you have discovered, once an indoor cat has tasted the outdoors, that's the only place they want to be. That's great is you have a safe place for them while they are out there. When I got my bengal, he had been a free-roaming cat for 6 years. He'd used up most of his 9 lives. I decided he'd stay indoors. We do take two walks daily, which he loves. We also built a very large enclosure on our deck that he can access 24/7, but he is not allowed outside on his own. Not that he hasn't escaped a few times and I've had to chase him down.

By all means take your kitty back to your apartment with you, especially if you're the one he's bonded with. Your parents haven't acted very responsibly and you'd probably get a phone call that he's gone missing. Walks on a leash will be a huge help, but your kitty will still want to roam the outdoors. You just have to be stronger and not permit it. There are too many dangers that loom in the outdoors. I highly doubt you'd have to retrain your cat to use a litter box. Raiden pees outside and uses his litter box in the house. He even poos outside when the need arises.

I suggest you begin to train him NOW that he cannot simply go outside anytime he wants to. Take him for walks -- at least two a day. If you start training him now, you will have time before you return in August and he may have settled down to accepting just the walks.


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 2 posts ] 

All times are UTC [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 17 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Jump to:  
Powered by meemonkey