will stray cat adjust to home? when?
Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 3:04 pm
I let a very friendly stray cat into the house yesterday. She and our very sweet and calm house cat already knew of each other and have met (supervised). The stray is very very focused on food and that seems to be the only source of potential conflict between the two cats. Will this subside over time, and if so, how quickly? I have a separate room for the stray but she meows loudly and wants to come out into the rest of the house. I'm trying to figure out if she will adjust to life in the house or if I should put her back outside. I'm happy to feed her out there and make her a heated home. I would be fine with her being both inside and outside but, frankly, she has to fit into the life we already have. I work at home and can interact with her some but I don't need lots of stress and chaos over a long period of adjustment.
She is generally quite responsive to me. She loves attention and I can pick her up, she comes onto my lap when I call her. But she does not really relax (which I can understand - she's been fending for herself outside). I just don't know whether and how much and when she'll adjust. If I'm going to end up putting her back outside, it's probably better to do it sooner.
Any thoughts on what is typical in such a situation would be appreciated.
She is generally quite responsive to me. She loves attention and I can pick her up, she comes onto my lap when I call her. But she does not really relax (which I can understand - she's been fending for herself outside). I just don't know whether and how much and when she'll adjust. If I'm going to end up putting her back outside, it's probably better to do it sooner.
Any thoughts on what is typical in such a situation would be appreciated.