Hello Everyone, let me start by saying how sorry I am for your losses and congrats to all the new beginnigns. I'm posting this here, hoping I may get some responses. Brief update: As some of you know, I have been put in a position where I cannot have another cat. Mostly because it would have to live with my partner and he has been saying "no way". He does not want to go thru what happened with Arthur again. So, I have been filling my void working at the shelter. I have not pushed the issue on him. Part of it is me, indoor/outdoor thing which I have talked about in the past. He has built quite a hard shell around him. Well that shell now has a small crack in it. Let me explain

There are 2 young cats that just came into the shelter. They both have Cerebellar Hypolplasia.(wobbly cat syndrome) Dave is very curious about them. My thought is, he's missing that kitty bond he had with Arthur and having a cat or 2 with this problem would be a sure way of them being indoor cats.

As for me, I could care less what they have. I love them all!..I did say to myself when I saw them how perfect they would be for us. I would have no choice but to keep them in. Then I had an idea of letting them roam the yard. Supervised of course and not all the time. I stupidly mentioned this, it did not go over well.
I did some research online about this. Has anyone ever dealt with this? They were in a foster home and did quite well. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated..Thanks.. Ann

Ann,

I've had indoor only cats as well as indoor/outdoor cats. My indoor cats had both been indoor/outdoor until circumstances dictated they had to stay inside. One had feline leiukemia and became blind about the time we moved from a small town to a busy bigger city and the other was somewhat feral and scared of EVERYTHING so when we made that move I had to keep her inside.

My current kitty.... Mr. Jingles..... was intended to be an indoor only cat. However, we located ourselves for the summers on a farmstead of 160 acres. No houses for several miles in 3 directions & only 1 that is over 1/2 mile. I only let him out after daylight and make him come in at dusk. He is up at 4am begging to go out. When we went to the city house last fall I made him stay inside and he adjusted as I never let him out at all. But that is not acceptable now that we are back on the farm

I have a friend who has an indoor cat that he walks on a leash outside so that may work for you also. Since every cat is so different I guess it is hard to tell what will work. Some cats are content to be inside and some really insist to go out. Jingles was not content to stay in at the farm once I let him out on his own. As long as I walked him on a leash it was acceptable to take him back in. How long that would have lasted I guess it's hard to say as he was young. I considered some type of enclosure so he could enjoy outside without being loose. I'd be afraid that once they were out without being confined somehow that they would get pretty insistant about going out (that is what Jingles did). He usually comes back to be let in for a nice long nap for the entire afternoon. If we leave the property, we put him inside.

He has lots of birds & rabbits he foolisly thinks he can catch and 18 rows of trees about 1/2 mile long to roam so his situation is different than most. Also preditors that I worry about so insist he stay in during hours they may be hunting. Seems to have a natural instinct to stay out of the open areas where hawks could swoop down. Of course he is getting bigger so not an easy prey now.

I have followed how much you have missed Arthur and been volunteering at the shelter while struggling with wanting to have another cat & help a homeless kitty. It would be wonderful if you were able to take these 2 in as their chances are probably less than many for adoption.

When I first began letting Jingles out off leash, I would call him to me & when he came I didn't just grab him & take him in as I didn't want him to never come since it would mean INDOORS. I sometimes gave him a treat, petted him, picked him up and let him down. Would walk around outside for him to follow a bit and make coming when called a pleasant thing so that if he was out late in the afternoon he would always come. Only a couple of times when I called he has taken a little while to come. Must have been far into the trees on the trail of one of those bunnies

Other than what worked for us I cannot say what may be best for you to work out for your situation. Giving these kitties a happy home even if it is as indoor only would be a wonderful thing to do so I hope you can make it work out somehow. Best of luck with your decision. Ginger

Hi Ginger, Thanks for the advice. I know the dangers all too well. Seems worst now than years ago.
If we got these 2 boys, I would love for them to be able to experience the outdoors. Never ever would I leave them alone with their condition. But, Daves thing is them waking him in the wee hours to go out. They can be trained to stay in at night. My Piper is never let out at night and she accepts it.

But the main advice I was actually looking for is if anyone has had or know of someone who has cats with Cerabal Palsy. kitty C.H. and any useful tips (in case we do take them) Been reading up on it and aside from the obvious, they don't need very much. Non tipable bowls, high sided litter pan, etc.
Thanks again..Ann
Gosh it would really be nice to have them, but I'm letting it be totally Daves' decision. I showed him an article about it and kept my mouth shut. Arthur can never be replaced and never will. I find the tears have come back again, fearce and heavy lately as I'm getting closer to the 1yr mark

Maybe the time to have had that idea was after they had moved in....?

Too much too fast in that situation, I suspect.

Boy, I can relate to that waking you up in the wee hours............... Jingles begins that at about 4am!! Another pitfall of letting them go outside....

I found a thing called a walking jacket that I got for Jingles. I like it better than the regular harness as it gave me more to get ahold of to catch him while walking if we were in a strange place & he got spooked. Didn't seem so apt to choke him if he bolted. And while we were visiting my son, he engaged the garage door opener & Jingles was scared out of his wits as he'd never heard one. The walking jacket made it much easier to hang onto a completely wild cat to get him calmed down. I think he would have wiggled out of a regular harness and came close even on this one!!!! I had a few battle scars........

Good luck with your decision on bringing the 2 needy kitties into your life...................

I didn't mean to imply that you didn't know the dangers.... sorry for misunderstanding the main reason for your post and giving you all that long winded response about my experience with a couple of cats I've had to change from being outside to strickly inside.

Ginger

Thank you Jon and Ginger, Jon your right, too much thinking ahead. Take it one day at a time if this happens.
And Ginger, no appologies for the rambling. I could use that advice too. I never had a strickly indoor cat and it's time to stop thinking they wouldn't be happy indoors. I also have to keep reminding myself they are not humans. Although they think they are at times. Dave use to say to me alot "you worry when he's out and your upset when he's in". This was true. I guess it's a woman's way of thinking that drives a man nuts! Anyways, him even considering adopting again has totally surprised me. There is hope. A house just isn't a home without a cat!
Your story about getting Mr. Jingles in made me think about all those nights trying to get Arthur in. I had to bribe him with cheese. Just the word got him excited. Until he caught wise to the whole thing. He made a game out of everything. He would bolt past me and bury his face in the grass(like I didn't know where he was). When he did follow me up to the porch (he always had to be in front) his ears would go back and I knew that's when he was up to no good. He act like he would go up the steps and then boom, bolt back into the yard. So I'd walk around the yard and say "where's Arthur, I don't know where he is, he's gone, I can't find him. I'd go back to the house and within 5 min he'd be sitting at the door. Work everytime, but it took me a while to figure out this game. It drove me nuts then, but I sure do miss it now...Ann

To an indoor cat, "Indoors" is the whole world. They are more adaptable than we are. Sam and Murphy have NO desire to go outside..it is scary to them.

Sam was found with her brother living under a car in a condo complex in the rain. Someone dumped them. Murphy was found in a dumpster eating flies.
Their memories of being outdoors are not happy ones. Iggy is nervous when I take him on his morning walks.

Because of coyotes and racoons we really do not have much of a choice in the matter around here. I know people who believe in the "Born Free" ethos, but they lose sight that OUR cats are domestic animals and have been for a few thousand years.

I have a sister-in-law, for example, who feels it is wrong to have an indoor cat.
So she goes to the shelter, adopts one, it gets killed, she goes to the shelter and adopts one, it gets killed, evey year. Kind of like running a euthanasia clinic on the installment plan. She lives on a busy highway.

It depends on where you live. When I was a kid we always had outdoor cats, and they were happy indoors or out..But that was a safe area.

Now, I have had cats who like to bolt out the door. Merlin thougt it was a funny prank to escape ONLY on dark rainy nights. He made a big joke out of it. I would have to go out with a flashlight, and MEOW his name, until his eyes lit up in the woods. Then I was expected to go out, and carry him in. He'd purr when I did.

Awh yes, the nights with the flashlight. Me too. Growing up I had 2 outdoor cats and lived on the corner of two major streets. They lived 12 and 18yrs. Arthur and any other cat would live with Dave. The house is set back from the street and a hugh yard, woods, homes semi close by(didn't like the woods at all). This day and age there is so much developement that the wild animals have no where to roam but our back yards. So what we think is safe is not. We kept Piper in for 3 days a few weeks ago, 'cuz the next door neighbor saw 2 coyotes in the yard. (she tore the house apart!) So I make it a habit of tossing rocks in the woods and listen for any activity.
I thought Arthur would be ok, I made a mistake and I have to live that forever. It is not easy. When Dave said "no more cats, I'm not going to have another one drag itself home to die again", well, that was llike putting salt in the wound. Truth hurts. I have to change my ways, big time. Change is very difficult for me, but it's the kitties well being that come first in this case. Thanks for the chat..Ann