Our cat ( he's 18 months old) has moved with my daughter into a first floor flat. When with us he had the freedom to come and go through the cat flap as he wanted but it's a rented flat and although he's only been in there a week he's been crying quite a lot and scratching at the door.
He's a very active cat, climbing trees, running everywhere , catching mice etc and he tends to still dash around my daughters new flat . There is a large grassy area and field to the back of the flats, which he would love and which the flats windows look out onto but it's how to get him down to it and back without someone taking him and waiting for him to come back.
She's brought him back to our house twice this week, although he doesn't like the car ride. He loved being back and shot out of the cat flap and into the garden.
Will he settle into being an indoor cat or should we still be bringing him back for visits?

Any advice please?

Chocofluff x

If he's a very active cat then at very least she needs to be providing MUCH more stimulation for him indoors. Sometimes outdoors cats do need to become indoor ones (particularly due to health issues) but it isn't recommended if they've been outdoor cats previously simply because they find the change very stressful.

How big is her flat? Does she allow him the run of the whole place? He needs lots of toys and lots of interaction. Indoor cats often fare better with another cat for companionship.

It is possible to have an indoor only cat and for them to be happy but it is more work for the owner.

Her flat is quite big and he has the run of the place. She or her boyfriend play with him and have lots of toys/ boxes for him but are worried when they have to go out and leave him for work. He woke her at 4am this morning dashing around the flat. She got up, fed him and played with him until he settled.
When he was with me he had an older cat to play with and chase around the garden.
Choco x

Perhaps the cat is better off staying with you full time rather than with your daughter. She can visit

Cats are attached to people but I find they are far more attached to their environments. My late Tabitha spent far more time reacquainting herself with her home and garden upon return from a cattery, only coming to give me affection when she was satisfied her environment had been fully re-investigated and re-scented.

We should really consider the needs of our pets ahead of our own needs. When I left my old flat (which was also first floor but I owned it and had installed 2 cat flaps with permission from the other flat owners in the block) one of my neighbours offered to keep my Tabitha. He felt she would be happier staying where she was so established. However, I knew I had chosen my new house with her needs at the forefront, a very quiet area with a lovely garden and lots of space in the house. I was also completely devoted to her and felt no one else could ever love her or know her as well as I did. She was very much an outdoor cat right up to the end of her life (even if just snoozing in the garden) but, if my circumstances had been different, then I would probably have taken up my neighbour's offer because I would have put my Tabitha's needs ahead of my own.

Is the flat a temporary home? Does your daughter eventually plan to move somewhere where the cat can have more freedom?

If the cat must stay in its new home then the only other answer is to provide plenty of stimulation. Perhaps even a cat companion - though that could go either way and may lead to more stress for the poor cat.

I hope your daughter can work it out in the end and you reach a solution that works for you all.

I agree with Marella - the cat is used to being able to go outside so its cruel to try to incarcerate him now. Best he stays with OP with visits from daughter. If the daughter really needs her own cat there are many in shelters that either have to be indoor cats due to immunity problems or have been raised as indoor only.

Cats can be left whilst the owner is at work but imo they either need the stimulation of an outside environment or a companion. It seems to me that both of these have been taken away from the cat and its no wonder really that it's unhappy.

I'd probably agree with idea that the current situation is unkind to the cat and your daughter may be better off adopting a couple of cats used to staying indoors instead.

I agree, too.

Try him on a harness and take him outside. I moved and my indoor/outdoor madam spent the first week getting used to her new surroundings, but began to get stir crazy. I felt it was far too soon to let her roam free and bought a harness and took her for a drag around outside (not really, I just let her go where she wanted) That seemed to satisfy her until I could let her out on her own. However, there are lots of different sounds and smells when moving from the city to the country and she is petrified of the yappy dog which occasionally runs up and down the garden behind and the big dog next door (and the chickens a couple of gardens down - not sussed that they are the live version of her favourite food ), so more often than not asks to go out and then refuses to. Play has been upped to 100% more than she ever used to want, but even then, she goes through phases of asking to play and then refusing to and then bugging me because she doesn't know what to do. The other day she went stir crazy again, so I put her in the harness and took her out the front. After that, she was fine again for a while. I didn't bother with harness training. I did get a look like this but It gives her stimulation and gives her a chance to nibble some grass.

She has got a harness but he hates it and either walks backwards or just lies down when he's got it on. I think she will persevere with it though.Jorge ( the cat) has now been back to mine a couple more times when my daughter and her partner are both on the same shift.
Jorge is her cat and she's been through a lot with him ( he broke his pelvis and hip when he was only 5 months old) he follows her everywhere, sleeps on her bed , licks her face and is a gorgeous cat ( a British blue) so she wouldn't have another cat .
I think we'll just have to get used to him ' visiting ' us and hope he settles into the flat.

Choco x

Best think of the cat in these circs, if hes continuing to cry and scratch at the door without any improvement then I would suggest bringing him back to the enviroment he knows. Its cruel to keep him in the flat when hes showing signs of distress.

I dont think visits back to his old enviroment are a good option, it will simply confuse him and make his behaviour when back at the flat worse.

I have recently moved from a first floor flat to a 3 bed house with 2 cats and the change in them has been amazing, I would never move them back to a flat.

Sadly I have to agree with the others on here I think Jorge would be better off back living with Granny and his mum can visit him at yours.

this is a tricky problem. if the cat is active and used to being outdoors it won't settle indoors, that's the reason its crying and scratching the door - he wants out. could he perhaps go to your house while your daughter is at work and then come home with her at night? if he doesn't settle it's better for the cat to live with you and live the outdoor life. or she could let the cat out in the morning and get it into a routine of coming home at a certain time. food bribes will help with this.

As someone living under a cat in a upstairs flat, I'd say rehome him or play with him during the day and keep him inside and contained at night.

i am kept up throughout the night with bloody thing bouncing around and in the day it tries to get into my kitchen and has nearly been got my dog (INSIDE my home!)

My patience is wearing thin and I'm now in the process of complaining to get it removed!
(HA property and pets are only permitted if they do not cause a nuisance)

They don't get what they need if they are used to freedom.

Whilst I am sure your daughter would miss him my honest advice would be he should return to you. I have two indoor cats , due to how busy the road is wheer I live its safer but they are two sisters and have loads of toys etc and are very happy. We have two adopted cats at work and they are outdoor cats , I would never dream of making my indoor cats outdoor cats as they after all these years are happy and would not adjust to it, but at the same time I would never try and make the two outdoor cats indoor cats as it just wouldnt be fair .

So as I say the best option is for him to come home to you, or if she really does not want that then could another cat be introduced for company ? but cats that have been brought up as outdoor cats usually wont settle in well to total indoor life alone , unless they are quite old and not so active.

Good luck with this.

Introduce another cat?! In an unpstairs flat?

No thought for those living below? When you;ve been kept up all night by the damn things chasing around the place, then think again.

I now have recording equipment... upsairs' cat is going, one way or another!

Just as well they dont have kids then