"She's an indoor kitty..."

Standard advice when a cat changes litterbox habits like that usually goes: 1) take the cat to the vet to make sure there is nothing physically wrong, even if you think the cat is healthy, since something may have developed since the last vet visit; and 2) make sure that the litter box is very clean, as in clean it ASAP after use. You can also buy some enzymatic carpet cleaner designed to destroy the secret smells of poop 'n pee to which cats become attracted.

Yes, and if Gibson is still peeing in the box, it makes you wonder. Can you set one of the litter boxes right where he is using the carpet temporarily? Put one of those puppy training pads under it to catch any nastiness. (xpost - Jenny's advice is probably better)

So I am going out of town this week, and I'm a bit nervous about leaving my cat alone. I have roommates of course who would be able to feed him & water him etc, but as far as the cat's EMOTIONS.... what if he runs away cuz he feels abandoned? He's got a history of disappearing for 24 hours or more (see above) and I'm a bit worried that if I'm not there to keep an eye on him he'll just disappear and be gone when i get back. I had asked a co-worker to take him in while I'm gone, but she said her roommate got really bummed out at the idea, which kinda sucks imo. What is a man to do?

the issue of course is that he goes out into the backyard frequently, sometimes only returning when I yell for him & shake his food bowl. and the backdoor is almost always open for breeze & light (my apt is like living in a submarine.)

He won't give a shit.

her roommate got really bummed out at the idea

wtf?

my cat is very very needy, niles!

trayce: i guess he's allergic or some shit :\

waaaahhh, my co-worker flaked on looking after my cat, so i guess i have to just trust that he will be okay without me for five(!!) nights. i do worry a lot though. i am a worrier.

my best friend's non-indoor cat went missing last week and was presumed dead

but then today it turned out he had been taken in by some family he had followed, and the family had then seen the posters my best friend put up

lost cat posters have NEVER worked before iirc

hurrah!

I guess my feelings on the whole outdoor/indoor controversy are that in an ideal world, all cats would have a safe, stimulating outdoor area that they could explore when they felt like it. My grandparents have always let their cats go outside. They have a big yard and an acre of trees behind the house, but they also live on a very busy street. They've lost a few cats to the street, but they've had their current cat for about 15 years and she's never been hit (although her brother was killed by a car there). I can see how much she enjoys going outside, and given her record of avoiding the street, I'm sure it's for the best to let her out. However, I also think that cats are capable of leading perfectly content and happy lives indoors - provided that their owners play with them and give them toys, attention and stimulation. Where I live, letting a cat outside is just not an option. So I disagree with the idea that it's better not to have a cat at all if you can't let them outside. I think it's perfectly acceptable to sacrifice some variety and stimulation for the benefit of the cat's safety, health and longevity.

yeah im not letting my cat roam around bed-stuy, sorry

when i thought my cat ran away i put up posters.
even tho he turned up in the neighbors yard the next day i still get phone calls from ppl thinking they've seen him. lotsa pretty tuxedo cats roamin williamsburg apparently.

I guess no one has linked to this NY Times article, which sheds a different light on the issue, highlighting the damage that outdoor cats do to the local bird population:

"Give Birds a Break. Lock Up the Cat."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/science/29angi.html

I like when people put bells on outdoor cats, mainly because it annoys them.

There are some great outdoor cats near where I live. One chap has worked out how to use pedestrian crossings to safely traverse junctions.

My sister's friend's cat went missing two years ago and she put up a poster; someone phoned up and said "Hi, I've seen your cat - it was under the wheels of a fucking truck hahahahaha"

the cat came home, two years later

^^^poster delivers

My husband has named all the hobo/outdoor cats he sees on the way to work: Witch Hazel, Tux Shortbus, Corned Beef Hash, Taft, Doc Morsel, Oscar Snagtooth, and Edwyn Collins.

i'm guessing Taft is a rather large kitty?

Your husband is good at granting names!

^^^

would hang with Corned Beef Hash and Tux Shortbus.

We give names to our outdoor pals too: Oil Can Harry, Congo Jack, Dr. Seuss, One Ear, etc.

So I disagree with the idea that it's better not to have a cat at all if you can't let them outside. I think it's perfectly acceptable to sacrifice some variety and stimulation for the benefit of the cat's safety, health and longevity.

my 2 cats, restricted to the indoors, wanting badly to roam around outdoors, but well-fed and loved, annual checkups with the vet etc vs 2 cats not adopted from the shelter, kept in a cage 23 hours per day, fates uncertain. hmm.

Wd totally rock with a cat called Tux Shortbus <3

indoor kitty's got such a supple wrist

Had two cats that I felt this way. After seeing them get outside and romp through the yard and roll around and chase squirrels and stuff I couldn't stand to keep them inside, and they both died of car injuries within less than a year of their lives.

Just got a third one, probably going to make him be an indoor cat because I don't want a repeat. Losing a cat really sucks.

I give my cat supervised backyard plays when its a nice day and I've free time to keep an eye on her (so she doesnt try and get under the house where she may get stuck). She loves rolling in the dirt and lying in the garden in the sun. But this is why I *dont* like doing this too often - outside + possums around = cat gets fleas. Ugh.

Would totally hang out with Edwyn Collins cat.

Adopted an FIV-positive cat a few months ago for this reason - they're not supposed to be either outside or with other cats, which is perfect since our apartment is on the 2nd floor, no balcony/patio, and no other cats. He builds up a lot of energy and gets crazy if we don't play with him everyday, though, but I don't mind.

How infectious is FIV? do they have to shag each other to get it, or do they get it from just looking at each other?

It's primarily transmitted by cat fights, IIRC.

Yeah, it's pretty infectious.

It's less infectious that FELV, but you can't vaccinate against it. FELV can be transmitted by grooming, sharing litter trays, water dishes, food bowls, etc. FIV is transmitted primarily by shagging or fighting (although if you have cats with open oral wounds such as tooth problems, it can be transmitted through grooming, sharing bowls, etc.)

^ she's got it. They can live 5-10 years with it, and seeing as he's 5 yrs old and probably got infected pretty recently (he's a huge, loving, and social cat, I feel terrible he was ever on the street and needed facial reconstruction after being kind of mauled by another stray), I figure he can live a pretty normal life with us. We named him Magic Johnson in honor of a hopefully long and healthy life. Is that messed up or just optimistic?

http://cn1.kaboodle.com/hi/img/2/0/0/d5/e/AAAAAtOhzIUAAAAAANXuAg.jpg

Our cat (and my girlfriend) are awesome enough to pull one of these harnesses off, but there's a really meek guy in my apartment complex who uses one with his cat who DEFINITELY doesn't enjoy it. I've tried saying hi after saying "That thing is COOL!" to him in a friendly way, but he just kind of ducked and passed me without saying anything. He seemed embarassed to be seen with it, but he still goes out most afternoons and walks his cat. I think someone's making him do it. Either way, it's discouraging me from even trying it.

My sister bought her FIV cat one of those harnesses but whenever she put it on, the cat would sit down and not move. She tried dragging it around the garden (literally) a couple of times before giving up.

We had a kitten once that we decided to harness train. She did a pretty good job until she died 6 months later. Guess she didn't like it after all.

Fuck. Just woke up and was snuggling on the couch with my cat, drinking tea and being cozy in general when I heard a cat howling outside the window who obviously wanted in. Weather.com says that it feels like 34℉ right now, so that poor cat must be suffering. I wanted to bring it in, but can't because who knows about its health and how it will interact with our other animals? Hope it finds a place to get warm. Fuck.

My little guy ran away yesterday. Apparently pushed the screen out of a window that we had opened to get a cross-breeze going. I didn't notice he was missing for 4 hours and when I did, I couldn't go canvas the neighborhood for him because it was dark out and I was home by myself watching the kids. Then about half an hour after I noticed he was missing, the biggest thunderstorm I've heard in years rolled through, so even if he was somewhere in the neighborhood, there's a good chance that he panicked an bolted somewhere even further away. Stupid, stupid cat.

He was just starting to bond with my baby girl too; she pets him and they nap together sometimes. I hope like hell that he's alright.

:'(

hope he turns up — does he have a tag/collar/chip? anything?

I feel like andy has been right about everything he has ever posted.

fuck now I just got overwhelmed by a rush of memories from the time my ex's cat (outdoor) went missing for several days

and how worried sick we were about her
thinking maybe she got in a fight, or was hit by a car
sitting up all night and calling her name out into the darkness

and the moment when she finally found her way back home and mewed outside the window
and kristen ran outside and picked her up and wept tears of joy while petting and kissing her all over
and I miss them both :(

Two of my friends went away over Christmas and left the cat with a friend to mind. But after only a couple of days, the cat did a runner. When my friends came back from holidays, they put up posters, but to no avail. They thought they would never see the cat again. Then one day, six weeks, after the disappearence, they heard a mewing at the window and it was the cat. He had travelled about two miles and crossed a river to get back to them, and was right as rain apart from having lost weight and being a bit afraid of the outside.

I hope your cat comes back kkvgz.

kkvgz, I bet when the storm started, the cat burrowed down somewhere warm and dry ASAP rather than running away. Their instincts are to run under something and stay there.

Yeah, my experiences with cats running away have all had happy endings so far. But he is declawed (the condition we got him from the shelter in) and there are a lot of neighborhood cats of indeterminate ownership who aren't. I'm optimistic, but still upset.

Thanks for the kind wishes, all.

Really hope he returns very soon kkvgz, fingers crossed.

i bet your cat will show up, every time mine ran off they wound up being under the building, or in a shed adjacent.