# Luring a stray cat inside



## avalouise (Jun 8, 2013)

My boyfriend and I have been feeding a stray tortoiseshell cat for about a month or two now. She has lived outside his apartment since he moved in, and has just recently started coming up to us and letting us pet her. We'd really like to let her come inside because we are in Florida and it's either way too hot or pouring rain and sometimes I just see her out there in the rain and it kills me 

We always leave her food bowl right outside the door, and I've tried placing it just inside but all she did was reach in to grab a bite and then ran away. She seems afraid of coming inside. 

We have another kitten who is an indoor cat (only because we live in an apartment complex- I don't really believe in leaving cats inside but it's our only option here) and I'm sure they'd get along well, but really I just want to get the stray out of the rain. She's so sweet. Does anyone have any tips?

Also, I don't know much about genetics, but does anyone know if it's true that all tortoiseshell cats are female? Everywhere I've read has said the same thing. Our current kitten isn't spayed yet so if there is a chance the stray is male it cannot come inside


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## Mitsy (Apr 8, 2013)

It isn't true that all tortoiseshell cats are females but it is a fact the most of them are females and most tabby cats are males or all one color cats are males. I have a female cat who is a tortoiseshell and she has had kittens and most of the multi colored ones are females and most tabby ones are males. I actually learned this a couple weeks ago. 


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## Daniel (Jun 24, 2013)

My mother did this with a stray at my parent's farm. Once he realized he had a gauranteed food source, he always stuck around. During the first winter of him having been outside, he started to want to come in, and did. Ten years later, my mother still has him, but being a stray he is a one person cat and has alwayd been skittish (he mainly stick to the basement). 

Just keep the food source going. Eventually it will get sick of the weather and want to come in.


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## SheWroteLove1 (Jan 18, 2013)

Have you tried leaving a trail of food from the food dish outside into your home, perhaps into another room? Once the cat gets inside to the other room to eat, shut the front door. Once you get the cat inside, perhaps you could get it a cat harness and leash so that it could still be taken outside for walks and outdoor exposure.


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## avalouise (Jun 8, 2013)

SheWroteLove1 said:


> Once you get the cat inside, perhaps you could get it a cat harness and leash so that it could still be taken outside for walks and outdoor exposure.


If we do get her to come inside we will still let her out as often as she likes, it's our kitten we'd keep indoors because she is not spayed.


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## SheWroteLove1 (Jan 18, 2013)

Understandable. I'm just thinking along the lines of if you want to make this stray a house cat- initially, at least, taking her out on a leash and harness may be a good way to get her comfortable with your home and your family.


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## Minky (Apr 4, 2013)

Your heart is in the right place with this stray. I highly recommend you have your kitten spayed before you begin the process of taking on a new cat. 

A lot of people who tame feral and stray cats begin by trapping them, then taking them (in the trap) to be spayed/neutered. Your tortoiseshell sounds like she's feral or semi-feral. Veterinarians will usually will ear-tip a feral cat when it's neutered.

After that, you have the choice to let the cat recover from the operation in a room in your house, where you will gradually tame her. The other option is to release her outside and keep feeding her, and wait for her to become tame enough to step inside your house. Bear in mind that she may be reluctant to come into an unfamiliar cat's territory. 

I have tamed one (1) feral cat in my lifetime. He was 100% feral when I started. I trapped/neutered him, and then spent a year and a half working with him before he voluntarily came inside... but he had befriended my housecat first, so he wasn't reluctant to enter our home. There is a lot of info on trapping/taming feral cats online. If you would like more info on my method (which is not online) feel free to PM me.


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## meekosan (Dec 23, 2011)

I can offer no advice myself. My one cat came to us on the street when she was only maybe 6 months old and had to have been someone's pet because she had a ratty color on. A family friend out in PA tended to feed a neighborhood cat for the longest while and then one day, he just followed the friend's gf into the house and just comes and goes as he pleases. Now that they are moving into a much larger house, she plans on taking him with them.


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