Male cat that is still catting around.

[kokopup]

I have a male tuxedo cat that I inherited when a neighbor moved and left him behind. This is a sweet cat that loves to go catting around for days. We recently had him neutered hoping it would change his behavior. He does stay at home more than before, but will still disappear for a day at a time. Will this behavior change over time or will he continue to roam. It seems that every time he comes home he has a new scratch on his face from fighting. We have an older male that was a feral that just showed up one day. He has been neutered and is content to stay close to home. He had a rough life as a feral because one ear is flopped and mangled from previous fights. Since all my cats (3) are indoor/outdoor I would have a hard time keeping them in so this is not an option.

I just don't want Rascal to become battered like his older brother. Any
hope?

[moosmom]

Yeah, keep him inside. Or...get an outdoor enclosure where he can enjoy the weather and fresh air and still keep him safe.

[GILL]

I am in total agreement with Donna. Our 9 ferals. Sweety, Boots, Peak, Mits, LB, Precious, Demetri, Roscoe, and Penny are now indoor cats. Much safer, but it did take a little time before they settled. Sweety is the only one that will not come near us. She has been in the house for almost 7 years now.

[aTailOf2Kitties]

my boyfriend's sister has a neutered male that does the same thing. He still wanders around picking fights with other cats. She worries about him constantly since he's an ordinary-looking black cat who keeps shedding his collars.

[happylabs]

I feel that cats should be strictly indoors. I cannot imagine letting my cats roam unsupervised. You never know with they way people are these days what could happen to them.

I do have one leash-trained cat, Buddy. The other 3 do not seem to care about going outside.

[kokopup]

If I decide to keep him in I will have to house break him. Both him and our other male cat go outside to do their business. Callie has always used a litter box and only ventures to the driveway if she goes out. She likes stretching
out in the sun.

Rascal did loose his collar and tags on his last outing. I guess they are hanging on a bush somewhere.

I guess What I am hearing is that if I let him out he will continue to roam and
fight with other males even though he has been neutered.

[happylabs]

My experience is that cats use a litter box by nature. I have never had to "train" any of mine. I put the litter box down and they used it. Maybe I have just been lucky. Even the little 4-week old kittens that I rescued from under my shed immediately used the litter box. It amazes me.

Good luck!

[kokopup]

When dealing with multiple cats is it best to have seperate litter boxes for each cat. We have seperate feed bowls for them now so I guess if we start
keeping them in they should have seperate litter boxes also. I have had cats
off and on for years but have never had indoor only cats. Where I live now
there appears to be a large feral cat population. With the exception of Rascal
we have had 5 cats over the years that just showed up and stayed. Rascal
would have become one of the ferals if we had not taken him in when he was deserted. I guess for their own safety we will try to make them indoor only. Right now we have two kitty doors, one to the sun porch and the other to the outside. We can close the one to the out side and restrict them to the house and sun porch. The Porch is where we keep their litter box and feed bowls. This Porch is large going all the way across the back of the house, about 56 feet. I guess this will have to be their new outside.

[happylabs]

My vet recommends one litter box per cat plus one extra. I have 4 cats and 8 litter boxes!!! Sounds like a lot doesn't it? It is a lot of cat poop!
I have all of my litter boxes in my basement which I do not use for much of anything else. I have cat doors on my bedroom door, basement door and computer room door. My cats' food is in my computer room, hence the cat door so the dog cannot get in there and eat their food when she is unsupervised. I truly hope you can get your kitties settled inside. I am very sensitive to this issue because I have seen what can happen to cats that are left in and out. Keeping them inside will also lengthen their life and quality of life. Good luck!

[Freedom]

My very first cat, RB Amber, was an outdoor boy I rescued and brought in. He was restless inside, kept meowing at the door. I bought a leash and harness, and we would walk daily, didn't matter the weather he HAD to go out. We walked around the apartment building TWICE, not once, not three times. I was to stay at the FAR end of the leash and make NO noise. This was his time, to play "tiger in the jungle." If my sneakers scrunched on the gravel, he would throw me a dirty look over his shoulder. We did this for 8 years, until he died of renal failure. Just thought I'd share, in case you were wondering who is training whom.

With 3 cats you should have 3 litter boxes, preferably not lined up in a row. Someone gets grumpy, spreads out across the front to show dominance, and no one can use a box!

[Medusa]

Yep, whether they have all their parts or not, they're still male and they still like to roam. My 18 year old blackie Boo still darts for the door now and then. The last time that he took off it was because he went after a feral male and the door was opened just a crack. He had been neutered at 6 months and he was around 8 years old when he went after that cat. I know that he has a few more adventures left in him but it won't be happening. He's in to stay.

[pomtzu]

Years ago when I first had cats, they were always indoor/outdoor kitties. Even after the males were fixed, they would still go out cattin' around and come home with chewed ears, or gouges on their heads, or bites on their hind legs. Then eventually they would end up never making it back home, and that was just too heartbreaking for me. The longest I ever had a cat that I would let outdoors was about 6 years, so they definitely have a much shorter life span. After that, I became an indoor only cat Mom, and they lived a pampered life to anywhere between 13 to 20 years.