Sadly it didn't work out. Augie, once he recovered from a bad fight after 3 days inside, regained his oats and was becoming a threatening, clawing monster inside. After 12 days, I was feeling under siege in my own house; I had to constantly wear thick sweatpants and shoes for fear of being attacked (he snagged my pants and shoes by surprise a few times after hiding out in corners, and made a leap toward me as if to initiate a fight several times, but since I refused to engage in any fight and walked away from any sign of confrontation I remained unscratched). He would sometimes get so hyperactive running around the house at 20 mph and tearing up his weasel-toys as to be frightening. In retrospect I wonder if he was telling me he was ready to go back outside already.
So I've let him back outside and changed his designation back to outdoor cat (with his own heated house on the patio--which he loves, food, and water). He was unpleasant to live with inside, but he never caused any serious damage. He clawed some already clawed furniture, and that's about it. He somehow knew never to touch my electrostatic speakers--which had been my big fear all along. He toyed with a lot of wires, which my house is full of, but as far as I can tell never pierced any wires.
He goes outside willingly, and nowadays I'm even a bit disinclined to handle or move him, but when I go out to bring him more food he invariably dashes in. So I have to have all bedroom doors closed so he really has no where to hide and then, after not too long, he goes back outside.
Unfortunately my "patio cat" idea doesn't work…it's simply too easy for Augie to scale my 6 foot garden walls and be part of a grander area he must consider his territory, though he apparently shares it all with another cat, a white and battle-worn cat I've named Atilla. Augie lets Atilla come by and eat food, so I will be stocking the bowl twice daily with enough food for two cats, and hope they keep getting along. The most serious fights have occurred when the food bowl has been empty. It could be that having an older and tougher mentor cat is a good thing for Augie (though it's likely also part of the source of Augie's aggressiveness). Anyway, I didn't choose to have Atilla, he was simply there, and apparently the new boss after the disappearance of Alexander, Augies previous sparring partner.
My current standards in USA having an outdoor cat, or even and indoor/outdoor cat, it considered negligent or cruel or something like that. But it's certainly better than letting the poor darlings starve to death, not get their neutering and shots. It's probably better for the cat than euthanasia (though not better for birds). I still hope that well fed cats will be less aggressive toward birds, but I don't know.
Here's an article defending Indoor/Outdoor cats, which accounts for 90% of pet cats in Britain and other places.
So I've let him back outside and changed his designation back to outdoor cat (with his own heated house on the patio--which he loves, food, and water). He was unpleasant to live with inside, but he never caused any serious damage. He clawed some already clawed furniture, and that's about it. He somehow knew never to touch my electrostatic speakers--which had been my big fear all along. He toyed with a lot of wires, which my house is full of, but as far as I can tell never pierced any wires.
He goes outside willingly, and nowadays I'm even a bit disinclined to handle or move him, but when I go out to bring him more food he invariably dashes in. So I have to have all bedroom doors closed so he really has no where to hide and then, after not too long, he goes back outside.
Unfortunately my "patio cat" idea doesn't work…it's simply too easy for Augie to scale my 6 foot garden walls and be part of a grander area he must consider his territory, though he apparently shares it all with another cat, a white and battle-worn cat I've named Atilla. Augie lets Atilla come by and eat food, so I will be stocking the bowl twice daily with enough food for two cats, and hope they keep getting along. The most serious fights have occurred when the food bowl has been empty. It could be that having an older and tougher mentor cat is a good thing for Augie (though it's likely also part of the source of Augie's aggressiveness). Anyway, I didn't choose to have Atilla, he was simply there, and apparently the new boss after the disappearance of Alexander, Augies previous sparring partner.
My current standards in USA having an outdoor cat, or even and indoor/outdoor cat, it considered negligent or cruel or something like that. But it's certainly better than letting the poor darlings starve to death, not get their neutering and shots. It's probably better for the cat than euthanasia (though not better for birds). I still hope that well fed cats will be less aggressive toward birds, but I don't know.
Here's an article defending Indoor/Outdoor cats, which accounts for 90% of pet cats in Britain and other places.
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