[solved] Cats and the cold

exis

We have a fairly elderly little cat, she's about 15 years old now. I couldn't tell you what breed she is, but she's quite skinny. The vet has told us she's about normal weight for her breed, but she could do with putting a couple of pounds on. She's pretty hard to feed. You can put a whole heap of food in her bowl and leave her with it, but she usually won't eat unless you're actually standing there watching her. I'm pretty sure this is because our dog used to wander over and eat her food out from in front of her, something which has since been fixed. Anyway, what I'm getting at is she's skinny and old.

Over here we're just getting into winter. Temperatures over night drop down to freezing often, sometimes a few degrees(C) below. I really don't like the idea of leaving her outside, her being so old and frail, but lately (a lot more often than in the past), she's been shitting inside if we leave her in. It's happened three times in the last week, always at night. My parents have decreed that she's going to be thrown out every night henceforth. She's spent plenty of nights outside in the past, but she's getting older and it's pretty damn cold lately and I'm starting to worry she might get sick.

Am I worrying about nothing here? Is there a way to fix this? Cat doors are probably out (not my house), and I doubt my parents would go for a litter box; she's never been trained to use one anyway.

Trowizilla

If you're worried about the cat, why not offer to lock her in the bathroom every night (with a warm towel-bed to lay on) and just clean up the poop in the morning? Cleaning poop off tile is ridiculously easy, just drop it in the toilet and spray and wipe up floor cleaner.

onceling

I would not recommend leaving a 15 year old underweight cat locked outside all night, no.

I am sure the cat could easily be trained to use the litter box. Many times cats enjoy the feeling of digging/covering, and if not, a soft paper will do just as well. You can put down a puppy pad or something in the area the cat favors I guess, too. Some of them will go on that. I'm really clutching here though, I think this is stretching it.

From your post though, sounds like your parents want to own a cat without having so much as a litter box in their bathroom. I think thats a bit unfair, 15 years of companionship deserves a bit better than being thrown out into the cold overnight.

Be sure to clean the area the cat used with something like Natures Miracle, because it's likely to want to go there again if regular cleaner is used, it doesn't break down the smell the way NM does.

Also, older cats sometimes have a hard time smelling food. You can buy some wet food and put a small spoon of it (heated in the microwave is even better) under the dry food so the cat can smell it and is more likely to eat/put on weight.

ceres

I adopted a feral cat last year (never been indoors in her life), and this was my biggest concern because I lived in a second-floor apartment and it was impossible to let her out.

Well, it went like this. I put her litter box in the bathroom. Sensible place for one, right? No dice. I was worried I'd never be able to train her to use it, but then I realized that she was always going in the same spot in the apartment: in the bedroom near the closet. I cleaned up the floor, plunked the litter box down right on top of the spot, and she's used it ever since. I've even moved a couple times since, but now no matter where I put the box, she always goes in it.

I agree with onceling though.. you can't put a cat out in the cold like that if they're older and underweight. You may want to offer to take care of the logistics yourself if you're worried.

LadyM

Putting a fifteen year old, skinny cat out in the cold all night would be a bastardly thing to do. I would go with Trow's suggestion . . . Put her in the bathroom with a litterbox at night. If she uses it, hoorah. If not, the floor is cleanable.

exis

Okay, well we set up a litter box in the corner where she was often going. So hopefully this works out. If not I'll try locking her in the laundry overnight with food/water/blanket/litter box, to try and get her used to it. Then maybe try moving it.

Thanks for the advice.