How to bring an outdoor cat inside when family objects or you have pets
Deciding to bring an outside cat indoors creates conflict when dealing with unsupportive household members or existing pets that don't get along with newcomers. Compounding this, temporary living situations and upcoming moves make it difficult to commit to a permanent home, leaving people torn between protecting the cat from outdoor dangers and keeping the household peace.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1continuing to feed the cat outdoors
- 2keeping the cat confined to a single room indoors
- 3making the backyard comfortable with shelter, food, water and somewhere to sleep
- 4promising to take full responsibility for feeding, cleaning the litter, brushing, and paying for needs
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Sometimes i want to just bring him inside but I have 3 cats already, 1 of them is a bitch to stranger cats. I also am temporarily living with my dad for only a few more months before I move out of state. Should I resist?! Or should I convince the household to let me do it?”source ↗
“I really want to give her a proper home, but my biggest problem is my mum.”source ↗
“I’m worried about her getting hit by a car, getting hurt, fighting with another animal or just disappearing one day.”source ↗
“And my mum would probably completely overreact if I just brought her inside, but I honestly hate seeing her outside roaming around all the time.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 3How to trap and transport an unfamiliar stray cat to the vet
- 3How to tell if stray kittens need to be rescued
- 8How to tell if a neighborhood stray cat is in heat
- 32How do I know if getting another pet is a mistake?
- 15Is a coughing stray cat sick or just wheezing?
- 24How to help a terrified rescue cat adjust to a new home