Need advice for a cat

[The Blue Flower]

I'm keeping my daughter's cat for awhile--he's an active 13-year old. He gets active at night, wandering around, knocking things off of shelves, etc. so I trained him to stay out during the night, and I put a bed at the top of my stairwell for him. He did fairly well, and I was able to get a reasonable amount of sleep, until the weather turned chilly at night (in Seattle). Now he wants to go out, but won't stay out, and I've been up 4 or 5 or even 6 times a night trying to deal with him. I'm a wreck, and having difficulty functioning at work (in a technical field) because I'm so mentally tired.

Any suggestions on how to deal with this? We're looking into boarding him somewhere until she moves back to the area in mid-January. Thanks!

[SoCalDem]

1. Please board him..

Something bad might happen to him while he's out, and you would not want that on your conscience ..

Ask her vet if they can recommend a cat-sitter..that would be better and probably cheaper too.. sometimes kenneling a pet can lead to illness..

Cats are nocturnal, so it's not unusual for him to wander around..but putting him outside is NOt the solution..

[The Blue Flower]

4. Thanks

I wouldn't mind him wandering around at night, but he's so destructive. He likes to paw through books, CDs, and DVDs on the shelves, push everything off any table he can find, turn over trash cans, etc. It's a quiet, safe neighborhood, and he's been fine and happy going out until now. I'm in an apartment on the second floor.

[SoCalDem]

6. Is there a laundry room or spare room?

maybe you could sequester him at night..

No matter how safe your neighborhood is, it's still a dicey proposition for a small animal out at night..there are dogs..cars..weather.. toxic runoff in gutters & puddles..

Call yor daughter and see if she has another person in her life who might take him off your hands..

He;s probably missing your daughter and wondering why everything's different..

[ThomCat]

2. Get him to adjust to being an indoor cat.

It's better for him. He'll live longer and be healthier.

If you give him a lot of attention during the day, and if he sleeps with you, then he'll adjust to your schedule and sleep at night.

[The Blue Flower]

5. I work during the day

[ThomCat]

7. So do I.

But some attention before and after work, and again throughout the evening should do the trick. :)

[Maine-ah]

3. well, the cat should be in anyway.

this time of year when it's cold outside they like to find warm spots. Usually something like a warm engine block. In which case the owner of the car could start the car up with kitty inside and kill the cat. Sometimes they'll go for someone's open garage and end up closed in too. That's if some other animal doesn't get him first.

Try bringing the bed inside, and kitty proofing the house so that when he does climb stuff he won't be knocking stuff down.

good luck. I eventually just learned to tune them out.

[Roon]

8. I've had that happen to two kitty cats of mine

the first one didn't survive. The second one had his tail rubbed hairless and he broke his leg. All my cats are indoor cats now.