Life With Tiger (An Update)

Do you bear in mind Tiger? He’s the stray cat that simply appeared sooner or later after I was working exterior a couple of year-and-a-half in the past. He was tremendous pleasant, so I began feeding him daily. And naturally, he began sticking fairly near our home on a regular basis, typically sleeping beneath or on prime of the van at night time.

Different instances, when the van wasn’t within the carport, I’d get up within the morning and discover him sleeping on my worktable in a pile of sawdust.

Each time I’d go exterior to work, he would seem and beg for stomach scratches.

This little man wormed his means into my coronary heart fairly shortly, so when the climate began getting chilly in December of 2024, I purchased him a cat home and insulated it in order that he might keep heat at night time. And I put it by the again doorways of my studio in order that I might control it (and him) as a lot as attainable.

He has been fairly the handful, although. He’s the largest cat we’ve ever had, weighing in at 17 kilos. He’s massive, heavy, and powerful, weighing a full eight kilos greater than Felicity, our different cat. And he likes to be the focus. If I’m engaged on a challenge, he’s in the midst of it.

Felicity has all the time been this fashion as properly, however she’s a bit easier going.

If I’m engaged on a challenge, she’ll cling round so long as I let her, however as soon as I must shoo her away to complete up a challenge, she’ll keep away.

Tiger, alternatively, shouldn’t be really easy going. He’s all the time in the midst of my initiatives, and if I attempt to shoo him away, he comes proper again. Once more and repeatedly. So he’s a little bit of a problem, however he’s simply so cute that it’s arduous to get upset with him.

When he first began spending nights inside, I pulled out an additional comforter to make a mattress for him on my studio countertop in order that he could possibly be up excessive sufficient that he wouldn’t have to fret about Cooper (our fairly massive and hyper canine) bothering him. Tiger shouldn’t be very keen on Cooper in any respect, and he hisses and swats each time Cooper will get too shut.

When he first began coming inside at night time, I had simply bought a brand new cat mattress for Felicity. This image cracks me up. It’s like Tiger is plotting his takeover of Felicity’s new mattress.

And now, his takeover of Felicity’s mattress has been profitable. Sadly, these cute little beds offered out earlier than I might get one other one, so now they battle over this one. However with an eight-pound benefit, Tiger wins each time. Don’t fear. Felicity has different beds.

Thus far, Tiger and Felicity haven’t gotten alongside all that nice. It was a bit nerve-racking for the primary few weeks, particularly since they each need to be round me as soon as I get into mattress at night time. Matt and I all the time get into mattress round 10:00pm after which watch a present earlier than going to sleep, and each cats need to be on my lap. Each night time, they’d battle over who will get to sleep on my legs. This was all the time Felicity’s nighttime routine, so with one other cat added to the combo, I felt unhealthy that Felicity would typically be chased away by Tiger.

However simply during the last week or two, this has began occurring. Felicity nonetheless will get her regular place on my legs, and Tiger snuggles up subsequent to my leg, and for essentially the most half, they get alongside simply high-quality being this shut to one another.

I’ve even caught them enjoying with one another a couple of instances during the last couple of weeks, but it surely all the time appears to finish with considered one of them getting upset, hissing and swatting on the different one. I actually suppose they’ll finally be mates. Felicity positively needs to be mates with Tiger, however Tiger is the one who’s nonetheless a bit aggressive when Felicity will get too shut or needs to smell him a bit too lengthy for his consolation.

I’ve been completely amazed at how a lot meals Tiger eats. We undergo cat meals a lot quicker now! We’ve all the time had fairly small cats, weighing in anyplace from six kilos to 9 kilos, with Felicity being the largest cat we’ve had till Tiger got here alongside. And Tiger is the primary male cat we’ve ever had. So I’ve been a bit shocked at how a lot meals a 17-pound male cat eats in comparison with the small feminine cats we’ve all the time had.

However the greatest problem proper now could be that I really need Tiger to be an indoor cat for 2 causes. First, I need to do away with his sharp claws. I’m all the time a bit on edge that he’s going to begin clawing on the furnishings. Thus far, he’s been nice. I’ve by no means seen him even attempt to claw on the furnishings, and he solely makes use of the scratching submit. However it nonetheless makes me nervous, particularly now that he’s began sleeping on our new-ish recliner in our bed room at night time. So I actually need to clip his claws in order that they’re brief and blunt in order that he can’t do any harm, however so long as he nonetheless insists on going exterior, he wants these claws for protection.

Additionally, nearly each time he’s exterior, I see him strolling throughout the again yard with some type of wildlife in his mouth — a fowl, a lizard, a subject mouse, and many others. I don’t like that in any respect. He will get loads of meals inside, so there’s no cause for him to maintain searching and killing wildlife. Plus, he’s simply safer inside. There’s zero likelihood of him getting hit by a automotive if he’s inside. There’s zero likelihood of him getting attacked by a stray canine if he’s inside.

However he continues to need to go exterior in the course of the day. If I don’t let him exterior by midday, he sits by the again doorways and yells at me till I let him exterior. However then round 7:00pm, he’s prepared to come back again inside and get settled for the night.

So that is my greatest problem proper now. How do I make this cat, who was most likely born within the woods, spent his first 12 months exterior, and is used to attempting to find his meals, need to keep inside? I made him keep inside for 3 days straight once we had a stretch of unhealthy climate, and I assumed perhaps he had made that transition to being an indoor cat, however as soon as the climate cleared up, he was prepared to return exterior. I used to be fairly upset, however I really feel responsible holding him inside when he clearly needs to be outside.

You probably have any suggestions or tips on serving to an out of doors cat make that full transition to being an indoor cat, I’d love to listen to them. I really need him to remain inside the place I do know he’s secure, properly fed, and properly taken care of, and I actually need to reduce these sharp claws!