hey all,
Slightly long story, but will try and keep it brief!
Back in May, my nextdoor neighbour emigrated and left behind his gorgeous black and white cat Minnie, without a word to anyone in the street. Once we all realised he was definitely gone and that a rather confused Minnie was still hanging around, I volunteered to take her on, as I really am fond of her. Neighbours who had known Minnie longer than me told me that she had always been an outdoor cat (she's about seven years old) and would be happy as long as I left food outside for her and made a fuss of her now and again - which seemed ideal as it would avoid upsetting my two indoor cats, Bertie and Bella.
It quickly became obvious that Minnie being an outdoor cat may not have been her own choice. It wasn't long before she would bolt inside the house every time I opened the front door, trying to climb onto laps for a cuddle. She was obviously much happier eating Bertie and Bella's food indoors than her own outside, and I always feel awful putting her back out, especially as she will often turn back up crying on the doorstep several times a night.
I was already considering trying to introduce her to the other two and install a cat flap for her, when we had a horrible incident on Tuesday. My neighbour told me that Minnie was sleeping in my front garden when two lads with a large dog walked past, deliberately threw the dog at Minnie and then laughed as the dog started attacking her. My neighbour broke up the fight and Minnie ran away, returning on Thursday amazingly unharmed.
Although we have informed the police and dog warden, they're not doing much and I'm now terrified for Minnie's safety. She has been even keener to be in the house since this happened.
My real problem is how to I go about giving Minnie access to the indoors without upsetting any of the cats? She has come face to face with the others a few times, and although they seem more curious than anything else, Minnie will always hiss, growl and run away. People have suggested just shutting her indoors with the others and letting her get used to them, but is this cruel when she's more used to being outside - and will it unsettle the others? They've been together since Bertie was 11 months and Bella was 5 months (they're now three and two), and have a mainly good relationship. I'm not for one moment trying to permanently stop Minnie being outside - I would just like her to know that the cat flap is there and it's safe for her to use it should she ever feel threatened.
Sorry for the long post - all help gratefully received!!
Anna x
