Cat Rant Follow Up

A Quick Update

I wasn’t lying to the cat police. I had already decided to give Rooney a chance to be an indoor cat.
It won’t be easy. It’s difficult enough to change the psychology of a young feral, but a 17-year-old one? 
However, what are my options? She’s almost totally deaf, which makes her easy prey for a coyote. I do have a responsibility to take care of her, but a sense of duty isn’t my main incentive. Those cats have been with me a long time, and I love the little freeloaders. 
Rooney’s been living in the spare bedroom for three days now. She yowls sometimes, and I feel her despair. 
I’ve installed a gate at the bedroom door. She could jump it, probably, if she were ten years younger. I don’t know, maybe she could now……She hasn’t tried yet.
She’s able to see down the hall, which I’m sure she finds helpful in that she can hide under the bed if anyone (me) approaches.

I will, at some point, give her the run of the house. A good indication of progress would be when she stops hiding from me and can take a treat from my hand. There will always be a risk of her escaping outside. If that does occur, hopefully it will be after she’s gotten used to a warm bed and guaranteed meals….. Enough incentive to come back inside.