Will our cat ever come indoors?

QOUR rescue cat left the house in May and has refused to come in since. She has a tent in the garden with a chair and bed, as well as a kennel and we feed her three times daily.

Yet if we go near her she runs away. Is there any way of getting her back in the house?

AAS I see it you and the cat have completely different expectations. You would like her to be a typical house cat, luxuriating on your lap in the warmth. Yet she is happy with the current arrangements.

I suspect she may always have been semi-feral and prefers that lifestyle.

Providing the kennel is insulated with lots of bedding and the tent is waterproof, her main needs are met. If you try to trap or catch her, this will make things much worse as cats will not forget if you frighten them and it will take even longer to build up trust.

Building up this trust will require a lot of patience and guile, perhaps with advice from a feline behaviourist.

You could start by having the feeding bowls near to the kitchen door and trying to gently talk to her when you put them down. Later, you can try leaving a bowl in the kitchen alongside a bed to see if she will come in but don’t ever try to pick her up. Eventually she might prefer sleeping inside when it is cold.

● David Grant MBE was a vet at the RSPCA Harmsworth Hospital for Animals. Write to him at Express Yourself, 10 Lower Thames St, London, EC3R 6EN. He is unable to enter into individual correspondence.