Rehoming a cat Help Ria UPDATED

[miasmum]

He has been in the lounge with us tonight, laying on the sofa. Tim said I thought he didn't sit on the furniture, well apparently he didn't. Although he did stand behind the sofa and then put his paws on the top and peer over, luckily Tim didn't see him, as I think he would have climbed up the back of it. He is a strange cat he doesn't jump, he climbs. If you are stroking him he will bite you and then lick you. If you carry on stroking him he bites again a bit harder and no lick , but moves away a bit. I you still persist he bites quite hard and then gets down and moves away.

I have been looking at cat breeds, I think he has Maine Coon in him.

[Weka]

The bites were my Georges way of saying stop. He did exactly the same, intensity increase if you didn't "listen"

I think Ria might be thinking, if your home is nearby to his old home, then it's possible his old territory and new territory may overlap making a strong possibility that he may return to his old house.
By keeping him inside at your house for longer, you are establishing a firm home base for him, meaning he's less likely to stray.

Where we are now is about 400m (and a creek) away from where we lived 9 years ago, where George was a kitten. We lived there 6 months then moved, and moved, then moved here 3 years ago. Our old neighbours told us, that he came back often. When we moved here I kept them both in for a month. It took awhile for them to stop jumping at noises, then a while longer to be truly comfy. My rule of thumb is let them out only when you know they will run home and not away, when scared. This is why I personally wouldn't let him in the run yet. He needs to get comfy inside.

My George was s real outside cat, but he adapted often when he had to. His last 6 months was mostly in a cat cage with various broken legs. He just curled up and accepted it.