Question
I have been adopted by a very affectionate gray tabby. She had been coming around more and more to the point that I decide to feed her. I noticed that other neighborhood cats were coming around and eating her food so I started feeding her in my laundry room. Once she got comfortable with this arrangement I invited her into my home. She has taken to being inside rather well. She gets curious about certain areas but doesn't cause any damage or get into anything dangerous.
I took her to the local Humane Society for rabies, vaccines, etc. She had been spayed and does not have a microchip. So she is now my cat. When I am home, she stays inside with me and behaves very well. When I go out for anything, i.e. school, errands, etc., or when I go to bed, I will put her outside and she will be waiting for me when I get home or the next morning.
At what point is it safe to leave her in the house during the night and when I am away from home? I did read a post (Cat in a electronics hobbyist house) about how to keep the environment safe for her, but I am not sure how I can tell when "all is safe" for her.
Answer
Congratulations on your new cat! It sounds like she's very comfortable in your space already, and very likely is a former housecat who was either lost or abandoned. If you have a local social media group (Facebook groups, Nextdoor app, etc), I'd suggest doing one final check beyond the microchip one to ensure she doesn't belong to anyone and then officially considering her your cat.
As she's become very comfortable, and as you've clarified you don't have a lot of particularly unusual dangerous items, I would say you're fine to start keeping her inside going forward. At the start, you can close doors to rooms of concern (for instance, where the 3D printer is located) until you have a better sense of her behavior. Be sure you also have plenty of options for her to entertain herself without getting into your things. A selection of cat furniture (you can start small here, but consider a taller tree in the near future), scratching posts, blankets/beds, and various styles of toys--start small with all of these to get a sense of what she does and doesn't like.
If she's comfortable and not bored, there should be no issues with any of the power cords you have in your household. Millions of cats live in similar settings without issue, as computers and other powered devices are commonplace throughout the developed world. She very likely came from a setting that had similar cords, and unless she was abandoned due to issues with chewing on them (a situation you likely would have noticed by now), the risk she'll start this behavior is low, unless she gets bored. Avoiding boredom with appropriate outlets is the best way to prevent a cat from getting into things they shouldn't.
Answered By - Allison C