Gabby was 21 when she died. She retired from being the boss of the neighborhood when she was 15. She was never in a cat fight with any of the other cats. She was full of bluff. Her Siamese yowl had them convinced that she could tear them apart if they even thought of fighting with her. She, too, was a small cat.
When she was 15, a younger male cat started calling her bluff. He gradually started taking over her territory. After he took over the front porch, she was stuck in a small back yard of the rental. I finally allowed her to become an inside cat rather than an inside/outside cat.
Re: the insulated house. It was given to me when a friend's cat was bitten by a rabid fox and he simply did not want another cat. Scamp uses it only a few times in the winter because he has his own favorite spots for keeping warm. However, after a seizure, he's quite content to stay in it while he sleeps off the impact of the seizure. Thank God, he only has to have rabies shots every three years.
Smiles,
Lyn
