Should my kitten stay inside the house?

There's no question the cat is healthier indoors. This little guy (or girl) should keep his claws and be kept inside. Trust me, as the guardian of more than a few stray cats, they get used to being inside. Living outside was all this little guy knew, so your house is an unfamiliar concept to him.

Try to make him more comfortable and inclined to explore inside. Hide little treats around the place and put toys in frequented areas. Make sure you carve out some loving time with him. Once he equates safety, food, love and play with his new home, things will be fine.

Your cat will probably always love sitting on the porch, but you'll see the tendency to go outside diminish with time. If he's like one of mine, he'll demand walks after a while no matter what. Yes, I honestly put a harness and leash on a cat and he walks us every weekend. But he loves it and it keeps him (mostly) from going on his own adventures after escaping.

You did a good thing. A great thing. Your new companion will always know this and outside won't be a problem after a little while. I'd love all the cats to roam around too, but it's a much higher quality of life and safety you're offering this little thing. Let us know what you name him/her. Good luck.

Thank you everyone for all of your help. I've decided to keep Winston indoors and allow it to go outside as much as it wants (supervised of course.) I will look into getting a leash and a big kitty condo. I am in the process of putting Winston on the same feeding schedule as the family dog and adding in more play time to keep it happy. I think I will always worry about Winston especially when I return to work. But I will feel better when (s)he is acclimated. Thanks again everyone.
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My cat was an indoor and outdoor cat, came and went as she pleased. Towards the end of her life she went virtually blind but still liked to walk down the garden to sniff things out. I can't imagine her having a full life by being kept indoors, they naturally like to climb trees and jump. Allowing the freedom to exercise freely also keeps their weight down. Overweight cats can have a shorter life because of health issues caused by obesity. She passed away in January but had a very happy 20 years of being with us :O)

3versus: As the owner of multiple cats that started life as stray kittens, I respectfully disagree with updown. A cat can be re-acclimated to live a full life indoors with never asking again to get outside. In fact, such large space becomes very intimidating to them.

Yes, studies have found that cats live much longer when you don't allow them to roam outside. Why not leash the kitten like you would with a dog? Get a little cat house too.

I don't believe in outside cats. Letting your cat roam around outside could shorten it's life span. A number of things could happen. It can get attacked by another animal and either die or contract a nasty disease, someone could kill it either my accident (with their car) or on purpose (there are psychos who love torturing cats), and other ways. It would be best to keep the cat on a screened in porch and slowly introduce it to being inside the house more.

On behalf of my Winston, welcomes to new little kitten Winston. He'll love his forever home!

The thing is the kitten is use to a certain lifestyle yes even a kitten. So let it do what it wants.

What should I do about food? Winston (the cat) will only eat it if it's outside.

If the cat gets hungry enough he'll eat inside, and he'll get used to it.

I would never let my cats go outside. That's how try get ran over, they also get fleas and icks like that.

When the cat is hungry it will eat? Is your kitten male or female? Be sure to have him neutered or her spayed -- they will settle down and be more content in life. I would keep the kitten inside --

I dont know the gender. It doesnt have teats or testicles. Yesterday (Saturday) it didn't eat or use the restroom at all and I was worried. Today (Sunday) I went to feed the stray cats and it at the food. I brought its bowl outside and it ate the food. And it used the litter box. There's no way it just didn't have to go and wasn't hungry.