He's your cat for sure, just like any other pet would be.

Definitely take him with you;
new owners *never* want leftover pets, even if they "promise" to "put food out", etc, & your cat would come to a lonely & miserable end, especially if he comes in through the cat door.

He must be 11 or 12 years old by now, which is pretty elderly, & he'll be fine, & much safer, as an inside cat.

You might get some Feliway or some such to help him stay calm during the adjustment period.

Your vet can help you.

I wish you the very best.

What Sylvia said. He is old now and needs you...animals are toddlers, they think they know what is best but they need someone to take care of them. Take him with you and take care of him.

Please take him with you, and see him to the end of his life, which you gave quality to.

How easy is it to train an old cat to use a litter box?

If you begin by keeping him in a small area - like one room - he will use the litter box. Most cats do. Get him using that box for a few days, and then put a litter boxes in another rooms, so he gets the idea.

That's what I do, and it's worked.

If you can't/won't take him, please take him to a shelter or find home, so he is not just left behind.

Take him with you but let him be an indoor/outdoor cat by doing what we're setting up. Our cat is strictly indoors but she loves sitting at the screen door for hours. We're in the process of putting in a cat door in the MBR (by using a sliding door panel) which has attached to it a tunnel made of wire. The tunnel will lead to a dog kennel that will have shelves for her to lie on and enjoy the outdoors. We are fortunate that we have a covered deck off the back of the house so weather protection isn't an issue. I'm buying the wire locally and will have a metal shop bend it into the shape/size I need. Then I'll spray paint it black.

Check out the link below and google for 'outdoor cat enclosures for more info'.

Here's another link for other ideas & options: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/garden/17catio.html?emc=eta1

Here is a link that might be useful: cat enclosure

By all means, take him. He loves you. You're his family. He's older now and will adjust with time.

Take him with you or take him to a rescue/shelter. He became yours when you started feeding him and letting him come into your home. How could you abandon him now?

Outdoor cat enclosures are an EXCELLENT idea. Great, safe way for a cat to be outside.

I agree, take him with you.

I had an older kitty who was indoor/outdoor until an older age (10), when I moved and she became an indoor cat (prior to that I lived with my mother who would not allow litter boxes in the house). She had never used a litter box in her life. She did very, very well, and I think she was actually much happier as a 100% indoor cat and she was not the friendliest cat to begin with.

We transitioned her over by filling a dishpan with outdoor dirt and then eventually switching her over to clay litter. If he is already friendly, I think he will adjust beautifully and maybe even be happier, like my cat was.

Best of luck.

I guess we will take him with us. I have been leaning that way for a while. I hope he is OK with being shipped to Maui from the mainland. I have a feeling that this feral cat wanted to go to Maui with us and starting getting friendly when he heard us talk about moving to Hawaii!! LOL
We will try the dirt in the litter box, that is a great idea. Thanks everybody.

Depending on what State you live in. There are laws that state once you begin to feed a stray animal and you have spent money on it - towards vet care or whatever - the animal is considered owned by you.
In some states cats are not even recognized as pets and can not be owned because they are so aloof and independent.
I think th ebiggest issue you will have besides having the cat be an indoor cat - it will adjust sooner or later or escape one day will be its diet. Ourfriends cat turned out to be allergic to 99 percent of all cat food on the market, and they ended up having to feed him duck and pea cat food which was very expensive.

Make sure you read up on Hawaii's animal quarantine laws. Thay are complicated, but with advanced planning, good documentation, and attention to detail you can qualify for the 5-day hold. You have to plan early and the paperwork has to be approved BEFORE you get there.

If not, it's a 4 month hold.

I'm so glad to hear that you're bringing your cat with you! As everyone said, just put the litter box in a smallish room and confine the cat to that same room for a week or so. By then he should have the idea.

My cat was a feral that I adopted when she was about a year old. She's now 18. I did this with her and she learned to use the litter box with no problems. I didn't even add dirt at first, just kitty litter. It's natural to cats to pee and poop in soft sand or dirt, so they almost house train themselves. The key though is to keep kitty in a single room with food and water and litter box for the first week or so until he gets the idea. That will also make the move to new surroundings less stressful because he will only have one room to get used to at first.

Best of luck with your move and thank you for taking care of this cat. LOL it does sound like he decided to 'get friendly' in anticipation of becoming an indoor cat!

I'm assuming that a move within the state of Hawaii, ie from one island to another, does not involve quarantining of animals. I could, of course, be wrong since islands tend to enact stricter laws than mainland states, but I'm assuming lin01 knows what is involved in moving from one Hawaiian island to another.