How often do you let your kitten/cat outside?

[Natalie12]

Hi All,

sorry yet another kitten question.... just trying to be as well researched as poss!

I amthinking of keeping my new kitten inside until he has been neutered.... ??

Then slowly start to introduce him to the outdoors! Do most people let them out in the morning and get them in after work or keep them in during the day whilst you are at work??

and let them go out after if they want to??

Any info would be much appreciated

Thanks all ;0)

 

[Ally_F]

My two stayed in until they were neutered/all injections and then let them out slowly as you said - but now they go out during the day while we're at work and come in at night (we have put a cat-flap and a basket in the shed so they have somewhere to hide when it rains badly, as we don't have a back door so cant have a cat flap into the house ).

 

[Natalie12]

Ok great thanks, i think thats a good idea though a cat flap into the shed as if they do get soaked in the rain or something or muddy and then just go through as cat flap straight into the house... well you wouldn't be best impressed would you?? ;0)

 

[Shutterbug]

My two dont get out ever. Tommy is too stupid to get out and when we tried to let him out after he had been neutered, he always wanted to lay down in the middle of the road and sleep so he stays in now. My older cat Charlie went out in the morning and normally came home for his tea...until he went missing for 6 months a few years ago. We thought we would never see him again until the CPL called me and asked if I wanted my cat back...they found him 7 miles away wandering around and luckily he was chipped so we were reunited. So he is grounded for life!!

 

[Natalie12]

That did make me chuckle Hevs.... a few people have told me there cats just slept in the middle of the road when they let them out....!!! I am definately getting him microchipped - its brilliant isn't it... i bet you were over the moon when you got him back!

Do you find though that they try and run outside when you open the door or come in from outside etc??

 

[Sarah Sum1]

My boy who is 7 goes out during the day but comes in at night (or he would be fighting all night!)
When he was a kitten, he escaped one day whilst i opened the front door and ran up the massive conifer tree in my garden.....three days later!! The RSPCA said he had to be up there 3 days before they would help he was only small and it was during really hot weather. In the end a builder climbed up and got him. (we did try climbing up, but conifers are very dense)

After that he went out gradually, with me stood in front of tree
I backed onto a park and he had this habit of seeing me taking my daughter to swings and coming with us! like a dog But i used to take him back as i was worried dogs would catch him.
I could never keep my cat in, he cries if i don't let him out!

 

[cindars]

When ours are small they stay in until spayed etc then we go into the garden with them and bring them in later, as they get older our cats have all behaved in different ways some stay out coming in for food, another one used to disappear for a couple of days but we knew where he went and if we called him he came back with us. We don't have a cat flap but when we're in the door is open all the time into garden at night they have a tray and the bedroom window is open it leads onto a flat roof so they can go in and out when they want.

 

[Flicker]

Our two are quite young. The older chap stayed in until he was familiar with the house and environment and would 'home' in. He goes out now in the evenings for a few hours and comes in either just before we go to bed at about 11pm or if my OH is still up, later. I let him out when I go and do the horse in the mornings and he meets me at the end of the drive when I get back - he escorts me to the front door and I give him his breakfast in return. He then sleeps for the rest of the day inside.
The younger one is still too silly to be allowed out unaccompanied. Fortunately he loves human contact as he was hand-reared and we have a harness for him and walk him out like a dog. My OH had me in stitches the other day describing his embarrassement at being spotted by one of our neighbours walking a kitten in a pink harness!
Kitten will probably need another couple of months to mature. Then we'll let him off the harness but only let him out in the garden when we are there, and only when he's hungry so we can tempt him back quickly if necessary!

 

[Serephin]

initially we took ours out in the garden in a kitty harness to introduce them to the sights, sounds and smells around them. Did this for about a week or so and then let them out with access to a catflap to get back in the house - they are grown up now and have free run to go outside whenever they please.

We did have a curfew with our eldest cat, she would dome in at 10pm every night, but our boy kitty completely turned that on its head as he is far too headstrong to be contained and broke out of the locked catflap, even when we reinforced it!

 

[alainax]

Ty never goes out. We had to sign a form when we got him a "kitten contract" stating that we woulndt let him out - as they get stolen apparently. Hes a big chicken anyway, he would hate the ig bad world!

 

[Captain Bridget]

When my two were little we waited until they had all their vaccinations etc before letting them outside, and they only went outside for about 10 minutes to begin with when we were home to keep and eye on them. We slowly increased the time until we allowed them to be out all the time if they want, but they are both very homely cats and come in a lot. We have a cat flap tunnel through our dining room wall so they come and go as they please. We also somehow managed to make them understand at a young age they weren't to go out the front of our house because our drive goes straight onto the road. Still not sure how we did that though!

 

[Lotty]

When we bought our cat we had to sign a form from the breeders to say that we wouldn't let him out but he is a Ragdoll cat We have a harness for him and my daughter takes him for walks.....he wouldn't survive outdoors as he has no hunting instinct and is so stupid x

 

[Brandy]

My cat was one of a batch of feral kittens that I caught up and took to CPL to be spayed etc. So he was WILD (livid!) when I first got him. He was kept in a big cat cage until he stopped spitting and hissing at me, then kept indoors until he was rather more tame and reasonable (he was about 6 weeks when we caught them) So he was probably a year old when he first went out into the big wide world, and was very much a scardy cat.

I do live 'in the sticks' so although there is a road 40 yards from the house, the rest of the house is surrounded by fields. I rarely see him on the road and have never seen him across the other side. He runs away from cars.

He goes out as and when he wants, daytime, nighttime, whenever. He will come and call to be let in in the middle of the night, or let out for that matter.

Although he tends to sleep indoors all night during the winter, at this time of year he starts staying out all night. There is no way he would be an indoor cat. He loves climbing trees, and scampering about the fields and garden, and also killing things Thats cats I guess!

 

[Ali2]

Ours were all kept in until they'd been fully vaccd and neutered then they were slowly introduced to the great outdoors. It was horrible keeping them in that long - the older two used to stand at the french windows and scream to go outside. The younger lad wasn't so bothered. They now have free rein to come and go as they please via the catflap (get one that only your cats can get access to otherwise you'll be feeding the neighbourhood as we used to!) but do spend a lot of time napping in various sunspots within the house. Major bonus to never having to lock them in is no need for a litter tray, the emptying of which is, IMO, a horrible job best left to OH LOL

 

[Shutterbug]

That did make me chuckle Hevs.... a few people have told me there cats just slept in the middle of the road when they let them out....!!! I am definately getting him microchipped - its brilliant isn't it... i bet you were over the moon when you got him back!

Do you find though that they try and run outside when you open the door or come in from outside etc??

Oh Tommy is the thickest cat ever and scared of his own shadow but he's incredibly cute so he gets away with being stupid lol. And yes, we were delighted to have Charlie back, we honestly though we had lost him forever.

Charlie won't leave the house, I think he has had enough being outside and prefers to stay indoors - Tommy runs out into the garden then panics and runs back in - nutter

 

[Umbongo]

After my previous cat going missing when we had lots of snow in 2000 (we found him frozen to death under a hedge ) we then got 2 kittens. To begin with I was so paranoid about them going missing that we took them for little walks around the village on a kitten harness

We got some strange looks, but (I was only a kid) and I found solace in thinking that when we did let them out that they would recognize their surroundings and smells etc and find their way home.

We have a cat flap, but now one cat is epileptic (on medication) but sometimes has a fit outside and forgets where she is and ends up 10 miles away a few months later. She now lives in a flat with my mum as a house cat. And my cat is so fat and lazy he only goes outside every couple of days for the loo!!

 

[ladyt25]

Our cats have always been stable cats so effectively have always lived out. They had a feild shelter with their beds etc in and where they were fed if they hadn't fed themselves on the local rabbit population! Sadly our last cat died just over 2 weeks ago and we have since got another from the Blue Cross who apparently was picked up as a stray. However, he seems rather too bold and friendly to have been a real stray. Still, he is shut in now as they said we had to shut him in for 3 weeks. It'll be just over two weeks this friday and I am tempted to let him out! He will live there unless he decides to bugger off but generally it's pretty idyllic a life for cats as they have plenty of land to roam about before hitting any roads or houses.

 

[Winklepoker]

We have Meeru - a siamese and she rarely goes out and if she does it is very closely monitored! And Sangu - my 1st born she is just a plain old mogster and it isnt really fair to let one and not the other so she stays in too. Can you tell I am one of those weird cat ladies!!! lol

 

[CrazyMare]

Well I have no idea where any of our three are - I suspect either asleep in either the house or the shed, or in the garden.

They have a catflap and come & go as they please - often hear them crashing in and out at speed.

When the kitten first arrived, she didn't go outside, then as she started getting a little older she ventured onto the patio if someone was in the garden, then made it out to the fence eventually. Now shes all done & vaccinated, knows how to use the cat flap, shes just like the other two.

 

[Sarah Sum1]

Also to add, having a cat that goes out but at one point didn't because of the area we were in, i can say that he is 100% happier being allowed out. I think it's different for cats that have always been inside as they don't know any different, but for cats that are made to stay in after years outside, then it can be horrible for them (I appreciate the many reasons as to why this may have to happen though, been there myself)

 

[ecrozier]

We had/have a big Bengal cat who was supposed to be a house cat according to the breeder but I'm afraid I couldn't do it to him. We kept him in til he was neutered but by then he was desperate to get out - we couldn't open and windows or leave any doors open - not hugely practical with a dog as well. So we gave in, had him microchipped and let him out gradually at first then free rein with a cat flap. He was fine for about 2 years, but gradualy started roaming further and further and now hasn't been home for about 6 weeks
Miss him like mad, he has been spotted by some people who live about 2 miles away and its definately him as YO's girlfriend lives there and has also seen him but despite lots of people calling him he won't come, I have spent hours wandering around those fields round there looking for him, so he has either gone totally feral or moved in with someone! I am still hoping we might get him back but TBH better to have had a happy cat for three years who then chose to move out than a miserable cat for 15 years.
We have agreed that if we don't get him back in 6 months we will get another cat but will get a lazier more laid back breed next time, maybe a british blue, (I'd happily have a bog standard mog but husband likes 'fancy' pets!) and I'd like to start a regime where they come in at night to be fed and stay in til the morning.... mistake we made with him was that we left food down all the time etc so he had no particular reason to come back at any particular time....

 

[Natalie12]

Thanks everyone for your comments... My plan i think is to keep him in until 6 months ish when he has been neutered and microchipped! He will also need to have his leukemia vacs i think as the breeder hasn't had this done with his normal vacs i dont think.... she said i would possibly need this if he is going to go out??

Then clowly maybe via a harness at first start to let him out?? I will be massively nervous i suspect at this point but i am hoping he will just have little strolls and then come back.... fingers crossed!!!

My mine worry i suppose is as he is a pedigree bengal Cat he may get stolen...

 

[Flibble]

I had Tiggy as a CPL kitten at 10 weeks and I kept her in util she was neutered. I used to take her out on a kitten harness for walks and then when she started going out I only let her in or out via back door. It took ages to understand there was a front door.

I always get her in at dusk or slightly before. My partner built a wooden frame that fits into the sliding conservatory door so we could install a catflap for daytime use.

Here she is with her babysitter

Here venturing out in her harness.

Here a lady of complete independance

Here you can see her catflap in conservatory as she tries to get into kitchen!!

 

[Natalie12]

Hi flibbles, thanks for the info, do you just call her and he appears then to come inside? Take it he has te choice to go in or out then during the day?? Did you haw her vaccinated against leukemia??

Thanks again to everyone!

 

[Flibble]

Sometimes I call her and she comes running but if she knows I particularly need her to come in she races into the garden dances around the lawn chirruping at me and then runs up a tree hangs upside down and waves a paw.

I always feed her tea very late so she then comes in when she hears me tapping her dish. On the days she wants to be completely obstinate I move a button across on the catflap so once she comes in she cant get back out.

Yes to vaccinations flu and leukemia she gets wormed regularly and treated for fleas.

 

[china]

mine is the biggest wimp ever. she used to go out all day, come in and have a sleep then go out when it got dark but soon as firework night comes round she wont go out! weve just moved house and been here 2 months and she wont go any further than the back gate! she is petrified of the work man still building round here. but even when they arnt here on the weekends she wont go out. shes a pain coz she sleeps all day and skets around at night. and we didnt have a litter tray when she went out coz she didnt ever use it. she didnt go out till she was spayed and had her vacs and she just wondered around the garden and went back in the house when she wanted.

 

[BrynThePony]

Princess Jessica was kept in for about a week when we moved house and then taken for walks in the gardens with her kitty harness so she could get used the sights and smells of the new place. She was let out after about 2 weeks but only when she was starving (which is 23 of the 24 hrs in a day)

 

[Angelbones]

I kept mine in until they were neutered etc and so they knew where home was, but now I have a pet fence around the garden and they wear collars that are activated if they get too close to the boundary - first by a noise and then by a small electric shock (no worse than static off your clothes) but it keeps them in. i don't live on a busy road - quite the opposite - but lost 4 cats in a year so decided on the fence rather than keep them indoors 24/7. It works very well and I have peace of mind.

 

[Britestar]

Mine do exactly as they please. Currently one is on the table here, but hadn't seen her for 2 days before she came home this evening. She goes off hunting and get too involved to remember to come home! Usually after a couple of days I'll go out calling her, and within an hour or so shes home. As for the rest, not a clue where they are. Outside doing cat 'stuff'.
I live in the country on a farm, so they come and go. In the winter I like them to be inside at night, but if they don;t arrive at 'bedtime' then they have to stay out.

 

[fireflymac]

Ours are in all night but can come and go as they please during the day. They can get into the stables for shelter and water if we're out.