Advice needed: cat afraid of everything outside!

tealady

I have had a wuss puss and the best thing you can do is let them do their own thing in their own time. If they have access to a cat flap then they can go out when they are ready. Mine took months yet once they realized that there was nothing you there they took to the great outdoors with gusto (except when it started raining!)

925dancer

I don't want to sound harsh but my concern is for the welfare of your cats.

You say the garden is a bit dangerous, there's a busy road nearby and your cats have always been indoor and yet you're trying to force one of them to go out!? They're not likely to be in the least bit streetwise and I personally wouldn't be letting them out until I cat proofed my garden so they couldn't get anywhere near the busy road.

Barring the above, leave the poor scared cat to do things at his own pace, forcing anything to do something they're scared of really does not help, it just makes the fear worse.

Lastly, get them vaccinated.

sweetsounding

Have you thought about building an outdoor cat enclosure like this
then the kitties have the safety (away from fox, bad fenses and the cars) but also the fresh air and freedom of the outside.

Oh here's also a page with loads of links to various cat run designs that i've found useful!

juliebunny

Great links sweetsounding!

I have a rescue cat who had lived in a flat for 10 years with a little old lady. It took her a year to go outside properly.

Even after a few years she prefers it if I'm out there with her. She never ever leaves the garden. I have a cat flap but she rarely uses it. It is so lovely to see her out there in the summer sun (remember that!)

Burnside

It's all a big ethical dilemma, ten years ago it seemed that you just let your cat out and that was that, now it seems that people fall into two camps - those that feel it's cruel not to let cats out and those that feel they must be kept indoors for safety. There is nothing nicer than seeing a cat roaming about in a sunny garden though.

The enclosures are a great idea but the only person that does them round here charges a fortune so I'd have to look at doing one myself. The things we do for our pets...!