Question for those who have cats out all day

geri1965_2

If you are at work and your cat is going to be out all day (no cat flap or whatever) do you leave food down for them, or do they wait for you to get home before being fed?

I am worried about leaving Jimmy when I go to work, OH thinks I should leave food out so he doesn't get hungry. I think it might be better to leave him without food until I get back, so I know he will come when I get in from work.

My only slight worry is that without access to food he might start going to other people's houses, or run away (he is a rescue cat - ex stray).

We have a catflap but he won't use it.

tosker

I am a bit puzzled as to how you know he spends all day outside, if there is a cat flap - how do you know he doesn't use it?

I would not put food outside for him as you would have no way of knowing if another cat had got to it before him - water is more important

tizerbelle

tosker wrote: »

I would not put food outside for him as you would have no way of knowing if another cat had got to it before him - water is more important

And you do not want your garden to become the local feline mcdonalds!

Water and shelter (from sun / rain) is a must. If he's fed in a morning before he goes out and then fed when you return from work he will get into a routine and he'll be at the back door before you finish opening the front door.

Fed or not, he may well go visiting other people (and pretending he has never been fed, ever, by anyone, ever). It's a cat's way.

Does he actually know how to use a cat-flap? Have you considered using a stick or something to prop the flap up (while you are at home) so he can get used to the idea of coming and going through it before figuring out how to cope with moving the flap and getting through it. One of mine still insists on push flap to get out but on way in, you push the flap with your paw, when it rocks back to the outside, you hook your paw under it, then put your head under and climb through. So push out, pull in - she's an eccentric cat.

shinytoaster

Make a shelter for him and invest in more catflap training. Mine weren't allowed out until I could see for myself that they could use it. I refuse to open the window or door to let mine in and out when they have a door of their own. Tbh, my cat flap is only locked on bonfire night and NYE so they come and go as they please. Be firm and he will soon learn.

geri1965_2

tosker wrote: »

I am a bit puzzled as to how you know he spends all day outside, if there is a cat flap - how do you know he doesn't use it?

He's not at the moment because my OH is here to let him in and out, but he will not be around soon so Jimmy will have to be either in or out when I leave for work until I get back home.

We know he doesn't use the cat flap as he is petrified of it. If he wants to go out when we are in bed, say, he comes and whacks us to get us up to open the door!

geri1965_2

He has a kennel in the garden so there is shelter for him. Part of the trouble with the cat flap is that it's through a wall, so it's effectively a small tunnel with a flap at either end, so quite a lot to learn.

butler_helen

my ex-feral cat is fine all day outside, he comes home because knowone else is mad enough to feed him so well! Even on a full tummy he cat burgles those silly enough to leave windows open (I'm a regular apologiser with lint rollers and wine!).

flower24

mine stays out all day out of choice sometimes, he always comes back though and enjoys a lovely cuddle with me every evening

MissPoppy_3

We leave our cat outside all day as we don't have a cat flap and she is fine. We have a routine of feeding her in the morning and then calling her in and feeding her when I get in after work.
We have a cat kennel for her but she only uses it when she is desperate as the local tom cat decided he liked it too. As other people have said leaving food out is a big no no, we have never left food out.
I think the best thing you can do is try and get your cat into a routine early as we did with ours. When we first got her OH wasn't working so she could come and go as she pleased but when he found a job for a few weeks before he started he would shut her out for increasing lengths of time to get her used to the fact that she would be locked out for a while but she would learn she would be let in eventually.
Don't worry he will get used to it.

Lil_Me_2

We don't have a cat flap, and when we put ours out for the day we put water but no food. They have a little cat house for shelter, but they don't use it :doh:

tizerbelle

geri1965 wrote: »

He's not at the moment because my OH is here to let him in and out, but he will not be around soon so Jimmy will have to be either in or out when I leave for work until I get back home.

We know he doesn't use the cat flap as he is petrified of it. If he wants to go out when we are in bed, say, he comes and whacks us to get us up to open the door!

LOL! I'm not sure that proves he is petrified of it. It may just be that he considers you his slaves and you should (and do) open and close the door on command.

If it's a tunnel cat-flap then you definitely need to have the flaps on either end propped open initially and tempt him with food to go into the tunnel / through it and sit in the middle eating a pile of food. This is so he gets used to the confined space. Then have just one flap closed so he can get used to that and finally both closed. It's hard work training them to a tunnel cat flap but the advantage is that other cats are less likely to let themselves in to your house than with a regular door cat-flap.