When to allow cat outside?

seafarers_wife

and how to allow him outside?

Jinks is coming on for 18 months old and has always been an indoor cat, mainly because we were planning on moving within the immediante vicinity and didnt want him to get used to one "home" so we've now moved into our new house where we will be for the forseable future. Been in this house about 2 months now so i think its safe to say that this is now known as his home.

How do i go about letting him out? he has had all his jabs and has been neutered and is chipped, he has been out breifly with me in the garden but when i bring him in he yowls like anything to go out and he isnt a true indoor cat if that makes sense, he is definetly wanting to be out and trys to make a run for it if the door is open.

this is going to sound stupid but i dont want to loose my baby, how will he know this is home and how will he know to find his way back to me?

thanks

geri1965_2

They just know - just open the door and let him out, he probably won't go far at first as he will need to get his bearings and make sure it's safe. I used to panic like mad if mine didn't come back, but Jimmy is very often out for 12 hours at a time. God knows where he is or what he is doing!

Sagz_2

Skip a meal and then let him out when he's really hungry, call him in after a few mins and give him a really tasty treat, then let him out again. Keep doing the same with the length of time outside getting longer and longer.

My cats are trained to come in when I call them, or if they are being a little 'cat-minded' when I rattle dry food in their dish

Try not to worry too much OP, I'm sure your fella will be fine.

tanith

They find their way home don't worry he'll be fine...

mrtobs

There's a section on the Feline Advisory Website about moving & when to let them outside - it reckons a couple of weeks www.fabcats.org/owners/moving/info.html so you should be fine - as you say, he's chipped & neutered. We've moved a few times with ours & have usually let them out within a couple of weeks. They are both girls, but my parents have taken various cats (usually male) on holiday with them over the years (in the caravan, not abroad!), let them out and never had a problem, though I know that's pretty unusual! Only thing I would suggest is trying to keep him in at night (if possible) as the vast majority of traffic accidents with cats happen when its dark. Jinks is obviously raring to get out & explore his new territory! Good Luck!

laurel7172

He'll be fine-he knows where you are and his dinner is. Leave the door open on a nice day and let him explore. He's far less likely to bolt when he knows you aren't going to bring him back until he's ready.

We let our nervy rescue cat out after just a fortnight because not being able to go outside was making her so distressed. Our hearts were in our mouths, but we walked around the garden with her in our arms, then we hung around the garden while she explored at her own pace..and then we let her go. She's out there hunting now, lol. Definitely an outdoor cat, but she knows where home is.

*doodle*_2

He will be fine. It's us who need looking after when they first start to go out - I was a state when mine first went out. They just know where they live and how to get home.

rising_from_the_ashes

Sagz wrote: »

Skip a meal and then let him out when he's really hungry, call him in after a few mins and give him a really tasty treat, then let him out again. Keep doing the same with the length of time outside getting longer and longer.

My cats are trained to come in when I call them, or if they are being a little 'cat-minded' when I rattle dry food in their dish

Totally agree with this, leave it a few mins the first couple of times and then slowly build up - always a wee treat when he comes back.

My wee cat especially has fantastic "recall" (often much better than the dog:rotfl:), the older one is also good if he's within earshot, however, he's a hunter so he's sometimes out having too much fun!

vervin

Remember he will miss you as much as you miss him

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so he will come back to see if you have got lost !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

seafarers_wife

thanks, nervous mum here :rotfl:

ok so first priority is get the cat flap fixed (he broke it the other day trying to defend the house against another cat) and then start to let him out when im home during the day. best get some nice treat food ready for when he starts to go out.

butler_helen

oh my gosh I have the same worries and mine aren't going out for at least 2 months or more, because they're very tiny. They do come back though, I have had several cats and they really do know where their home is. Although all of them have gone walkies too far and spent a night or two away - never again after that though.

good luck and have some very tasty treats ready