should I let my cat outside?

eminemfan001

Hi all just looking for some advice. I got a cat in november from the cats protection league and were told she would b perfect for being an indoor cat. About a month ago she snuck outside into our inclosed garden and now she has got a taste for it! She is always meowing at the backdoor and wanting out but im too frightened to let her out in case she never comes home

Should I take the leap and trust her or hope that she forgets about it soon? Am I being cruel keeping her in, I only want to keep her safe!

hillcats

Let the cat out on an empty stomach for the first time, it'll return when hungry... Don't worry it'll be ok.

mandi

I agree let her out , sure enough she will go off to explore , but will come home .

Person_one

What are the roads like near your house?

I don't have cats, but I'd be more wary if there's a dual carriage way or a high speed train line at the bottom of the garden.

Horseunderwater

She will be fine. She knows where you live and where her food and cuddles are. She has been with you since November and most cats like the outdoors. Let her have some natural cat fun. You never know she may bring you a present as thanks. So be prepared for a mouse. May take a while. Is she a young cat or an older one. If younger then she will learn to hunt and do what a cat knows it can do. Once she has her scent in the garden she will always know how to get back to you. They scent is placed by paws, rubbing of side of mouth against stuff and lastly but not least by a pee or two here and there. Tis called ownership. And if you any grass then leave a little bit to grow juicy leaves as they like to eat grass - it is a natural curative to get rid of hair balls. And yes they do need it from time to time.

valk_scot

Is she chipped? Does she have a collar with an ID disc? She needs both if she's going to go out. Is she spayed? Does she have her jabs up to date? Is your garden relatively safe...as in if she goes over the wall, you're not next to a motorway or anything dangerous?

Also I'm curious as to why the rescue suggested she should be an indoor cat. Some cats carry latent diseases (FIV?) which are harmless to themselves but mean they shouldn't be allowed out to spread it to more vunerable cats. It's normally recommended they be kept as indoor cats only. Nothing like this in her case?

But if all the above is satisfactory then by all means let her out. It's usually best to keep her in at night as that's when most car accidents happen, plus there are foxes etc. So feed her the main meal in the evening and then close down the cat flap till the morning. No cat flap? It's better to have one that you can set up in a number of different combinations of in and out and which is triggered with a magnetic key on her collar. Otherwise she'll always be on the wrong side of the door, according to her.

VoucherMan

If she's anything like mine then she only wants to go out because she can't!

Mine stand at the door nagging to be let out. Most of the time they just go out, have a sniff around then come back in about a minute later.

As valk_scot says - it's usually recommended to keep them in at night though.

Dumbe

If she is a young cat that has previously been allowed out before you got her and your area is safe then let her out if you feel comfortable.. If you are worried let her out only when you are home and keep an eye on her ..

If however she is an older cat or has any type of disabilty that would affect her e.g deafness that has never been out she may not have the knowledge to handle outside .. Maybe in that case consider an outdoor cat run so she can experience the sun etc. but is safe

What reason did the cats protection give fopr recommending her to be an inside cat?

Ilona

My cats don't wear collars and are not microchipped. They go out all the time, I get them in each night as it gets dark. I have a cat flap which you can set to 'in only', they come in when they are ready. No point in going out and chasing after them to try and get them in, they only run away. Your cat should be alright, should be spayed if it came from CP.
Ilona

peachyprice

Please don't put a collar on her. There's a far greater risk of her getting strangled or injured by a collar that there is the likelihood that someone would be able to catch her to read the disc if she got lost.

eminemfan001

Thanks for all the replies! She is healthy happy spoiled cat with no health issues. Her jabs are up to date and she is microchipped but wont wear a collar without distroying it so I woudnt force her to wear one. We asked cats protection league for an indoor cat because we are in a rented house and cant have a cat flap. We are about a 2 min walk from a very busy road where lots of lorries pass through.

Our garden is inclosed so the only way out is through a gate but im pretty sure she could sneak through it. She gets biscuits left down all day for her to nibble on and a pouch of wet food in the morning (recomended by cats protection!) so if I was to let her out should I keep her food up the night before so she will be hungry before I let her go? Going to try and let her out on my next day off so I can spemd the day catching her if I need to!

Hope I amswered everyones questions!