Young Cat and Busy Road

paulsad

Hi, bit of advice if you'd be so kind...
We're currently looking after my son's girlfriend's young male cat whilst they are moving house. He's a little sweetie but not used to going outside, problem is we live on a very busy main road, although the back yard backs onto other gardens. I'm not letting him out at the moment because of the fear he'll venture out onto the front. I've got him toys, scratch post etc. and he is good with his litter tray.
I do feel sorry for him as he meows at the back door (I have let him out with me at the back but he wants to go off exploring so I had to grab him back in).
I lost a dog a couple of years back because someone left a gate open and he followed them onto a main road.
Now I know people do have cats near roads but how do you get them to be traffic aware?

emmy05

personally i wouldnt let him out anyway, incase he gets used to being where you are, an then hes going to be uprooted back to your sons girlfriends when shes moved. if you do feel like taking him out, then get him a collar an use a lead on him. my mum did this to both of her cats round the garden, admittedly theyre more house cats but theyve gotten used to knowing their boundaries when outside.

Better_Days

I wouldn't let him out, especially as you are looking after him temporarily. At our last house we kept the cats in for nearly 3 months (long story!). But they got used to it.

We moved again a week or so ago and we are keeping them in again. They do meow a bit, but distracting them with one of those feather toys on a stick helps.

Cats just tend to dash across a road, and the busier, the more chance of an accident. I think the best thing to do is to invest in some cat toys to keep him entertained while you keep him safely in.

meritaten

yes, I agree. Keep him in for now - you can buy cat leads and harnesses quite cheaply, if you want to take him for a stroll round the garden.

Raksha

Although a busy road is less likely to be a risk than a quiet country riad, ironically, I would keep him in. If the road is busy, he will probably naturally stay away, country roads don't tend to be busy and become little threat until that one car cimes past (I've lost count of the number of cats I lost when living in a tiny village )

bluebeary

I would not let him out, other cats in the immediate vicinity have already established their territory and a new cat in that territory could cause problems, be it fights or the cat you are looking after to run from confrontation in any direction wether he is aware of roads and traffic or not


which is precisely what happened to our beebs, its best to keep him inside please

gettingready

absolutely keep him in - unless you got a very secur harness and lead for him

he is not used to going outside so he is not missing anything

cat in a new place is likely to wander off and dissapear

always advised to keep any cat in for at least few weeks in any new place anyway - will he be staying with you that long?

is he neutered/vaccinated?

catkins

I wouldn't let him out. I am not sure the majority of cats ever learn about roads and cars.

Over the years I have lost a few cats thanks to cars. This year two of my cats were run over and killed and my road is not that busy. I don't plan on having any more as I can't take the sadness and upset