Letting a cat out

chocdonuty

Hve you had him neutered yet? It's not really advisable to let him out if not. uneutered toms wander further in search of a female, get in more fights which can cause nasty injurys, not to mention getting any uneutered females pregnant!
I have three indoor moggys and they will stay that way simply due to the risks of being let outdoors of which there are many, this does of course also depend on the area you live because of the different types of roads and local area ect

Money_maker

Also handy to train to come to a whistle. Treats in a box make a lovely noise but a whistle will travel further.

Haffiana

Mine have always been allowed out after final vaccinations. They get neutered when the time is right for that - it doesn't have anything to do with them going out or not.

In my experience neutered cats wander just as much as un-neutered ones - I have had several cats kept as Toms, and have never once had a problem with them, although I read constantly on pet forums about their wandering, fighting and spraying etc etc. Mine never have, but then, I actually have Toms, and the other posters don't appear to.

I live in a suburban London street. In my entire lifetime of living in London and having cats, we have only ever lost one to a traffic accident.

It seems to be a fairly recent thing, keeping cats as indoor cats out of choice, rather than for the obvious reasons that the cat lives in a flat or on a really major road. I have a friend who has a couple of indoor cats, and I have to say they seem perfectly contented. She has a couple of cat 'trees' in her sitting room that I suspect my cats would probably agree to stay indoors for!

Around here the outdoor cats are a mixture of moggies and pedigrees. I don't know if it is a London thing, but people seem happy to let their valuable cats out rather than keep them in. There is the most stunning young pedigree Bengal in my front garden as I am typing this. However I agree that some pedigrees seem to have had their caution and common sense clean bred out of them, and I would hesitate to let such a cat out unless I lived in the middle of a field.

As regards this time of year - I would say it is the PERFECT time to let a young kitten out. A good cold rain shower will ensure that they come back promptly! And, importantly, there are no baby birds to distract them.

Iain_L

Haffiana wrote: »

Mine have always been allowed out after final vaccinations. They get neutered when the time is right for that - it doesn't have anything to do with them going out or not.

In my experience neutered cats wander just as much as un-neutered ones - I have had several cats kept as Toms, and have never once had a problem with them, although I read constantly on pet forums about their wandering, fighting and spraying etc etc. Mine never have, but then, I actually have Toms, and the other posters don't appear to.

Haffiana,

I have to say I find this very irresponsible. It's not you who will have to deal with the entire male cat sitting on your window ledge trying to get at your young female inside, or worse still the kittens from an unwanted mating.

Do you ever get your entire toms checked to see if they are carrying FIV?

Iain

Haffiana

Iain, I live virtually next door to one of the largest RSPCA animal hospitals in the UK. They will confirm - there are almost no unspayed females in this area. You cannot get a kitten here even if you want one.

And no, my cats do not carry FIV. The test is a simple one.

chocdonuty

How on earth do the RSPCA know the neutered status of all the local cats???
If they believe almost all are neutered it just goes to show that it is the right thing to do anyway.
Tom cats can be a nuisance and you have no idea what they are up to whilst wandering, especially if they are the ones who come off better in a fight.

sniffles

Points of view are exactly what they are. I was an idiot 40 years ago and left my Tom unneutered, and the Siamese cat breeder across the road admitted to poisoning him (it was the '70's).
My cats go out in the morning after the school traffic has passed, and when they come in they stay in.
I lost a cat to a fox when I allowed him out at night, and even worse, we had a cat killer who took them home, tortured and buried them. He was found out and given a prison sentence. So no, my cats are in after 2pm.

geri1965_2

My male cat was neutured when he came to me, as he came from a rescue, but I wouldn't have allowed him out otherwise - I agree that it's irresponsible.

I've had two females and they were both spayed before being allowed out.

KateBob

Yes he's now neutered, just over 2 weeks ago to be precise. He's also chipped.

I don't know if neutering prevents spraying or straying but I do know that it will prevent unwanted kittens and him making a nuisance of himself to female cats.

He needed a rest after his first adventures.

CreditCrunchie

Glad your new kittie had fun outside today It's very nerve wracking letting them out at first, and you do often wonder if you're doing the right thing. But I think of it as if they enjoy being outside who am I to stop them? It's more natural and more fulfilling for them. I do however neuter/ spay all my cats, and I make sure to live away from main roads. I think this is the least I can do to try and keep them safe. Whenever I move house I keep the kitties in for at least 6 weeks, preferaby longer unless they're tearing the house down by that point! Then I will let them out in the garden one by one for maybe 5 mins each then bring them inside again. The next day I'll do the same and for a few days after that. Then after about a week I will let them all out together foran hour or so. But I supervise and try to keep them in the garden only. I usually find after this they're pretty confident and ready to start exploring further x