When to allow cat outside?

seafarers_wife · 29 July 2011 at 7:05PM

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 · 29 July 2011 at 7:10PM

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 · 29 July 2011 at 7:17PM

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 · 29 July 2011 at 7:19PM

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

mrtobs · 29 July 2011 at 7:23PM

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 · 29 July 2011 at 7:26PM

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 · 29 July 2011 at 8:49PM

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 · 29 July 2011 at 8:53PM

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 · 29 July 2011 at 10:14PM

Remember he will miss you as much as you miss him

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

seafarers_wife · 29 July 2011 at 10:38PM

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 · 30 July 2011 at 2:39PM

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

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When to allow cat outside?

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