What to do if she gets out again?

kayliekitty

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Our one cat Kaylie is going outside. Not my choice, but she was doing it already before I moved in. She stays close to the house, and is inside at night.
Our new cat Pomme used to live outside (in the woods and shed behind the house) until I brought her in last week. Right now I don't let her out, because she is still getting used to everything, and I have to have her spayed first. Today I came home and my bf was there with a sad face. He didn't pay attention, left the door open, and she got out. Well, I was pretty unhappy and mad (to put it nicely).
I went out with a flashlight and food, crying and cursing at the same time. We have quite a large wooded area behind the house, where I actually found her surprsingly quickly. She thought it was a game, letting me get closer, and then running away further and further into the woods. I put aside all my fears about sleeping snakes and just stumbled after her. It took me about 30 min to get her close enough to the food, so that I could get her and bring her back in.

Now my questions (I have only dealt with indoor cats so far): Did I make the whole "game" worse, by trying to follow her around the woods? My boyfriend thinks, she would have come back anyway, since it is where the food and warm places are, but I am thinking she might not know her way around well enough yet.
And, how do I handle it best to re-introduce her to going out? Since the other cat is doing it, and we often have the door open so she can go in and out, it will be unavoidable.

For now, everybody is safe inside again, even though Kaylie had her hopes up already that her new roomate wouldn't come back. She watched me from the window as I stumbled through the dark woods, lol.

Any advice would be appreciated, because this might occur again sooner than I want.

Thanks-

Irene
 

larke

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You said the first cat was going out 'not by choice'. Excuse me, but does she have her own key? I don't understand why you don't just keep both cats indoors. They will get used to it like any others do, and live a lot longer to tell about it. Why you continue to let her out just because she was doing it previously is beyond me.
 
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kayliekitty

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No, Kaylie doesn't have her own key, and we even open the door for her.
If I had had her from the beginning, I would have been the one to make the rules about inside and outside. But I wasn't, and I do accept my bf's choices about the cat he rescued a year before I came here. Btw, he also had three previous cats who went out, and all lived to be 18 years old. I am not sure if she would ever be happy as an indoor cat now, but that is a different discussion. My questions were about how I handled the situation of the other cat getting out, and if people think she would have come back to the house by herself.
 

yayi

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The decision whether to have indoor or outdoor cats is really up to you. I have no problem with outdoor kitties but I am the minority here
. All of mine are indoor/outdoor. AND they are fixed.
Like your Kaylie, they do not go far and prefer sleeping indoors at night. I believe they are smart enough or know by instinct where it is safe or where there is food

I think you should spay Pomme as soon as you can and I agree with you about keeping her inside to get her used to the surroundings. I did that to all my cats before letting them go wherever they please.
Hope I helped
 

jen

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I would think that mainly for the fact that she is not spayed, it was a good thing if you followed her around trying to coax her back in. This took her attention away from finding unneutered males in the area to get pregnant
Now since you saw her the time that she was out side, or most of the time, it is less likely that she got pregnant while outside. Although, you didn't mention how old she is I don't think...

For the record, I think she would be fine being kept indoors. At least worth a try if you are interested in trying it. Many cats go from outdoors to indoors with no problem. I don't really care which you choose, I am just saying that many cats adjust just fine. I was letting my one cat out all the time then she disappeared for a week straight two times in a row that I let her out and now I keep her in. She cries at the door a little bit when I am near but otherwise she doesn't even care.
 
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