Do 11 week old kittens forget that they were outside only?

Hello,

I am a mother of three kids and one female cat, and I have a question I was wondering if you could help me with:

I'm looking into getting a kitten that has been raised outside, or actually in a garage, but handled a lot and very sweet and cuddly. My concern is that I would like it to be an indoor only cat. One reason is that we had two indoor / outdoor cats and one disappeared, which was so very sad for all of us. The other cat we have tried to make indoor only but as calm of a cat as she is, she became a sneaky thing that was impossible to keep from escaping out. So she is still indoor / outdoor, unfortunately, but at least we're in a remote area. That does not take away our concerns with her though, as there still are many dangers out there. That's why we want a new one to be inside only.

So now that this kitten has been outside (and inside to play now and then), will she forget about the outdoor if she is only inside from now on? Or is that already too late? How about the fact that she'll see our other cat go out? Will that pose a problem?

Also, how about a different kitten that has never seen the outdoors before; will it still want to go out because our older cat does that?

What are your thoughts on this?

PS! Please don't be too hard on me for letting our other cat out; we have truly tried and with our three kids it has become impossible to keep her in. The harder we try, the more desperate she get. We love this sweety of ours immensly and we're doing what we believe is best for her and all of us. I hope you understand. (She is spayed and claws intact, by the way, incase you were wondering.)

One of my cats, Millie, was pretty much an outdoor cat all of her life. The person who we adopted her from kept her in her garage and allowed her to go outside whenever she wanted. When we adopted her we thought she was going to cry and cry to go outside, but she didn't. Today she is indoor only and never cries to go outside.

Every cat is different though. If you want an indoor only cat, just adopt one that has been raised indoors.

Ling was born outside (barn) and we took her in at 5 weeks old to start weaning/training. For about 4-5 months she still would try to get out (did a few times). She's 2 yrs old, and doesn't try to get outside anymore.

But there always is the possiblity, so we keep an eye on exactly where she is when opening the door. And when bringing in groceries we lock both cats in the basement till the food is all in.

I'd keep an eye on her and discourage her from hanging around the door. Because of the possibility of getting out, be sure she has all shots up to date and is wearing a collar/tags or is microchipped.

3 examples:

A friend coaxed a 2 year old, completely feral cat into his house. She is perfectly happy to be indoors only and never trys to get out. She is still feral, however.

Same friend took in an approx 6 year cat that had been living in his backyard for a year. This was probably a cat that had been dumped. He is perfectly happy to be indoors only and never tries to get out.

Another friend adopted a neighbors cat that had been outdoors only for approx 7 years because he couldn't stand her being left outside all the time. She is perfectly happy to be indoors only and never tries to get out.

Of course there are plenty of examples of indoor cats that constantly try to get out. I just wanted to let you know that it doesn't have to be "Once an outdoor cat, always an outdoor cat."

Originally Posted by mschauer

3 examples:

A friend coaxed a 2 year old, completely feral cat into his house. She is perfectly happy to be indoors only and never trys to get out. She is still feral, however.

Same friend took in an approx 6 year cat that had been living in his backyard for a year. This was probably a cat that had been dumped. He is perfectly happy to be indoors only and never tries to get out.

Another friend adopted a neighbors cat that had been outdoors only for approx 7 years because he couldn't stand her being left outside all the time. She is perfectly happy to be indoors only and never tries to get out.

Of course there are plenty of examples of indoor cats that constantly try to get out. I just wanted to let you know that it doesn't have to be "Once an outdoor cat, always an outdoor cat."

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Great!! That's wonderful to hear! I know too, of cat's who try to sneak out all the time, but it's good to know it doesn't have to be that way.

Thank's for your replies!

11 weeks I think is young enough that you should be okay. We took in a stray at 4-5 months old and she never wanted to go outside again

Both of my cats ALWAYS try to sneak out any time the door is open, we are very careful. One was outdoor only until 12 weeks the other was only indoor his whole life. So I guess it doesn't matter. I will say the outdoor only cat is really bad about it and even cries at the door sometimes.

Here are my examples:

My little feral boy was rescued around 11 weeks and he never tries to get out.

My 3 y/o female was indoor/outdoor when we adopted her (she was almost a year old) tried to get out a few times when we first got her but not any more.