Letting Cat Outside

sailon

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Max is 6.5 years old and I have had her for the past 3.5. I know nothing of her past life. Max is a very laid back and seemingly content cat, but I live in a small townhouse and sometimes feel guilty that her universe is so small. I attempt to keep her entertained, but it still seems like a pretty limited existence to me. She has never made any attempt to go outside when I open the door. To the contrary, she won't go anywhere near the door even when I leave it open.

That is, until this past week. A few days ago I held the door open just to see if there was any interest. This time she hesitated, but then stepped out on the porch. She sniffed the air for about 15 seconds and ran back inside. The next day she ventured a little further, and the next a little further - still no more than about 20 feet from the door..Oddly enough, at least in my limited experience with cats, she will come when I call her and has run back each time.

My question is, is this really a dumb idea? Are the benefits to be gained by letting her explore new things out weighted by all the potential outdoor hazards for cats (fleas, other cats, etc.)? It would never be my intent to just let her run free, but to continue to accompany her while she explores for a few minutes each day.

Would appreciate any feedback and suggestions.
 

talkingpeanut

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Yes, it's too dangerous.  She has lived 6 years totally content inside; you don't have to indulge her and risk her safety.  You could take her outside on a harness, if anything.

I assume she is spayed and vaccinated?
 

Norachan

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Yes, it's too dangerous.  She has lived 6 years totally content inside; you don't have to indulge her and risk her safety.  You could take her outside on a harness, if anything.
 It's very dangerous, it's just not worth the risk. Outdoor cats don't usually make it to 6 years old because of all the dangers out there.

She's happy as an indoor cat so if I were you I'd keep her that way.
 

lea98

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I agree, indoor cats kind of grow up with a type of "naivety". They are not really aware of what is okay outside as it is inside. A friendly cat might trot up to an unknown cat unaware that it is looked upon as a threatening act, it could end in a fight. Unknown noises heard outside could frighten them and in a blink of an eye, even with you watching, they could disappear to hide or worse run into a nearby street. The phrase "curiosity killed the cat" comes into play when you try to add something that is very different and unnecessary to a cat's world that they had no idea existed in the first place.

Take it from me, my mother once had this kitten she had raised inside. One day she thought it would be an exciting experience to let her kitten spend a few minutes in the outside world, unfortunately my mother got sidetracked tending to her garden when she turned around there laid her kitten flattened in the middle of the street. She hadn't even noticed it had moved from where she put her last, right next to her.
 
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sailon

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Thanks very much for the quick feedback, and it appears consistent that, yes, it is too dangerous. I definitely will keep her inside.
 

daisyd

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We got a kitten a couple of months ago! We thought she was 8 weeks however when we took her to the vets a week later for her first set of vacinations it transpired she was only just 8 weeks then . We have never owned a kitten before so was not aware (nor aware ahoujd wjat until 12 weeks ). We live near a highway and also aware of dangers etc if we let her out ! She is now 4 months and seems content indoors ! We have so many toys for her and a lovely 4 storey scratch post which is better than our flat lol ! We still feel guilty keeping Her in and did once take her onto the garden on a harness (after her final vacination). However the poor little thing was so nervous and hated standing on the leaves even and jumped on my partners shoes to keep her paws off the ground . I selfishly hope she likes being inside warm and safe as couldn't bear anything happening to her
 
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sailon

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Thanks Daisy. Funny you should mention the toys. When I first got Max I went out and bought all sorts of toys for her - mice, birds, feathers, balls - you name it. To this day she won't even look at any of them, much less play with them. However, if you ball up a piece of paper and toss it on the floor, she'll entertain herself batting it around for an hour. And the $2.95 laser light from Wal-Mart? She's in heaven. Go figure.
 

daisyd

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I'll try the laser ! I bought her a remote control mouse which cane through the post looking like a big rat; needless to say she is terrified of it
 

lea98

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Thanks Daisy. Funny you should mention the toys. When I first got Max I went out and bought all sorts of toys for her - mice, birds, feathers, balls - you name it. To this day she won't even look at any of them, much less play with them. However, if you ball up a piece of paper and toss it on the floor, she'll entertain herself batting it around for an hour. And the $2.95 laser light from Wal-Mart? She's in heaven. Go figure.
Amira was the same way! She didn't know how to play with toys but absolutely loved playing with my sheets at night when they dangled to the floor. So I bought a small bottle of cat nip spray and bought her some new toys of her own and sprayed each of them and now she absolutely loves them. The spray only cost 97 cents at walmart!
 
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imaginewizard

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 So I bought a small bottle of cat nip spray and bought her some new toys of her own and sprayed each of them and now she absolutely loves them. The spray only cost 97 cents at walmart!
Whenever I spray something with catnip spray, River runs away - I think he thinks its a spray bottle :S 
 

lea98

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Whenever I spray something with catnip spray, River runs away - I think he thinks its a spray bottle :S 
Yeah the "hiss" noise from the spray frightens Amira as well if she's close by. I try to spray them in another room or if she's too busy to notice.
 
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