Good idea!! The last thing you want is him being the father of the neighbourhood!!!
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At what age should we let him out?
- Thread starter zabby27
- Start Date
We live in the country, as well. Percy is a strictly outdoor cat, just because that's how he prefers to be. I tried to bring him inside, but it just didn't work out. He's been happy and healthy outside for 3 years now, but I worry about him constantly. Sophie Grace is indoors only, as was Sunni. My mom let our cats outdoors when I was growing up, and it was just one more thing to worry about with them. So, although Mr. Perseus prefers to live outside, my stance is still that I prefer cats to be indoors. You sound like a responsible pet owner. Whatever decision you do end up making will be the one that works best for you and your cats.
i didnt want my cats going out unsupervised at all but until i live in my own house (not to long hopefully
) i have to accept the fact that my cats are going to be indoor/outdoor because of my parents/siblings beliefs
I didnt let Maverick out until she was 6 months old and had been vaccinated and microchipped, and even then she only went in the garden and only when i was able to watch her (she never really liked outdoors). Unfortunatly, my parents wouldnt beleive me when i said she would run away and/or get pregnant if they let her out without my knowledge before she got spayed and you guessed it.... she ran away and got pregnant
Her son Jupiter has been allowed out since the age of five months as i was able to get him neutered early. and he is only allowed out as he is very confident and streetwise.
like with kids, i think you have to take the cats personality into consideration. if the cats timid and shy then maybe they shouldnt be let out, but if they are clever and sensible (for want of a better word) then they can cope with the outisde world.
age is also a factor. just think how old you were when your parents first let you out alone (i was about 11 i think) and try to work out what the cat equivailant is. as I wouldnt let a 6 year old go shopping by themselves, I wouldnt let a three week old kitten out either.
for me, the size of the cat and its health also factored in my decision. Jupiter is a massive bruiser of a cat so i knew no birds of prey could swoop down and pick him up. similarly Maverick was a teeny tiny thing at that age so i knew that if i let her out she would have been liable to getting lost and would be more vunerable to predators.
i think that some cats are suited better to an indoor/outdoor life and some to an indoor life only but you do have to weigh up the facts/risks. however, i also beleive the later you leave it before letting them out the better, ideally around 8 months. and i always make sure my cats are in at their curfew of 10pm and do not leave them out at night.
I didnt let Maverick out until she was 6 months old and had been vaccinated and microchipped, and even then she only went in the garden and only when i was able to watch her (she never really liked outdoors). Unfortunatly, my parents wouldnt beleive me when i said she would run away and/or get pregnant if they let her out without my knowledge before she got spayed and you guessed it.... she ran away and got pregnant
Her son Jupiter has been allowed out since the age of five months as i was able to get him neutered early. and he is only allowed out as he is very confident and streetwise.
like with kids, i think you have to take the cats personality into consideration. if the cats timid and shy then maybe they shouldnt be let out, but if they are clever and sensible (for want of a better word) then they can cope with the outisde world.
age is also a factor. just think how old you were when your parents first let you out alone (i was about 11 i think) and try to work out what the cat equivailant is. as I wouldnt let a 6 year old go shopping by themselves, I wouldnt let a three week old kitten out either.
for me, the size of the cat and its health also factored in my decision. Jupiter is a massive bruiser of a cat so i knew no birds of prey could swoop down and pick him up. similarly Maverick was a teeny tiny thing at that age so i knew that if i let her out she would have been liable to getting lost and would be more vunerable to predators.
i think that some cats are suited better to an indoor/outdoor life and some to an indoor life only but you do have to weigh up the facts/risks. however, i also beleive the later you leave it before letting them out the better, ideally around 8 months. and i always make sure my cats are in at their curfew of 10pm and do not leave them out at night.
I always used to let my cats be indoor/outdoor cats. Then a couple years ago I lived in a duplex in a neighborhood overrun by strays. Every few months there were a few more new litters of kittens, and it was of course my life's mission to catch as many of the babies as I could, domesticate them, and find them new homes (where they would be spayed or neutered). Good thing my landlord never came around to see that I always had 3 or 4 cats at any given time, lol! Two of them were mine, and when they were out I always worried ( I live in a small town, virtually no traffic in my neighborhood, but still...). So the strays I kept indoors until they were adopted. Then when I moved where I am now, the apartment policy is cats must be kept indoors. I still wasn't sure about that- won't they miss being outside? But I agreed, and my life is much more stress free cause I don't worry about the cats! Though I will be replacing the screen door when I move here soon- I never could break my other cat Gizmo from climbing the dang thing
This next place I may be moving into wanted me to keep my cats outdoors. Oh, no way. I spouted all the dangers of having them outside and praised their wonderful behaviour, and so lucky for us they changed their no cats indoors policy!
It was then that I broke it to them that I also have 5 kittens..... LOL
I always had indoor/outdoor cats, and I live in London ! So even cities can be safe, allthough I wouldn't be too sure if I would be living in inner London, where there is just roads and no gardens. I guess, I wouldn't have a cat then.
They aren't seen as strays here, plenty of Pet Cats about, but I have never seen a ferral one. No one would just take a cat in here, thinking it is a stray.
As to predatory animals? In the UK the only think we have is foxes, and the city foxes and the cats don't tend to bother each other. The foxes normally ignore them. We do get the odd Badger, but I have never seen one in this street, they normally stay in the parks. As far as I have counted, we have 6 cats in this street, they are all indoor/outdoor cats. They are all fine.
As to letting them out, it depends on your garden really. Mine has a 6ft fence all the way round. Easy for an older cat, but the little one can't get over it yet (allthough he could climb up the tree), and he doesn't seem to be interested yet either. He tries to stay close to the house. He isn't really that interested in going out yet either. Just for running off some steam, then he comes back in. I waited until he had his first lot of vaccinations, possibly should have waited for the second lot, but he was miaowing in front of the door so much, I gave in (since he is allowed out, he isn't bothered anymore, lol).
I guess the safest advice would be to wait until they have had their second lot of vaccinations. Waiting until they are they are neutered seems a long time as that doesn't happen until they are 6 months old ? 3 weeks definitley sounds too young, especially if mummy cat isn't with them, as they have a habit of getting themselves into impossible situations. And the local Tom-Cats may take an unhealthy interest in them as well.
They aren't seen as strays here, plenty of Pet Cats about, but I have never seen a ferral one. No one would just take a cat in here, thinking it is a stray.
As to predatory animals? In the UK the only think we have is foxes, and the city foxes and the cats don't tend to bother each other. The foxes normally ignore them. We do get the odd Badger, but I have never seen one in this street, they normally stay in the parks. As far as I have counted, we have 6 cats in this street, they are all indoor/outdoor cats. They are all fine.
As to letting them out, it depends on your garden really. Mine has a 6ft fence all the way round. Easy for an older cat, but the little one can't get over it yet (allthough he could climb up the tree), and he doesn't seem to be interested yet either. He tries to stay close to the house. He isn't really that interested in going out yet either. Just for running off some steam, then he comes back in. I waited until he had his first lot of vaccinations, possibly should have waited for the second lot, but he was miaowing in front of the door so much, I gave in (since he is allowed out, he isn't bothered anymore, lol).
I guess the safest advice would be to wait until they have had their second lot of vaccinations. Waiting until they are they are neutered seems a long time as that doesn't happen until they are 6 months old ? 3 weeks definitley sounds too young, especially if mummy cat isn't with them, as they have a habit of getting themselves into impossible situations. And the local Tom-Cats may take an unhealthy interest in them as well.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #26
Madpiano, your Bubbles looks exactly like my Kiddie!!! (except Kits' isn't quite a month old yet... in a few days).
I wouldn't let him out now, of course... but after the really cold weather months (I'm in Canada, we'll hit the -20, -30 a few times!). I'll have time to assess his instincts.
We don't have predators here either... No foxes around, no big birds so I'm really not worry about that.
I love seeing my cats playing outside, they have a blast! And frankly, it gives me a little break when they're out of my way in the house!! lol Especially when I'm sweeping! And a great advantage of having them out is that they shed alot of their fur outside...
I wouldn't let him out now, of course... but after the really cold weather months (I'm in Canada, we'll hit the -20, -30 a few times!). I'll have time to assess his instincts.
We don't have predators here either... No foxes around, no big birds so I'm really not worry about that.
I love seeing my cats playing outside, they have a blast! And frankly, it gives me a little break when they're out of my way in the house!! lol Especially when I'm sweeping! And a great advantage of having them out is that they shed alot of their fur outside...
I let mine out, but not till they are spayed/neutered round 6 months of age. Then they are big enough to be seen easily by me and to be more sensible. Before that I take them on walks to get them used to the surroundings.
Lets apply this nugget of wisdom to real children.
If cats don't enjoy going then why do they want to. The only thing on this list that is worthwhile is item 1. Except when you live in an area with land there are very few cars and roads.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #29
Where I am in Ontario there are predators; foxes, coyotes(who recently almost mauled to death my in-laws' neighbours' jack russell) and raccoons... I'm probably just super-over-protective of my cats.... hmmm, wonder what kind of mom I'll be when I have kids...Originally Posted by zabby27
Madpiano, your Bubbles looks exactly like my Kiddie!!! (except Kits' isn't quite a month old yet... in a few days).
I wouldn't let him out now, of course... but after the really cold weather months (I'm in Canada, we'll hit the -20, -30 a few times!). I'll have time to assess his instincts.
We don't have predators here either... No foxes around, no big birds so I'm really not worry about that.
I love seeing my cats playing outside, they have a blast! And frankly, it gives me a little break when they're out of my way in the house!! lol Especially when I'm sweeping! And a great advantage of having them out is that they shed alot of their fur outside...
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I live in a rural area as well. We have four acres. i used to let my cats outside, but the area is changing. Last year, we lost five cats- mostly to vehicles.
I only have two die-hard ferals that don't come into the new cat enclosure. Everyone else stays in the house or in the enclosure.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #32
I'm so sorry Hissy for your loss! 5, that's terrible!!! Knock on wood, I've never lost a cat that way, although when I was a child, my cat climbed into my dad's car motor (we didn't know) and my dad turned on the ignition....
Melsa, where abouts are you?? I'm just outside of Ottawa. I've never seen coyotes around but when I drive through the forest (about 3 km away) sometimes I see a fox. We have occasional raccoons but it's rare in town. We have skunks though at times...
Melsa, where abouts are you?? I'm just outside of Ottawa. I've never seen coyotes around but when I drive through the forest (about 3 km away) sometimes I see a fox. We have occasional raccoons but it's rare in town. We have skunks though at times...
Zabby - I live in Southern Ontario, an hour from Toronto...
