Inside/outside Dilemma

[Hinglish]

Hi. I have a 7 month female cat (spayed). So far she's been an indoor only cat and we have a cat tree, scratching post, large windows for her to look out of, interactive toys etc. Over the last 2-3 weeks she's become increasingly vocal to the point where it's starting to cause me some anxiety. I think she's bored. I posted somewhere else on here about getting her a friend which we're considering but because she's being so loud we're a bit nervous about having double the noise!

We live in a roomy second floor apartment. There is no external door so the stairs up to the flat are totally open all the time and she would never be trapped outside the building. I think she would gain a lot from getting outside but I'm worried about if she would come back! Do you think a cat would be able to find its way back up two flights of stairs to the right apartment to be let in? The alternative is leash training....but I'm terrified she'll just go berserk over the Harness....

 

[tabbytom]

Hi Hinglish, your cat may sound bored but I don’t think you should read into it by saying to let her out.

Being indoors is safer than being outdoors even though she is spayed she may not get pregnant but she may get hurt by being run over by vehicles or attacked by other wild animals or fall into the hands of cat abusers and you’ll never see her again.

Have more interactive play time with her. She is still a kitten And is still very active at that age.

I don’t want to have doubts or scare you about her spayed surgery. Sometimes they may miss out one ovary and the poor kitty has to go back for another surgery and if that’s the case, which I hope not, she maybe in heat and thus being more vocal.

Please keep her indoors.

 

[Elfilou]

Try the leash first I'd say. And the companion if you want to. But in the end you're the one to decide what's best for your cat and your lifestyle.

 

[riley1]

Wow, 7 month is very young! Before trying outside or even a harness make a commitment to play with her every morning and every night for 30 min. Really get her going to the panting stage, give her a few minutes to recover and then start again. I adopted a one year old Siamese mix,, the shelter thought she was two. For 3-4 months she wanted to play for hours. If I did not play with her she knocked everything off the counters, tables, etc. Eventually, she slowed down.

About the harness: My first cat was 5 years old when I got him. He had never been outside but I thought is would be a fun thing to do. In the beginning it was. Then every summer he wanted to be outside everyday for 4-6 hours. I took him out a lot because he just lived for it. You don't walk them, they walk you. They like to sit under a bush for hours waiting for a mouse to come by. They want to hunt, not walk down the sidewalk. Not all are like this but just a word of warning.