How long till she can go out?

[CatsMother19]

Hi all,

We adopted a young cat from a rescue centre just over a week ago.

She's settled in well and will happily come to us and enjoys a good cuddle and nap on the sofa.

Thing is, she's desperate to get outside, literally climbing the windows!

I feel bad that she's cooped up but don't want to let her out too soon and have her not return so, how and when do I do it?

I should also add that she was at the shelter as she was brought in as a stray though judging from her behaviour I don't think she wasn't a stray for long and probably entered someone's garden and they took her in.
She was clearly loved by somebody before she came to us.

Wouldn't be right to post without a pic of her

[thecatneuterer]

Three weeks.

[rosydreams]

4 weeks at least

[HardAsSnails]

I've always done 2 weeks.

[thecatneuterer]

OK - a longer answer: Our rescue says three weeks. In practice though if a cat is very, very relaxed and confident you can probably get away with two weeks. On the other hand, if the cat is nervous then four or five weeks, or even however long it takes until the cat seems more relaxed, is safer.

[CatsMother19]

Thank you Thecat, that's good to know! I'll be leaving it a few more weeks I think to make sure!

[DobbyTheHouseElk]

4 weeks, you don’t want to lose her. She needs to know where her home is and the scent of home. I know it’s hard, but it’s not forever. SnoreCat wasn’t bothered about going outside when we got him, but now loves it. I waited til he knew his name as well or came to me for treats. I called his name as he ate his food to make a connection. He knows his name now and it took my last indoor cat about 2 years to come to his name, but this one learnt his name quickly.

[CatsMother19]

Thanks Dobby, I'm definitely going to leave it a good few weeks before she goes out, I just feel bad when she's meowing at the door and climbing the windows!

I'm really worried that I'll loose her when she does go because of her being a previous stray so I definitely won't be risking letting her out too early, I'm terrified!

[DobbyTheHouseElk]

I did a quick 5 mins supervised outdoor time, the first occasion. Waited til foodtime and took him out before so his tummy was hungry. The rescue place advised me not to let him out initially when he had eaten, so only when he was hungry. I went out with him and walked around watching. He did panic and forget how to get home, our garden is fairly large and he wasn’t sure where the house had gone, once he saw me he then saw home so ran back in. It’s really scary when you let them out the first time.

[UnderPompeii]

Yes definitely let them out hungry, and it helps if you can sort of train them (as far as you can train a cat) to come to you when you rattle their bowl or shake the bag of dried food. When I let my two out I was very anxious having previously had a cat go missing. I may have followed them round like a bit of a loony with the dreamies packet.
Ultimately they sniff their own pathways and you just have to let them do it.
Mine were kept in for 4 weeks which seemed to work well.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Ours will be longer , our boy is very shy , he spent most of his first week under the sofa after spending his first 48 hours under the coffee table.

Our female is already eyeing up the new and snazzy cat door (locked , no batteries and not linked up with their microchips yet)


It is difficult when it's a military operation to open the back door to put washing out .
But it will take as long as it takes for them.

Mine were found living out but had been in CPL for a few months. I'm counting on the fact they are spoiled rotten and will want to come home though I think the allure of the garden and birds will prove too much for the girl