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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be really worried about my cat out in the snow all day?

30 replies

fayc84 · 20/12/2010 10:45

My lovely little kitty decided playing in the snow seemed more fun than coming in for breakfast this morning (I let him out before giving him food so that he is more likely to come in swiftly - we dont' have a cat flap so he is indoors while we are at work). I had to leave early to allow extra driving time to get to work on horrible slippy roads and asked hubby to make sure the cat was in. He claims to have spent 20minutes calling for the little shit bundle of fluff but with no sign of him he too left for work.
It was -8 degrees when I left and up to about -5 now I think. The cat has been out since 7am and neither of us will be home until at least 6pm. I am so worried he'll freeze out in the snow all day. I hope I am being unreasonable and he will be fine - please someone reassure me!

OP posts:
tyzer2001 · 20/12/2010 10:46

He will be fine and dandy - cats have a very strong sense of self preservation and he'll have found a shed or similar to curl up in. Don't fret.

mollymole · 20/12/2010 10:59

why don't you have a cat flap

ShatnersBassoon · 20/12/2010 11:02

He'll find somewhere comfy to hunker down until you get home. He'll probably have a second home you don't know about anyway...

nomoreheels · 20/12/2010 11:05

If the weather round yours stays stable then I'm sure he'll be ok for a day. Just be prepared to feed him LOADS when you get in - my two seem to have a doubled appetite after they've been out in the snow for a while.

I second getting a cat flap if you can though. It's taken a while for our two to get used to it, but it's made our lives a whole lot easier. Plus, of course, they can get in or out if they need to when we're not there.

Original poster
fayc84 · 20/12/2010 11:08

Hubby refused to have catflap fitted as he didn't want to 'ruin the door'. It's a plastic/UPVC type door so wouldn't be easy to do anyway.
Hubby was less than sympathetic to my concern, stating 'he has this thing all over his body called fur you know'. Sure he will be fine but I just worry for my daft wee kitty - it's bloody cold out there!

OP posts:
IfYouCouldWouldYou · 20/12/2010 11:10

He will be absolutely fine, My cats are prone to wandering off just before bedtime or will let them out in the morning and they will be out for hours.

One of mine was out all night last night and temps were about -6, Granted we don't have snow but still so cold.

My neighbours have 2 cats that are never in they are put out all day whilst owners are at work then are let in for food and put back out at night no matter what the weather is.

Cats are quite resiliant

IfYouCouldWouldYou · 20/12/2010 11:13

A Cat flap is quite easy to put into a upvc door we cant have a flap as the doors are Metal made to look like wood!!!

LisaD1 · 20/12/2010 11:16

he cat flap is the way forward! We have plastic/UOVC door's with a fancy pattern at the bottom, found a lovely builder who fitted the cat flap for £30 and has done a lovely job.

PS - am sure cat will be fine today, will just want extra food/cuddles later.

Goblinchild · 20/12/2010 11:16

Is there anywhere outside you could make him a safe place to snuggle down?
We have a catflap into the garage, our cat is scared of it and never uses it but several local cats use it as a waystation.
Ours prefers the wooden box fill of hay and ragged blankets in the logstore.

ethelina · 20/12/2010 11:19

Word of warning about cat flaps. Last thursday my tabby AKA The Ginger Moron went out sometime after we had gone to bed. I remember hearing a bang/thud around 3am-ish as I was feeding Boy, thought it was probably Neil next door as he is prone to getting in very late, and went back to sleep.
DH got up at 6.30am as per usual, went downstairs to feed the cats and only the Snowshoe was there. Cue opening of back door and shivery ginger idiot pathetically mewing at him with a large cut across his nose, and an accompanying bloody stain on the catflap. Turns out the flap froze during the night and he couldnt get back in. Shock Sad
Since then I have been locking the flap with them in at night.

pawsnclaws · 20/12/2010 11:24

When we first got our (rehomed) cat (sadly no longer with us) he was pretty elderly, and DH was determined to make life comfortable for the poor old boy.

So he fitted a catflap into the house and a second one into the back fence so that the cat could get through rather than jumping a six foot fence into our enclosed garden.

Cat sat and watched with interest while DH sawed away at the garden fence, and then the minute DH said "done it" he sprang up and jumped the six foot fence with the energy of a kitten.

Moral of the story - cats are tougher than you think!

MeowyChristmasEveryone · 20/12/2010 11:25

As long as your kitteh doesn't have any underlying health problems, is particularly young or very old, he'll be fine.

Our 4 yr old male and 5 yr old female are still going out regularly but our 10 yr old diabetic wee little thing tells us in no uncertain terms that she ain't going out "there"!!!!

nomoreheels · 20/12/2010 11:27

If you have a UPVC door, check with a glazier whether they can install a flap for you.

We have a back door that's a double glazed unit with glass panels - it was very expensive to sort out unfortunately! £85 for the microchip cat flap, and £100 for a new glass panel with a hole cut to size before the glass was toughened. If we'd had a standard door then it wouldn't have been as expensive. Unfortunately you can't cut into existing glass.

Still worth it though... no more wake ups at 4 am to be let out, less mithering in the evenings as they can come and go as they please. Plus I feel better knowing that they could get out if anything happened to the house while we were out.

Original poster
fayc84 · 20/12/2010 11:37

Oh, poor Ginger Moron.

I will definitely look in more detail at getting a cat flap and not take hubby's moaning about 'ruining' the back door. I had suggested a flap into a brick outhouse we have in the back garden but husband didn't like that idea either because he doesn't want to encourage cats into where he keeps his motorbike.

Hopefully a day out in the cold will teach him to come in when he's bloody well called for! Doubt it though, cats are too stubborn for that really.

OP posts:
Goblinchild · 20/12/2010 11:39

His motorbike?
Does he think they are going to form some sort of Hell Kitty club?

MadAboutQuavers · 20/12/2010 11:40

As it's daylight, I'm sure he'll be fine.

HOWEVER - this is a warning to all those who think that him being "covered in fur" is enough in whatever weather, and that cats can cope with the cold no matter what.

My mum's next door neighbour had a cat who she let out every night, regardless. In the last cold snap it was minus 5-6 at nights, and he was still left out all night, until one morning when she opened her front door to call the cat, only to find him frozen to death on the front doorstep. He was only about 5 and in perfect health, but obviously couldn't cope with the prolonged exposure to very cold temperatures.

Please, please, please don't leave him out at night whilst it's this cold, no matter what your DH says!

Goblinchild · 20/12/2010 11:41

Their paws can get frostbite too.

ethelina · 20/12/2010 11:42

Precisely what does he think will happen to his bike then?

Hell Kitty Club Xmas Grin

Ginger Moron is fine btw, he slept all day attached to heating pipes in the utility room and grudgingly accepted many fine morsels of ham/cheese/milk in apology.

Original poster
fayc84 · 20/12/2010 11:51

We did name our cat Rossi after the MotoGP rider so who knows?! Xmas Grin

OP posts:
frostyfingers · 20/12/2010 12:03

Our cats are out at night as a rule - they have 2 cardboard boxes, lined with vetbed and with an old duvet over the top as a roof. Generally they are out at night, all weathers. However, we have 6" snow and it has been down to -15 here so they have been in, but will be going out again as soon as we reach the giddy temperature of just below freezing.

Bearing this in mind, do you think they'd be alright if it's still this cold at Christmas? My current arrangement is a neighbour in to feed them and the cats are to stay out - but I'm not sure that 2 nights out are a good idea.....

LollipopViolet · 20/12/2010 12:08

Hell's Kitteh's! :)

Seriously though, a cat flap would be ideal. Agree with others about bringing the cat in at night and locking the flap though. I don't own a cat, but do feel sorry for them when I see them out wandering in the snow :(

Lizzywishes · 20/12/2010 12:53

Cat will be fine. Ours goes out for hours in below zero temps. They all have little hiding places to keep warm in. I don't have a cat flap either - couldn't bear all the dead mice he'd bring into the house. They're bad enough on the doorstep!

frostyfingers · 20/12/2010 13:32

I missed out the fact that the cat's boxes are inside a hay shed, and off the floor, with hay bales around them as well. They should be warm enough, but I'm just not sure....!

SchnitzelVonKrumm · 20/12/2010 13:34

Is it a black cat? It's round our house being doted on by DD1 Grin