To think my cat doesn’t need to be locked indoors for 2 weeks before I let him out?

[Latinorapida]

6 year old cat. Been outside his whole life. We’ve moved into a new place and poor thing has been cooped up in a flat for 2 months because our new place wasn’t ready yet.

Everywhere online says to wait 2 weeks but he’s desperate to go outside.

Can I let him out?

Yes- let him out
No - wait the two weeks

@icedcoffees

Oh get lost. If it was that irresponsible, something bad would have happened. It hasn’t.

That's not really how risk works though, is it?

Just because your cats have never gone missing while camping, doesn't mean you're not taking a big risk each time you take them.

It really depends on the cat. I don't think anyone can comment without knowing the individual cat and it's characteristics.

One of ours follows us on walks for almost a mile away from the house and back again...she's probably the most intelligent cat I've known (and with fostering I've had a LOT of cats). She's very road aware and a very calm, cool headed animal.

I wouldn't attempt to do that with one of my other cats who is average cat intelligence and more anxious/skittish.

One of my neighbours (on seeing me, DH and cat on our walk) said she used to take her cat on hikes in the mountains with her DH.

We've taken cats out in new garden with harness and lead for a sniff about first, after a few days in when we've moved. As a PP said, ensure microchip is up to date 🐱

Stupid question but is he stimulated? I have an indoor cat (live in a flat and she had a medical condition) and shes never once even tried to go outside but she is well stimulated. She has two scratching posts, loads of toys, we play fetch with her every day and she has a laser pointer we get out for 20 minutes every night before bed. She also hides around corners and jumps out to scare us etc so she’s not just moping around. I think people forget that cats need this kind of play too.

I wouldn’t risk letting him out before he’s used to your home but if you’re not actively playing with him then I would be making an effort to do so multiple times a day.

Our rescue cat escaped out a window in the first week we got her and luckily was just in the garden and from then on was desperate to be back out, I think we managed ten days with a lot of dreamies on hand to tempt her back in if needed

@AntiSocialDistancer

The amount of local Lost Cat posts I see on social media are mainly from people who've moved house and who's cat has "slipped out" and doesnt know the area. Your cat's already used to staying indoors, another couple of weeks cant hurt

Keeping your cat in for 2 weeks helps it know the area how? Most lost cats are rehomed cats and are trying to get back to their previous owner, not address.

We never did that and our cat moved countries twice! Having said that when we first moved into a new house he did go missing for a few days, we were sure though that we could hear him. We checked every corner of the house, inside and out put couldn't find him. After three days OH suddenly sat up in bed and then ran downstairs, he opened the cupboard under the stairs and lifted the trap door, out jumped a very hungry, angry moggy. He, OH, had looked under the floor when we first moved in.

When we moved we let the cat out after 2 days. All fine.

I have done the buttered paw thing. I always thought the idea was they lick the butter, and think "hey, this place could be alright."

We got a gps monitor for our cat, it’s an awesome piece of kit!
www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/tractive-ikati-pound%3Bgps-cat-tracker-pound%3Band-pound%3Bactivity-monitor

Guess it depends how much you want to keep your cat 😂

Get a Feliway diffuser. Really helped my nervous cat.
He did a runner after a week, but came right back and slept under the diffuser.

I moved recently, I think we made it to day 2 or 3 before all 3 managed to get out, but I'm glad to say we still have all 3! We only moved across the road.

Two weeks is a reasonable rule of thumb, but if your cats are really bouncing off the walls I would consider letting out before then. You could always go with an RF/gps tracker to start with.

And the idea that you would take your cats camping is batshit crazy...

@IcaMorgan

If you want to risk it then put butter on his feet first, it will leave a trail he will follow home

That's a common belief but not actually true, please do not do this!

Too early to let the cat out, but if it's used to going outside it's probably mostly lacking the stimulation it normally gets from being outdoors.
Has it got plenty to entertain itself? A cat tower overlooking a window for example? Perhaps a bird feeder in the garden so it can watch "cat TV" while it's still shut inside? Plenty of toys? Puzzle feeders are quite good if they're used to hunting.

Just a thought but could you walk him on a harness outside . That way you sort of help him find the area.
Like I say it was just a thought

Buttering the paws does nothing to cause a trail to follow, since cats have scent glands in their paws anyway that will do the job.

The point of buttering a cats paws was that as soon as you put the cat down outside, it would sit and wash its paws, rather than dashing straight off and getting lost.

The idea was that in the time it takes to wash all four paws off, the cat takes in their surroundings and realises this is 'home'.

Tis bollocks of course. Spend time with your cat in the garden ideally on a leash and harness, lots of treats in the garden, make the home stressfree, litter boxes in several places even if your cat normally goes outside, Feliway diffusers etc etc. Try to make sure they know where home is and how to get in before you let them off.

It is a good idea to establish a routine feeding time so that your cat comes back at the same time each day too.

I was advised not to use a harness to introduce a cat to the outdoors unless they were already used to harnesses - otherwise you just risk stressing it out which defeats the object.