Any cat whisperers about?!

[girlindevon]

Can anyone offer me any advice about my cat?

Bit of background - we have three, 2 boys and one girl and have recently moved house. The two boys are going out of the cat flap regularly and spending time outside. The girl cat is very anxious and will not spend a lot of time outside. She'll go out if I go out with her but if I just put her out the most time she'll spend out is 10 mins, and she'll dash back inside, scared by outside noises. She won't go to the toilet outside so I'm back using litter trays again.

Where we lived previously we had her from a kitten and she was a very outdoors cat, out all the time, and no litter trays for 5 years.

Does anyone have any tips as to how to make her more comfortable going outdoors? We have only been in the new area for 5 weeks, am I expecting too much too soon, particularly for a nervous cat?

Thank you!

I think you might be expecting too much to soon. I'm sure she will come round at her own pace, particularly when Summer comes.

If she seems happy enough inside for now, and has a tray, I would leave her be.

Great thank you - I did wonder if it was a bit soon

Bless her. I would say give her time too. It's a big change, especially if she's only really known one home. Could be worth trying Feliway? I've never used it myself so not sure if it's worth the money or not.

It may help settle her if you bury her poo in the garden rather than disposing of it in the bin. That way some of her 'smell' will be around when she goes out.

It's early days - particularly if there's any hint of strange cats out there - and the weather isn't conducive to roaming or sitting out. If she's using her tray inside fine, I'd just let her adjust at her own pace. She'll likely be at the door soon enough when the spring sun comes.

Good luck to her anyway.

Ooh that's a good idea re. poo burying - I'd not thought of that. Feliway's an idea too - thanks