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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

House cat has had a taste of outdoor adventure...

20 replies

MissPricklePants · 01/04/2014 21:16

My lovely rescue has been with us for 8 weeks. Totally pampered puss and has been happy indoors, my dd left the backdoor open and puss went out and over the fence! after an hour she came back. Now my issue is the CPL stated she must be an indoor cat as we live in a built up residential area (not majorly busy traffic wise but a couple of busy roads nearby) so should I keep her in? or allow her some outdoorsy freedom! She went as far as 2 doors down and explored the gardens. Advise me please!

OP posts:
Lweji · 01/04/2014 21:18

The problem is that she is likely to start exploring further and further.

I can't really let my cat go for walks as we live in a flat, but we have a leash for cats that we use to get him out and about sometimes.

Original poster
MissPricklePants · 01/04/2014 21:26

I tried her on a harness, she hated it!! I don't want to do the wrong thing if that makes sense. She seems happy indoors, she is not fussing to go out and is now laid on the sofa. I don't want to keep her in nd make her lif depressing nor do I want to let her roam and end up with her getting killed/lost.

OP posts:
Floralnomad · 01/04/2014 21:32

You cannot make a cat that wants to go out be an indoor cat as you would never be able to open a window . My mum has an indoor Ragdoll ,he is 12 in May and he doesn't want to go out ,he sits next to open windows and has never attempted to go out . I think you are going to have to let her out and just try to get her in at night .

Original poster
MissPricklePants · 01/04/2014 21:52

That's my thinking, if she wants out she will find a way out. She lived as a stray for a while so was on the streets. She is snoozing now. When would be the best time to let her out? I have an outhouse which I can put a comfy blanket and stuff if we aren't in as I haven't got a cat flap. I'm out 8-4pm with school run and work.

OP posts:
Dancingdreamer · 01/04/2014 21:58

Let the cat out. It's unnatural to keep an animal inside.

We have a cat which we also had on the understanding she stayed inside. She suffered from all sorts of stress issues. Our vet eventually advised that we let her out and she was transformed. We live near a very busy road but we only let her out at the back of the house and she doesn't seem to stray near the road. Apparently neutered females do not wander far.

Fluffycloudland77 · 01/04/2014 22:02

Can you have a microchip cat flap? I think the fancier ones can be programmed to say lock them in at a certain time. When I lived near a busy road the cat was in until I got home or until after rush hour on days off.

Summers an exciting time for cats, lots of things to chase.

Original poster
MissPricklePants · 01/04/2014 22:02

She is neutered and chipped. My previous cat was outdoorsy but I inherited him from previous owners and lived in a much busier area. Hmmm it's a tricky decision to make.

OP posts:
Original poster
MissPricklePants · 01/04/2014 22:03

Oooh good idea fluffy!

OP posts:
Fluffycloudland77 · 01/04/2014 22:04

No one ever says that to me in rl.

Blithereens · 01/04/2014 22:15

I don't have a cat flap and I just don't let them out if I think they won't be back by the time I leave the house/go gives. You'll get used to her pattern of going out and coming back, and be able to plan it. Still nice for her to have a outside shelter too, of course! But I try not to shut mine out if I'll be gone longer than an hour.

Blithereens · 01/04/2014 22:16

Go gives??? Go to bed!

ItsSpringBaby · 01/04/2014 22:26

I don't think you can really have either 'indoor' or 'outside' cats. We have two non-blood related, totally different personalities (13 and 14) and when they were kittens/young men all they wanted to do was explore. We kept them in, because we lived in a flat and eventually the house became their territory.

They are now scared to go outside, but one does take about 20 steps to have a sniff around every now and then. They're both neutered which probably makes them a bit more docile, but they seem happy enough.

ItsSpringBaby · 01/04/2014 22:29

I also personally think with the risk of infection, fighting with other cats, foxes etc. and if there are high chances of them being run over it's better to keep them inside. But it really depends on where you live.

craftysewer · 01/04/2014 23:19

When we got our kitten I was adamant that I wanted her to be an indoor cat due to us living on a busy road. However, she accidentally got out and that was it, she wanted out all the time. So I used to let her out the back door but if she looked down the passage way at the side of the house to the road I used to shout 'No' at her and shoo her into the garden. Up to now it seems to have worked. I still catch her looking at the road, but I've never seen her go down the passageway yet.

umiaisha · 02/04/2014 14:23

Our BSH goes out, contary to the advice of the breeder.

We have the sureflap pet door thingey. She is in and out all day but never stays out for longer than about an hour and has yet to stray further than our neighbour's garden!

sashh · 03/04/2014 08:36

I'd wait until it is warmer. In the summer my cat's favorite place is either just outside the backdoor in direct sunlight (she seems determined to get a tan) or just inside the door looking out.

It is possible to allow supervised time outside.

Original poster
MissPricklePants · 21/04/2014 13:05

Well we had supervised time outside which has progressed to unsupervised, the furthest we have seen her is next door and the huge bush at the back of the house. She stays out for about an hour, but if I want her in sooner she comes back when she hears the dreamies packet. She seems very content, and although I am nervous it is better for her to be happy rather than cooped up. 7pm is curfew though!

OP posts:
cozietoesie · 21/04/2014 13:08

It's not surprising - summer is here, the insects, small animals and birds are a-doing, the sun is shining and there are lots of smells and noises about. It could be a different matter if there's a serious rain storm or when Autumn comes. (Be warned - you'll likely be blamed for that.)

Fluffycloudland77 · 21/04/2014 13:16

Someone on here has a cat who comes home when he hears the plastic lid being taken off a pot of cream.

Personally I think that cats a genius.

KatieKaye · 21/04/2014 13:26

I lived in a tenement flat on the (then) A1 and cat 1 was allowed out into the back green when I was at home. I'd go out into the stair and do a tongue click noise, which echoed sufficiently for her to hear and come trotting in! She never ventured out front onto the road. Moved onto small estate and continued to allow cats 1 and 2 out when I was at home, calling them in with the tongue-click or a special whistle (theme from the Sooty Show!). Cat 3 was adopted at age 7 and had been a house cat all his life, so carried him out to the garden for short periods till he got used to being outdoors - he never wandered far at all. Poor little cat 4 was killed at the corner of the street (a cul-de-sac with a small primary at the bottom) by a foul parent who was driving far to fast and left his body lying in the gutter. I was going through a divorce at the time, cat 3 had died a few months before and this just about destroyed me, because I was very fragile.
Ironically, after having 4 cats trained to come to me, I have a dog who has virtually no recall at all!

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