how to introduce a cat to the outdoors?.

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Is there a age range?
We have a 7 month old female cat. Would she be ok to go outside? She is very inquisitive and will often try and follow the dc out the door as yet I haven't let her as I wasn't sure she was old enough and I'd worry she would get lost but if she is wanting to venture out seems mean to keep her in? Not sure what is best.

Tia

Have you got a garden?

I would be inclined to go out with her yourself, with no interruptions, before she is due to eat, so you can put her food down by the door to encourage her to return.

If she is affectionate, walk round the garden with her. Sooner or later she will get out, so it is best that she had time to orient herself and learn how to get home.

It helps if you call her for meals so she will recognise your voice and come home.

our 6 month old went out for the first time this week. We have a brand new house and no fence yet, so we put him on a leash in case he got spooked and legged it.

he only went about 2 feet out the door, and only then when the older cat went out first! Chicken

First things first, is she neutered, microchipped & completed a course of vaccinations?

She isn't microchipped no but neutered and had her injections.

I'd get her microchipped before she starts going out. It saves a hell of a lot of heartache if she goes missing.

No one expects their cat to disappear but if it happens she can be returned to you if she's chipped.

It's usually £10-20 depending on any offers the surgery is running.

Get her microchipped before you do anything. Collars aren't really recommended for cats as they can get tangled in them.

We let our cats out at the ripe old age of 4! They have adapted well and some days don't even bother. We just opened the back door before breakfast and went outside to keep an eye on them. Did that for a week and that was it.

We have a 14 week old kitten who is constantly escaping. He is vaccinated and wearing a collar with our details on it, the vet wants to microchip him when he is neutered in a couple of months.
He is desperate to be outside and we do take him in the garden under supervision but it won't be long before he realises he can climb up and over. Do you think he would be ok if we just let him outside now as long as we make sure he is in at tea time and doesn't go out again. He just sits by the back door yelling at the moment and it's getting harder to keep him in when the DC are in and out all the time.

Not really. He's a teenager out for sex and if he goes out looking for it the chances of him getting lost/run over are quite high.

Tire him out with lots of running up and down the stairs games.

Would the vet consider an early castration?

The vet is really reluctant to neuter him early, something to do with his immune system and hormones.
It's really the fact that he already escapes at least 3 times a day but so far we've got him back without problem. We can't have a window open and if a door opens he is there in a shot. I've had cats in the past but they were always girls so a lot less boisterous. I never remember really thinking about what age they should go out, we just let them when they wanted to.really don't know how we'll cope for another couple of months though, DC play with him lots and we have a cat tree for him to climb etc but he is such an energetic little thing.

I don't tell this story a lot but one of our relatives cats got out un-neutered and was hit by a car.

It was heartbreaking to see the kids crying.

Ours went out once they were vaccinated, under supervision at first & only when hungry to make it easier to get them back. We do have a large garden without a main road too near so it felt pretty safe. Now they're outside most of the time in all weathers, coming in overnight unless they stay out in their kennel - one in particular likes to stay out in the summer. They wear collars with quick-release buckles to try to protect the local wildlife - seems to work for birds but not for small furries.