Been in our new house for 4-weeks - thinking of letting cats out tomorrow.

[EmmbadTheBad]

Well that's the plan anyway, although I'm very apprehensive about it!

We have two male cats - one is 6 and the other is around 3. We haven't moved with them before. They do seem to have settled in more the past week or so (apart from being a bit stir-crazy) so I'm thinking that it's probably now or never!

Just wondered what other people's experience is of this?

Just make sure you go with them. Stay close by, talking to them.

Do it for ten minutes just prior to their dinner time.

Do you have a call to dinner? I used to bang the dish with a spoon to call my cats in at night?

Or rattle the biscuit box?

Basically..only let them out just as they are about to be fed, and then make it clear its time to come in and be fed.

Do this each day, until they are out for half an hour, and, then you'll get a sense they are settled and you can relax.

Good advice, thanks. I didn't really think about just letting them out for a short time each day - I had it in my head that once they are out they are out!

Heh heh. Baby steps! Hope it goes well. They will enjoy sniffing around!

Good luck!

We had one when we moved; he's a tart sociable, and hates being cooped up. I bought a lead and harness, and straight away started taking him out for half an hour every night up and down the culdesac much to the amusement of the neighbours, then after 2 weeks we just let him out on the Saturday morning. I called him back every 10 mins or so shaking the Dreamies, then left it longer and longer. He was fine.

We then inherited our friend's cat. We kept him in for 4 weeks, but that was as much to do with him getting to know us. No way he would wear a harness, so we just let him out and called him back with Dreamies. He's much more of a homebody, plus we figured he could follow his brother's scent if he wandered further.

I put fluffycat in a pink diamante harness when he was young. It didnt go well.

He looked so cute in it too.

Update. It didn't exactly go to plan but it worked out okay!

The older cat, Charlie was fine - spent 15 mins happily sniffing round the garden and then back in again.

Milo on the other hand disappeared almost immediately though a gap in the back fence into the neighbour's garden. We caught the odd sight of him after that - sitting on other people's sheds and jumping over other people's fences but he wouldn't come back no matter how much we shouted or waved the Dreamies at him. He eventually came back around two hours later with a puffy tail and a glint in his eye.

Very good! Nice to hear milo found his way back. Pleased with himself!
Sounds like they're doing really well, settling in.

We moved in mid-July; after two weeks in the cattery (move plus holiday) and two in the house we let the cats out.

Cat1 was straight up onto the 6' high side fence, I worried whether he'd be able to get back up from the alleyway - but no, he jumped over the alleyway and down into the garden of a neighbour we've never even seen. Then his brother jumped onto the same fence, leaped the other way onto our kitchen roof and promptly got stuck. Then one of them wandered into someone else's garage, again someone we've not actually seen (we share a drive with two houses, and boundaries with another two houses plus the alleyway, but have no conventional 'next door neighbour'). Basically twenty minutes of us wandering around after them going 'OMG what are you doing now?!'

Emma glad to hear it all went well. When they want to be off exploring, there's not much you can do. Just keep the Dreamies on hand

Sorry Emm, got gotted by auto correct