anyone with a pedigree kitten/cat who has started to let it go in the garden?....

[jeanswithatwist]

we have having done our best to 'cat proof' it. and tbh, it melts my heart to watch her. she only goes out there when i am there and i tend to keep a close eye on her although she doesn't seem interested at all in what is going on beyond the fences. The fence at the end is high and either side is netting (from previous owner) covered with very high over grown ivy (old garden). still nervous about her getting out although she doesn't climb/jump,not even indoors really, pretty lazy cat. spends most of her time lying down lazy bugger

My little Devon Rex has been going out into our tiny courtyard for a year now. He hasn't once jumped over the wall, even though he's very athletic and good at climbing and can jump vertically. I'm glad about this because even though he's very intelligent, he has no common sense, iyswim, and is very trusting and friendly. He likes to point his nose in the air, to smell the breeze, but that's it really. On the other hand, my moggy goes over the wall to venture further afield, but he knows how to look after himself.

I've put a quick release collar on them both, with a Loca8tor tag on it, just for my peace of mind really. I lock the catflap when it's turning dark and keep them in until morning.

Nerve-wracking, isn't it!

hi rubbish mantra yes it is stressful but am still really glad i have taken the plunge, we all are. i worry about her getting out the front, she knows nothing about cars/roads not to mention the possibility of someone pinching her. i looked into the loca8tor things. do they show you where your cat has wandered to on your computer? so ie if mrs mills in the adjoinging street pinched your cat, it would show where 'tiddles' last walked??? i ask this as i guess if someone took your cat, the first thing they would do would be to take the collar off and bin it. i bought a collar for ours (one that undoes easily) although have yet to put it on her as i don't really want to, she is chipped although that is only useful if someone takes her to the vet and even then, vets don't really scan them do they?..... i really worry about this, sorry to waffle.......fortunately, she doesn't seem that bothered about going out. aside from about an hour of utter madness, she spends most of the time sprawled out doing nothing...

With the loca8tor, you walk around, spinning in slow circles, pointing the receiver. People usually avoid eye contact or cross the street when they see you doing this. It really helped me out when MCat our moggy was hiding, too terrified to move during a gale last winter. But they don't show where your cat's been, just where it is. GPS trackers are the ones that show you where your cat's been. Bring on the day they develop trackable chips.

I live in a relatively crime-free area, so I don't worry about them getting nicked so much. How is it where you are?

If she doesn't show much interest in what's beyond the garden, then she may just be a little home-body.

My Burmese go out when I am at home with them, they respond to the beepers on their Loc8tor tags and come home when called (providing are within range). They tend to check in every hour anyway and come back to do all their wees and poos in their trays. They are very athletic and do explore further afield, jump fences, climb trees and walk on top of garages. I think they tend to stay within a few houses distance and mostly our garden and next door (neighbours love them). They were not enjoying being cooped up in the house (stress cystitis, sleeping too much) and are now awake all day and crash out at night- they are loving chasing bees and sniffing the air, hiding, chasing each other, practising hunting (one brought me a mouse the other day looking very pleased with himself). They seem to stay together most of the time and one is best friends now with neighbours cat (who is a 12 year old bruiser who has fought with every cat he met) so pops over to hang out with him too. They're almost a year old now. They seem to have the same street smarts as the moggies in our road so I don't necessarily buy that pedigrees are inherently 'different' in regards to this. They are very friendly which is probably the main risk, but then so are lots of the moggies around here. Our road is fairly quiet and I've blocked their access to it and crime is low. I'm sure your cat will be very enriched by experiencing the outdoors in a safe way, I can't make quite such a safe garden for mine (I worry about accidents, foxes, poisoning) but the difference it has made to their lives and they seem so much happier it makes the risk worth it. I literally could not have kept this energetic breed happy and well inside (and I am at home most of the week and played with them a lot). Sorry for essay...

We let our bsh out when she was 6 months old. We have a sureflap cat flap which I used to leave on free release all day and night until she started bringing back 'gifts' in the night so now she is grounded at 11!

She doesn't seem to venture too far, think the fact that she is not very agile and can't jump helps with this.

I know lots of people with pedigrees and none of them are housecats. At the end of the day the fact that they are pedigree wouldn't cause you any less turmoil if they went missing than if it was a moggy. Also how much is a stolen neutered pedigree with no paperwork worth anyway?

Two of my cats are pedigrees.. Maine Coons and not overendowed with brains!
Ophie stays int he garden.. I think she has gone out twice.. and scuttled back. She's timid and a home girl.

Obie on the other hand... sigh. He has a 'round' of about 6 houses where every neighbour knows him..and luckily like him as he likes to go in their houses and snooze! (He got trapped on one for 5 days recently and the owner was on holiday.. that was awful) I suspect he also wanders a fair distance. But he always pitches up..usually comes when called and I accept the worry as a trade off of him being a cat who likes to go out.

I try to get him in at night but he doesn't always come. But he's always at the back door in the morning, slopes in eats breakfast and goes for a nap! He's pretty spectacular as a huge MC but for me, I couldn't keep them inside as I like doors open in sunny weather and I think it's a bit of a sad life for indoor cats (my personal opinion only I hasten to add!)

i live in east london. nice enough area but it is going down hill, sadly. local paper is full of violence apparently (so the paper says) done by people from surrounding rougher areas. lots of posters up for missing cats. whilst previous cat used to meow by the back door to be let out, this one never does that, doesn't stay out long when she does go out. as with code, she seems to spend most of the time sniffing things or chasing flies! both of which are great to watch..really. dd has a VERY small stupid paddling pool (for fun), cat likes to dangle her paws over the edge and drink the water. my other cat was very pretty (not a pedigree), noone stole her and she used to wander off, just been told by other owners of peds not to let them out (although i always knew i wouldnt' keep her in, hate animals in cages). my friend who lives in next street has a lovely cat, comes home regularly with somone elses collar (they take hers off and replace it with one of their own) WTAF . if you want a cat get your own bloody cat, how hard can it be. i picture an old lady enticing the cat in with treats and then not letting it out, it happens. i love my cat to bits and would be heart broken if she vanished

I have 4. 2 moggies and 2 bengals. They all go out between 8am and 6pm, earlier when it gets darker earlier. The cat flap locks between these hours. We live in a safe quiet lane surrounded by fields and trees to climb. The 2 bengals are well known round here and my neighbours look out for them. They both know my neighbours and regularly wait in my front garden and escort the neighbours home being very vocal about it. 2 moggies too lazy and just veg out on the garage roof.

there's someone at the top end of our street who has a bengal that for years has roamed freely outside, good to see he is still here. just caught my cat half way up the loft ladder!! tricky ladder to climb so am impressed although quite shocked as didn't know she could do that. won't be able to leave the loft ladder down now. would have been a NIGHTMARE if she had got into the loft as we are end of terrace and no idea what nooks and crannies there may be up there for her to hide/get stuck in, even possible gaps into neighbours lofts

Our cat likes a stepladder to the loft too, the hatch is off in the hot weather and he is most annoyed I wont supply a ladder so he can poke about in the loft.

Health and safety means nothing to cats.

Hiddenhome cat proofed her garden, it didn't seem to cost her a fortune either.

Maybe you could PM her?.

I have one moggie and one bsh. Like umiaisha the bsh never goes very far - although she follows DH to the corner shop I wonder if it might be a bsh trait that they're home bodies. Both our cats roam freely.

thanks for the tip fluffy but dh won't have the garden catproofed properly (by a proper cat proofing company). one of his reasons is that he is concerned if a cat came into the garden it wouldn't be able to get out. he has a point as we get lots of cats in our garden, easy to climb a fence and jump over the inward leaning metal fencing but once in, not easy to get out. we will take a chance as it is, i certainly don't want one of those mesh box run type things like a rabbit hutch

We hope to one day do this with our garden but until then our cats stay inside. Our family cat was hit by a car last year, & sadly even though we live in a gorgeous rural village there are always cats going missing & things going on - I wouldn't want to risk it. There have also been some particularly sinister events happening to cats in the neighbourhood lately that are just too grotesque to go into - unfortunately in my eyes the world isn't a safe place for cats & uuntil I can provide a safe place for them outdoors they're staying in :(

GoooRooo - is your BSH not very agile as well??!! Ours can't/won't jump on my kitchen worktops which is a real bonus!

umiaisha she's 8 so a bit slower than she used to be but she can jump next door's fence okay. She likes to 'hunt' moths and bring them into us with the moth still fluttering in her mouth shudder

She would never jump on the kitchen counter and neither would the moggy - they'd get booted out the back door.

And... she hates going outside when it's raining. She will literally go out the cat flap, poo right there and then come back in. We have to be careful to check the doorstep before we go out! She never goes that far from home.

We let our 2 Burmese out. They pretty much stay within 2 -3 gardens either side of us, and we prefer them to be in at night, although one is currently out (probably in the neighbours who seem determined to steal adopt her).