Are your cats allowed out at night?

[EvansAndThePrince]

My cat was an indoor cat for his first two years but is allowed out now, with the weather we've had his window open until late and it's the only time he goes out! We give him supper at 10ish and he comes home for that and I lock the window but I think he would prefer to be out.
He lounges about the house through the day as it's noisy outside (understandable) but has access outside if he wants it.

I live in a cul-de-sac that's very quiet at night, and the closest road is quiet at night too but he tends to go the opposite direction.

I'm not sure why it makes me so nervous, maybe because I can't keep an eye on him and worry that he will go too far and get lost as he's only ever been as far as the gardens nearby.

My cat is allowed out at night because I know he doesn't venture very far and the cat flap is a microchip one, so no intruders can follow him in if he needs to bolt. Before we got the microchip flap he would be locked in at night.

I might start locking him in again since I found out he thinks nothing of going next door in the middle of the night, in through their cat flap, and howling until someone wakes up and acknowledges him. Then he comes back home.

Mine is still a baby but she won't be allowed outside at night.

My childhood cars weren't allowed either.

It's not just cars (and visibility is shite at night) but foxes too

no, mine have to be in!

I used to let my first two out, but they were proficient hunters and it was just like the Killing Fields of a morning....little mouse corpses under the kitchen table, dead birds under the bed! Very rarely a day went by without some offering! I think we stopped it when we moved, there was no cat flap so it was much easier to curtail their marauding habits.

So the cats I have now are not allowed out overnight, they get fed late on in the summer, and no more outside!

My boss Cat would be furious if I tried to keep him in at any time. In winter he did stay in most nights but now the weather is better he is out much more

No she's got to be in by 8 or she gets grounded and her pocket money docked

No. Never. Statistically they are much more likely to be injured. Be that road accident or foxes etc about.

Absolutely not. If mine is still outside when I go to bed I go out into the garden to fetch her. She isn't always happy about it but tough titty.

She's black, I worry about her getting pancaked on the road at night...

Ours is as otherwise he'd just shout at us all night and he's ridiculously loud for such a small thing.

Mine has never been allowed out at night but I'm even more keen on keeping him in as it appears the London cat killer has struck near me a couple of times recently

We have a microchip catflap and try and remember to turn it to in only at bedtime but don't always remember. However they show no inclination to go out once we're in and I don't think they go out even if we forget. I must admit I don't actually check they're in, but they always seem to be.

We get her in at night; our street should be quiet and has a 20 mile limit, but in fact is busy with idiots piling down it at silly speeds.
The cat is pretty stupid, but I love her and I don't want her squashed.

He is a white cat so I don't worry too much about visibility and I'm almost 100% sure there's no foxes around here. Never heard of one being seen certainly. There are lots of cats around here that do go out at night and none seem to come to any harm. And yes, he shouts at us and is VERY VERY loud.

Having said all that we never let my childhood cats out at night.

But he will not go out in the day time.

I'm torn!!

Our first 2 (city) cats had a free reign and lived to ripe old ages. Our next 2 got killed on the road outside our house within 6 months of moving to the sticks. Our current cat has a curfew and has to be in at dusk. She has started to bring herself in at this time which is very helpful.
I couldn't go through the trauma of having someone knock on my door to ask if I had a cat again.

Nice Cat is allowed out because she stays in the garden, mostly, and i trust her to make sensible life choices. Sometimes she goes in or out via my bedroom window during the night.

Horrible Cat is shut in the sitting room overnight because he's a pain in the arse if he's allowed up to the bedrooms, and he's not allowed out because he's a dickhead who gets stuck up trees and picks fights with everyone.

Dcat1 stays out in nice weather, in bad weather I wait up until she gets home so I can let her in. I've blocked up the catflap to avoid dead things being brought in.

I do let mine out at night because they have made it clear they want to but at the same time I'm not mad keen as I agree they are more at risk at night though in fact the only time in 20 years we have had a cat injured it was outside in the early morning not in the dark as such.

i am laughing at sensible life choices ...cos Faerie is like than too, regal, queenly, SENSIBLE! ...but her idiot brother is really not

He thinks playing chicken in the road is The Best Thing Ever, so because of that he is grounded of an evening. We're fairly rural and the neighbours know of his foibles so it's fine during the day.

nope, the one who does go out, is never out for long, and i always call her in before dark, i don't tend to let her out after 6pm, but in the summer, if the back door is open she comes and goes, but i will shut it at some point, with her inside.

the 9mo kitten hasn't been out yet at all, but we're getting a lot of missing cats and someone is abusing them, couple have turned up having been deliberately kicked to death, missing limbs...etc.

I'm not exactly raring to let either of them out unsupervised right now!

Nope. She was a house cat for 4 years when we lived on a building site new development. And now we've moved to a quiet cul de sac with surrounding quiet roads she is allowed out in the day but I wouldn't trust her at night. She's too daft and would end up being eaten by a fox or something

Jesus Maddy that's horrendous!

No, we don't let ours go out at night.
Mainly because there's a higher risk of accidents, but also because they have been known to catch birds and mice in the daytime, so I'm assuming they would do so at night as well. I don't fancy coming down to birdmageddon in the morning. But mostly I'm terrified of the cats being killed or hurt in a road accident - it's my worst nightmare.

If you started shutting your cat in at night I'm sure he'd start going out during the day. They adjust.

Neither of mine are allowed out at night, if they are in the house by 5/6 then cat flap gets locked until morning! With the lighter evenings technically we could let them stay out for longer but I am rather scared of them not coming home one evening!

Little Cat spends most of her time sat on the windowsill looking longingly outside (right next to the wide open cat flap) anyway so not so concerned about her but her mum can disappear for hours on end. As soon as it starts getting light in the morning she's miaowing at us demanding to be let out!

maddyHatter that is awful! I'd not want mine to go out unsupervised either if that was happening in my area.

No way. She was allowed out at night after she was first spayed, but she got injured fighting, and, while the insurance covered it, it wasn't worth risking it again. She actually knows to come in at dusk and if she does get out you can tell she knows she shouldn't be!

Is your cat microchipped, OP?
Just noticed that you mentioned being worried about him getting lost.