Advise please RE moving house

[littlemissM92]

Hi everyone we have a 5minth old kitty he hasn't been outside yet and hasn't been neutered but will be done in next month including microchipped at same time. We are due to move house in ne t couple months so will keep him in til then as we live on a busy road. Can you advise me on how long to keep him inside new house before letting out and what to do about losing litter tray? Thanks in advance x

Can't really help on the moving house front, though I would guess at a couple of weeks or so?

We're going to be letting our 5m old kittens out next week for the first time, and intend to keep both litter trays indoors. We're going to try and keep them in overnight/after dark though, so we couldn't do without a tray anyway.

Good luck!

I would say about 2 weeks then go out with them the first few times for about 10 mins till they gained confidence.

We have 7 cats
We did have 8 but one got run over and killed. We now keep 5 out of the 7 of them in doors. They have mad 1/2 hours charging around the house and enjoy watching TV. 1 is very elderly and although we let her out in summer she never goes off the decking. Another 1 we let out only goes out for 10 mins at the most and never leaves the garden. She is supposedly a feral cat who seems to prefer hot radiators and cuddles to the great outdoors

Good point we won't be letting him out after dark / overnight so will keep the tray no probs. I'm scared when we let him go he will just run off ?!

We bought harnesses for the first ventures out after our kittens had been spayed. We opened the door and let them lead us around as they investigated. Did this a few times. Then opened the door and watched them. Then we put a SureFlap cat flap in and let them roam free.
I'd give it a couple of weeks in the new house before taking them out.

I'm scared when we let him go he will just run off ?!

It's something of a leap of faith isn't it?

I'd planned on taking the approach suggested by Poltergoose. Monday morning is Release Day for us :)

With the exception of The Lodger - who knew the locale better than we did - I've always gone outside and pottered around the back on first release. I have a feeling - without scientific foundation, I fear - that the sight of you in the outside somehow 'fixes' the house in their memory a little. (Perhaps your smell also helps.)

It still hurts when you see that tail disappear over the garden wall though.

Great advise I did think about letting him go out before his tummy was full he comes to his name and rattle of food already so that's good and yes probably to cat flap although the new house has a very large area of shelter and he will only be out through the day x

He looks pretty keen to get out there

Two weeks has been fine for adult cats I've rehomed from a rescue. For a young cat still finding his way around I'd probably keep him indoors for a bit longer. I kept two kittens indoors for three weeks but when they first went out they had me with them (no harness), with my ancient neutered tom nursemaid cat who'd taken to them like he was their mother. I just opened the kitchen door and let them find their own way out.

I used wood pellet cat litter but for a few days before they started going outside I added some garden soil to the tray so they'd get used to the feel of it. When they first went out I put some of the used litter in a sheltered spot so they could get used to using the outside facilities without being exposed to the wildlife straightaway.

That looks like a great environment for a cat! I'd be on the lookout for rabbit gifts if I were you. If you haven't had that joy yet, they're easy to catch and return to the wild, much easier than a mouse or a shrew because they freeze when they're frightened and you can get them into a box to carry them outside. Generally my cats don't kill them, they lose interest when the rabbit freezes so cat wanders off and forgets about it. There's chance then of the rabbit surviving if the poor thing hasn't died of shock already.

This is current house we haven't moved yet it's all just going through but he's desperate to out!

Our recommendation (homing charity) is three to four weeks.

It all shows in the pose, doesn't it! The angle of his body, the tension, staring out of the window with his ears pricked, focused on something small and furry that no-one else can see. I'll be moving in a few weeks; one of my cats will accept whatever comes like the placid cuddly boy he is, the other will be pacing from window to window constantly looking for the way out... pretty much like I'm doing now waiting for the legal stuff to go through. Best wishes for the move, I hope it all goes well.

Thought I would update you all ..
Moved house last thurs he was very unsettled first 48hours as expected but I did panic that what if he was never going to go back to how he was at the old house but he has all of a sudden he's back to. His normal self and seems very happy with his new crib chasing around at night time and sleeping through the day. Planning to let him out next weekend very scared still he want come back but probably being daft

Let home out in the morning (so if he does disappear for a bit it won't get dark!) Don't feed him first. Play with him and treat him in the garden.
Hope it goes smoothly b

My two are 5 months old and have been going out in the back garden supervised. They have started climbing the fence and trees at the back and one of them went along the part of the neighbours fence today before heading back. Still scared to just let them go for it though. They have been neutered and microchipped already. Still unsure on when to just let them out and hope they come back

We were abit naughty in old house and let him in garden twice when we were both there he didn't leave my feet and ran inside as soon as I went in so am hoping he will stay close. He gets so much love and treated like a bloody prince so he would be daft too ! Yep I've heard to let him out in morn before breakfast. Would it be too early to let him out this sat ? X

Demented what would u do if they ran off.. just trust they would come back?

They have been spooked by loud noises, trains at the back of the house, lawnmowers , etc so have stayed fairly close to the house/garden. Don't know what id do if they ran off as I'm not going over the fence after them!

At least I got them microchipped and neutered although I had to find an alternative vet to do it as mine doesn't do it until 6 months. Mine got done before 5 months

Can you get him a harness for his first few trips outside? Might give you both a bit of reassurance while he finds his home territory?

Yes yeah I might do that but they are pretty clever I think they know what to do it's owners like me that are neurotic ha

One of my cats' first forays out of the garden on his own when he was about 12 months old (after several weeks of going out on a harness and then in the garden, off the harness) ended up with him being spooked by the children next door who were just excited to see him. Luckily, I saw him scrabble over the fence to the front garden and take off down the road like a bat out of hell. I followed him and managed to catch up with him about 200 metres away in another street when he had scrambled up an 8ft high wall in somebody's back garden - which he wouldn't move from for about 10mins because he was petrified. I was terrified of him jumping to the other side as I would have lost him for sure. He had absolutely no idea where he was.

Sorry if that's frightening but I would strongly recommend he goes out on a harness with you and he is microchipped before this starts, and when he is allowed out on his own, you stay in the garden for quite a few times till he is quite confident.