Inside or out

[LavenderDoll]

Not sure if anyone will remember but we lost our beautiful boy earlier in the year. He went out as normal and never came home. Broke my heart . Still get tearful thinking about it

We got Ladybelle in October and as the weather has been bad she hasn't been out. She is from Cat Protection and is small and nervy and was treated badly by previous owner

She hasn't shown any interest in going out but I feel like I'm denying her by not letting her out
But then I'm petrified we will lose her like we lost our boy.

Please someone talk some sense into me as I don't know what to do for the best.

Was your boy killed on the road?

If so then I really don't know. It depends how much of a fluke that was and what the access from your house to the road is like.

Regardless I would wait until she seems desperate to go out, and even then wait until we have much more daylight and certainly never let her out at night.

CantCat was desperate to go out from day one. We only let him out when we are at home and only during daylight hours. We live on a busy road but the garden is in the middle of two rows of terraces so it's hard for him to get to it.
If he hadn't asked (passionately and persistently ) I probably wouldn't have bothered to encourage him out. If she's nervy she might not enjoy being out anyway so you're not depriving her of anything.

She doesn't want to go out, why bother?
Mine love going out, it would be unkind not to let them.

Thanks everyone
I don't know what happened to him. He just never came home. We don't live on a main road so safety wise she should be ok.
We live near a very large nature reserve type area so there are foxes and other animals.
I think I will leave it till spring at least. She flinches at the slightest noise and Is so very timid

M is very small, so I'm worried about other cats (and possibly foxes) as well as cars.

However, she is an adventurous character and seems very interested in the outside. According to the shelter she had access to the outdoors in her previous home.

Once it's a bit lighter in the evenings, we'll start by letting her out for a bit in the afternoon, then get her back in for dinner before rush hour starts (we've trained her to come to the sound of a bell) and then keep her in overnight.

She's just like mine Lavender, afraid of everything, but also with a quiet confidence. Mine jumps at every noise and is constantly on high alert. She does like to go out, but I don't let her go on her own, as I don't know what would happen to her. I take her out into the garden for a stroll and to munch on grass and she seems very happy with that.

Oh Want that sounds a good comprise

Lavender I completely understand where you are coming from, we had a cat go missing, previously we'd had a cat for 18 years with very few problems so it did hit me hard. When we took the plunge again and adopted the two we have now, I was extremely nervous about letting them out. In fact I followed them round with dreamies for the first few times! But they are well bonded to us and our house and whilst they love going out, they also love coming back again for food. I would give her a good long time staying inside for her to get used to her new home, then let her out on an empty tummy the first time, just for 10mins or so. She'll soon learn her 'routes' around your house.
Good luck, I know its hard.

Oh and mine are in from 9pm - 6am without fail!

Bluebell how long did you keep them in for before letting them out for the first time? The advice seems to be anything from 2 weeks to 8 weeks, depending on what I read.

I waited 4 weeks, they were desperate by then! I wouldn't have been happy with any less than 4 weeks.

When I got mine from the rehoming centre (18 month starts old) I was told he’d been indoor only for all his life. He soon made his opinions clear by scratching at the patio doors constantly to be let out and it was a constant battle to try and keep him in, I started letting him out after 4 weeks. If your cat is happy being inside then I’d probably let her be.
I now have a microchip cat flap for mine and like BluebellTheDonkey mine also likes to be outside in the middle of the night. He also likes to announce his return at frequent intervals by leaping in the bed and stomping all over me. I used to get annoyed by this but it’s become such a habit now I get anxious if he isn’t waking me up at 6am😬 Cats, who’d have ‘em!

Ski37 my cats are inside from 9pm-6am! Am too scared something will happen to them if I let them out overnight. Also the cat killer has been in our area and operates at night So for my peace of mind the catflap is locked at 9pm and they are let out when I get up at 6am.

BluebellTheDonkey sorry my mistake, I misread your post! I’ve tried keeping mine in but he’s a nightmare... I’ve posted on here previously about how he’s managed to force himself through the locked cat flap and all the barricades I’ve put in place 😬 I guess I’m just going to have to live with the fact he’s a night time outdoor cat ( won’t stop me worrying though)!

Ha ha that's ok! Sounds like your boy is a real escape artist!! Probably best to let him do as he pleases in that case

That’s the conclusion I’ve come to! He’s obviously pleased to come home each time as he wakes me up at regular intervals through the night to let me know he’s home again ( don’t get me started on the training to keep him out of the bedroom - that’s another epic failure!)

Aw he's trained his human cat slave well (bet he's lovely really)

He is lovely ! And he’s definitely got me well trained!