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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Tips for letting indoor cat out

5 replies

boringlyboring · 09/03/2019 16:36

One of our cats has been indoor since we adopted her as a kitten. We followed vets advice on this due to eye health issues (she’s had ops on her eyes in the past and all sorts).

Her being indoor was never an issue (despite having 2 other outdoor cats), until we moved to a house with a big garden, big windows looking out to the garden so she is intrigued and started wanting to go out last summer.

Her eyes are obviously monitored regularly, last year the vets told we are fine to let her out, of course as long as we monitor eyes even more closely for any damage etc.

Now that the weather is picking up, she wants to go out again (shows no interest over winter).

She has got out a couple of times in the past, and when she has she’s straight over the neighbours fence winding NDN cat up. No sense of stranger danger!

She’s was also very unsteady when climbing back over the fence.

I guess, I’m worried about letting her out when she doesn’t ‘know’ how to go out. In the house, she’s a bit unsure of jumping onto high surfaces. I’m not sure if this is just due to her eyes (eyesight itself is fine, but they can get very sore and gunky so not sure if it affects her balance)

I just need some reassurance that instinct will kick in and she’ll be fine!

OP posts:
Sharptic · 09/03/2019 16:42

She sounds a little like my cat when he started escaping the house!

He's a bsh and so daft , they're not best known for their climbing skills. He kept bolting at every opportunity and would clumsily go straight over into next doors garden without looking back (with a dog in there too 😥)

So we decided to let him out, and after a couple of times he no longer bolts or jumps over the fence like an escaped convict, he mainly wanders around our garden and doesn't go far at all.

We got him a tractive gps tracker collar which was great for peace of mind. But he lost it within a couple of weeks, luckily we are covered for a free replacement collar

Toddlerteaplease · 09/03/2019 17:18

Fortunately my Persians can't jump over fences which contains them. Though How on earth Cheddar managed to get on to the street behind me I have absolutely no idea! I'm thinking of getting a tracker for cheddar, since she's no longer trustworthy. She's a bit brighter than Magic but I'm worried that she'd get stolen as she's so friendly! I don't let them out at dusk.

boringlyboring · 09/03/2019 17:45

Our other two are in before dark as well (they actually just come back themselves, no need to shout them!)

I don’t know what I’m most worried about really. Incase she gets over the fence and can’t get back, incase she ends up stuck somewhere. She’s just so innocent!

The other two are very very street smart (both ex strays) she’s always been a princess Grin Nan used to carry her round on her back.

I might look into the tracker too! I’d looked into them before but could never find one that didn’t look very bulky.

OP posts:
Soontobe60 · 10/03/2019 06:36

Collars can be dangerous. They can get caught on fencing etc.

Sharptic · 10/03/2019 22:25

I agree collars can be dangerous. Tractive have quick release collars, hence why my cat's was lost within a couple of weeks.

They can be insured for replacements though.

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