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

Original poster

Cat in or out?! What is best?

30 replies

WonderGirl11 · 16/04/2019 23:04

I have a 5 month old kitten who I love completely. He is neutered, vaccinated, chipped and loves exploring the outside. However, he just stayed out late for the first time. He got home at 11pm and I was stressing about him being ok. Should I be letting him out?!

He is home now. Totally fine. I think I am just worrying too much. But I’m questioning myself. I’d miss him so much if anything happened to him.

OP posts:
Pinkprincess1978 · 16/04/2019 23:20

I would stress too - we don't let ours out after he has his evening feed and find that keeps him home of an evening otherwise we worry too much.

We don't let him out during winter except on a weekend as we don't like him being out all day in the cold so he is living being out now.

Honeyroar · 16/04/2019 23:28

As the weather gets warmer my cats switch to staying out at night and coming in and sleeping during the day. We are rural with stables and small haybarns they can get in if need be. I don’t like them being out at night in winter, it’s very cold and exposed here and the stable door is shut at night in winter. My male cat gets quite annoyed about that though!

Citrina · 16/04/2019 23:38

I was advised that the biggest proportion of feline road fatalities happen at night, so we always get ours inside before dusk. They do have free access to the outside in daylight hours, but are homebodies really and don't seem to go far.

viccat · 16/04/2019 23:54

He's a bit young to be out on his own anyway, they have no sense of danger yet at that age, I would only do supervised outings and definitely not after sunset.

Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 17/04/2019 02:30

Our cats have always been allowed freedom of choice. Basil regularly stays out at night, the others much less frequently. I do make an effort to call them in when I go to bed - but if they are out that's fine. Our latest cats started going out alone at 5-6 months.

Original poster
WonderGirl11 · 20/04/2019 19:59

Thanks for the advice. I am letting him out and about in the day but not at night. He doesn’t seem to go far, just around the garden and close. Hopefully he won’t be so late home again!!

OP posts:
LazyFace · 20/04/2019 20:10

In my opinion he'll easily disappear for 2 days in warm weather and you'll be rather worried. I used to have a cat who went outdoors, never again.
Traffic, being locked in somewhere, foxes, the non-existing cat killers are real dangers but I have seen a footage of a couple just walking away with a cat in our area as well.
You could get a catio or cat proof your garden.

Judystilldreamsofhorses · 20/04/2019 22:09

Ours doesn’t roam, but likes being in our garden and the neighbours’. She’s in through the day while we’re at work, but potters in and out until bedtime, and is in overnight. In summer she sometimes has to be picked up and carried in at midnight, but I wouldn’t be happy leaving her out.

AnnaMagnani · 20/04/2019 22:16

Too young, they are idiots at that age.

Train him to come home for dinner and then close the doors for the night. Ignore all wailing as if you have a heart of stone all summer

You may have some hits and misses with late nights and stop outs but he will be safer and you will be happier once he knows he stays in at night.

Original poster
WonderGirl11 · 20/04/2019 22:20

That sounds like good advice AnnaMagnani. I can see his is an idiot! A lovely one though.

I don’t think he would be happy at all inside all the time but at night, yes. This is my current plan.

OP posts:
MrsPandigital · 20/04/2019 22:20

My kitten (well cat now) is almost a year old and we have only just started letting her out. She is small for her age, grey long haired and is beautiful. Scared someone will take her! We keep the cat flap open all day/night and she tends to spend nights in with us and in the day will play in the garden and 'talk' to the birds. I think 5 months is very early to let out :/ but that's just me! Depends on the cat ...

furrytoebean · 20/04/2019 22:23

I had always believed that cats should be allowed to roam, and that it’s cruel to keep them indoors.

However when we got our first two our vet basically begged us to keep them in from being a kitten. She said they don’t miss what they don’t know and she spends all day every day patching up cats from the road next to our house.
Now they are our little prisoners and don’t seem to mind one jot.

Dippypippy1980 · 20/04/2019 23:26

I let mine out - but have today had a very unpleasant encounter with two neighbours - and I am now worried about her safety - if appears she is pooing in their garden and one is taking great delight in letting his dog corner her and try to attack her.

So she is back inside until the garden is cat proofed.

People are arseholes.

Yorkshiremum17 · 21/04/2019 09:34

Our cat stays out all night this time of year if he wants to. He was making escape attempts from about 4 months old but we kept him in until he was vaccinated and castrated, it was utter hell!

We live in a very quiet cul De sac, loads of gardens, I have a shelter stuffed with blankets in the garden for him, we always try and get him in with his favorite treats but if he wants to stay out there's not much we can do! In winter time he comes in every night and if it's miserable wet we keep him in during the day time to. He's not very happy about it.

Just wanted to say that some cats really do prefer to be outside regardless of what you want and to keep them in against there will would be cruel.

Dippypippy1980 · 21/04/2019 09:42

Yorkshire mum - any hassle from the neighbours? I have been researching all night in ho to get my cat to poo in her litter box rather than the neighbours garden. It is causing major tension.

He has a cat flap so can some in any time.

There are at least two other cats in the neighbourhood - so might be a turf war

chocolatelog · 21/04/2019 10:06

Can I ask. How do you keep cats in? Now the weathers nice my windows and doors are open from morning until night time. I've always wondered how people keep house cats in 🤔

Our cat is one now but didn't leave our garden until a couple of months ago. He usually comes home around 9pm and we don't let him out after that, but now the weathers getting better I imagine he'll probably stay out all night.

AnnaMagnani · 21/04/2019 10:34

You put up with having the doors and windows closed until the cat is the age you are going to let them out.

Yes this can be miserable in hot weather.

Helps in my house that it is generally freezing and colder in the house than outside. You also work out which windows they can't jump out of and open them - although you may get an escapologist Grin

Dippypippy1980 · 21/04/2019 10:34

Good question. After hearing my neighbours yesterday I became very concerned for my cats safety and we swore she wasn’t going out. Opened back door this morning and she was out like a bullet. Not sure how to I could ever keep her in.

Neighbours hate me though

chocolatelog · 21/04/2019 10:43

Oh really? So people who have these £1000 indoor cats don't open their windows and doors? Oh I couldn't do that. We looked into buying a bsh but we wouldn't be able to keep it in.

Dippypippy1980 · 21/04/2019 10:54

You can cat proof the garden - I am looking into that.

Not because my cat is expensive - but to keep her safe and stop her pooing in the neighbours garden.

A few hundred quid to add brackets and wire to the top of the fence - keep her in

BrokenWing · 21/04/2019 11:02

IMO most cats need the physical and mental stimulation of being able to free roam outdoors, it's in their genes. Better a shorter full life outdoors than trapped in a golden cage for purely selfish reasons.

Dippypippy1980 · 21/04/2019 11:13

Totally agree, my cat loves outside. I am totally at a loss about how To stop her pooing in my horrid neighbours garden.

Yorkshiremum17 · 21/04/2019 15:52

Dippy no one had ever said anything to us, to be fair there are so many cars round about it would be difficult to pin it on one cat. We also have a fair bit of parkland round about, I suspect he goes there.

GOODCAT · 21/04/2019 16:06

Our cat is pretty much out 24/7 at the moment. She is very active at night so that we get a full night of sleep we strongly encourage her to go out overnight.

She has freedom of choice but we don't have a cat flap so once she has decided she is in or out she has to attract our attention to do the opposite, but she is very adept at this. She refused to use a cat flap where we used to live so we haven't put one in here.

onedayiwillmissthis · 21/04/2019 16:14

Get my boy in by 9pm...then he stays in till around 7am...gotta give the local birds/wildlife a fighting chance😕

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