Letting cat out again after a big move

[Autumn101]

Hi all

After some advice on our cat and letting her outside again.

We have recently moved back to the UK from the Middle East, our lovely cat was in the cattery over there for 5 weeks then flew over to us 10 days ago.

She was a little nervous the first day but so far seems pretty unfazed by her journey. Very affectionate, playing, eating well etc.

She is desperate to go outside but I am quite anxious about how to make the transition......

She’s a very feisty cat, is an ex street cat and in our previous home would frequently be gone a couple of days at a time. This was fine as we had very mild weather, minimal rain, no foxes etc so the weather is going to come as a shock! It’s not an option for her to be an indoor cat, she adores being out and climbing trees so would be so unhappy if we didn’t allow her out.

I’ve registered with local vets, updated her microchip onto UK database, she has a collar with our new details but is there anything else I need to do??

I’m fully expecting her to go outside and immediately hop over the wall to explore, she’s not the type to gently sniff around!

I will leave her litter tray outside but any other tips please let me know x

I'd leave it at least another week or two, she's had an unsettling few weeks. Would she tolerate a harness, so you can take her for walks on a long lead?

I wouldn't worry too much about foxes, they don't tend to fight cats - more likely to back down unless it's a vixen with cubs nearby.

Ha I think a harness would make her pretty furious!

Yes I think I’ll aim for another week, I’m hoping the fact its cold and wet means she might be persuaded to come home a bit sooner??

I agree with the above that the main thing you need to do is try to keep her in for at least three weeks, if you can, to make sure she associates the smells of the new house with you and where she gets fed.
When she first goes out, she should sniff around the door a lot so she knows where she needs to come back to, so if she does that I would be reassured she'll be back, even if she does then head off over the fence for a good look around.

So we braved it and let her out - her face was hilarious when she realised the cold and damp was everywhere! She lasted all of 20 minutes before coming back in and lying under the radiator - she’s clearly a warm climate cat!!

I let mine out on the third day. He was unimpressed and came straight back in.