Will house cat ever be able to go outside?

[Chameleon2003]

Asking for a friend...
Young rescue cat - aged about 4.
She was taken to a rescue when pregnant and we think had kittens previously when living in the streets.
She has been adopted on the basis of her being a house cat as she would run off if let outside.
Is it possible that at some point in the future she could go outside once she has lived in the same place for say a couple of years or will she always be a flight risk?
She's very nervous but not aggressive.

I rehomed an 8 year old house cat many years ago, and I did keep him in as I lived in a flat. However, once I moved to a house in a village, and he'd been kept in for a month, I started to let him out. He loved it! He never went to far, or stayed out too long. He even started catching mice. Some cats are happy being kept indoors, but most will have a better quality of life with access to a garden at least. I would let her out and see how she goes.

That does seem a bit excessive. I recently 'adopted' an ex stray/semi-feral and was advised 6-8 weeks indoors until she'd bonded, that's been extended as I wanted her vaccinated against FELV first and I didn't want to traumatise her too early with a vet trip, so it will be 10-12 weeks before she goes out. The risk, I think, is that the cat will revert to straying if not enough time is given, but a well bonded and settled cat should be ok.

Thank you - where she lives at the moment wouldn't be safe to be let outside but hopefully in the future it will be possible.

It seems like an odd thing for a rescue to say, can only imagine them saying to keep the date indoors if the owner lives near busy traffic, but then most rescues won’t let you take a cat if you do.
If it’s safe for the cat to go outdoors, I can’t see it realistically running from a home it’s well fed and cared for in, especially given it’s history.

‘Keep the the cat indoor, not date ? You shouldn’t keep your dates indoors, they should be allowed to go home, when you’ve finished with them.

I think after a reasonable period it would be fine. Our cats whilst not street cats had always been inside cats for 4 years before we started letting them outside once we’d had dd and didn’t want them escaping whilst getting the pram out etc. We just opened the back door before we fed them and they went out and explored but came back when we put food out. They were much happier for going out so I think an ex feral/street cat used to being outside would appreciate it when your friend lives somewhere safer.

This was one of the conditions when I adopted my pair, again very nervous at anything unusual but non aggressive. If it was a condition of adoption, your friend would be breaking the contract if she let them outside.

Mine seem very happy as house cats, and TBH Boycat probably wouldn't be safe outside as he has a few "issues" like no attention span, panics easily, no brains, clumsy etc.

My long term ambition is to build them a catio.

If it were my cat I'd want to chance it. Cats are territorial; they don't like new places. They quickly form attachments to new territories.

Did the rescue insist she must never be allowed out?

Could they get/build a catio?

No room for a catio at the moment but won't always be living where they are now.
She was advertised as needing to be indoors as otherwise she would run off.
It's not a problem to keep her in - we were just wondering about her possibly being able to go out into a safe garden if it was available.

If you decide to let him in the garden, call him back for a treat regularly. Make sure he never comes back without a treat ready for him. Mine come back within seconds of me calling.

You rather need to know the cat to be able to know how they would react. To return, they need to have a good attachment to the house and/or the people inside, and to stay sufficiently calm so that they don’t just panic and go to ground.

Harness training can be a good way to get a cat used to being outside, and build their confidence. Otherwise I’d look at cat fencing the garden, as a compromise.