Letting a cat outside

[MillicentMargaretAmanda]

Hi, looking for some advice. I adopted a six year old cat in December. It was a private adoption, and due to her attacking the vet when I took her, she's not yet restarted vaccinations. She was neutered as a kitten.

For various reasons she has always been an indoor cat. I now have a dilemma as I would like to let her outside but I'm worried that she will have absolutely no road sense as at all. I would let her out into the back garden but I know cats can get in and out as there are a couple of cats that come in (also another concern, she will probably have to assert her dominance over 'her' territory...)
I have a conservatory that she adores sitting in and shouting at the birds so I expect she would like being outside.
So this is my dilemma. Do I let a 6 year old previously indoor cat out and hope she develops the skills she needs quickly? Wwyd?

Personally I wouldn't let her out at all until she's fully vaccinated.

When she is you could introduce a harness and lead for her first adventures in to the garden. Once she's happy with her immediate territory then you can let her roam. Female cats usually have smaller territories than males so she might not go far.

Depending on your garden set up you might be able to cat proof it.

Please note that photos of your cat are compulsory on The Litter Tray threads 😁

This is her in an inquisitive mood, coming to see why I had got up (I'm wfh and she'll often spy on me from a vantage point upstairs where she can see down )
Don't worry, she's not going out until she's fully vaccinated. We're still working on building up trust with the cat carrier... Sadly I suspect a harness would not be an option. She's a beautiful and adorable and becoming a lot more affectionate but I suspect I'd lose at minimum a finger if I tried to get her in a harness :-(

Torties are often feisty. I would look at cat proofing the garden, you can do it yourself or hire a company but it’s total peace of mind for you and outdoor time for her.

She is very pretty 🥰.

If you own your home, could you afford to cat-proof your garden?

That way she can explore and go outside but she'll still be safe. We're in the process of doing our garden at the moment as we live on a busy road and cats are killed on there most days.

Feisty is definitely the word!! I love her to bits but if she's not happy with you, you know it! She's such a character though. I'll go and do some research about cat proofing the garden :-)

Oh she's beautiful MMM.

With a feisty nature she'll have no problem defending her territory 😁

Definitely look in to cat proofing. There's fencing and roller versions, but I have no experience.

If torties were human they’d be pub land ladies the brewery’s put into the roughest pubs to sort the clientele out.

I think it depends a lot on where you live. Busy road or a quiet road? Is there easy access from the back gardens to the front (i.e. a semi vs. a mid-terraced house)?

Sometimes the fact they are a bit older can protect them as they won't be silly kittens who will just run anywhere and get in trouble. Although of course she also won't have developed any road sense...

If you can cat proof the garden or build a catio, I think that's always the absolutely ideal solution - best of both worlds; all the benefits of outdoors but safe from the many dangers of roaming.