Rehoming a cat - thoughts on how long to keep inside?

[BookWorm45]

Hi all
After my previous cat died last summer (we had her put to sleep as she had a tumour, old age...) it's taken us a while to feel ready for another cat. However I find I am now looking at Cats Protection and Blue Cross rehoming sites and wanting to have another cat.

Here's my query - for anyone who's taken on a cat - How long did you keep the cat inside your house, before you let the cat out into your garden ? I've seen really mixed answers on different websites.

Any cat we have will have access to a cat door (it's the chipped sort so only our cat's chip will work) and so can go in and out 24/7 once the cat has got to know us / our home. My plan would be to set the cat flap to the "block all entry / exit" option initially, and then to encourage the new cat to use it after a period of getting used to us. Initially i'd set up a litter tray (probably on floor of downstairs loo).

We have a small back garden but has some raised beds and plants in it. There are a few other cats around (not too many).

Last time I took on a new cat was 2006 so I feel a bit rusty with all the arrangements !

Watching with interest as in the same boat!

I’ve seen everything from 2 weeks to 2 months suggested. Our main problem is it’s quite tricky to keep her indoors because of the set up of the house so I want to get to at least 2 weeks but I am aiming for 3+ if possible.

I'm probably the wrong one to answer as I'm the nervous kind of cat owner.

But...

I've had several cats, moved with two, have a feral etc. I think a lot says 14 days for them to get some kind of bearing. I think this is NOT enough, especially if a rehome, who will have an urge to get back to where it came from. So I would say atleast a month.

What we have done is making an enclose (yes it looks shit, but can be done for little money and removed again). When the cats have been confined in the house (closed windows and doors) they get to go outside in the enclosure, that way they get used to their territory and smells and the chance of them knowing how to get home to you improves.

That or walking them in the garden in a harness everyday for some time, but a lot of cats can't do that and if they get away in the harness it's dangerous for them.

But as I say, I'm nervous. Our best investment has been to close off the garden, no more going round at night calling the 'little darlings'.

The harness idea is a new one for me, will have to research it. Thanks!

We were aiming for 4 weeks on the advice of the rescue but in the end it was 6 weeks as they needed an extra set of injections than they’d had at the rescue centre. They were very keen to be out by then!

The rescue I'm with recommends 3 weeks. However it really does depend on the cat. With some extremely relaxed, confident cats who didn't go through the hiding behind furniture stage and just took arriving in a new home in their stride, then I might relax that to two weeks. If the cat is very nervous then I would wait until the cat is relaxed - however long that may take.

You will have to make sure that all windows are securely fastened (may be on draught lock if you have it) - even the small window in the loo that you think a cat couldn't possibly get out of - they do.

And make sure the cat flap isn't just locked but is covered by, for example, a solid piece of something duct taped over it. Cats can very easily bash their way out of locked flaps.

Usual advice, and what I've always followed with new cats or when I've moved house with cats, is 2-3 weeks.

My current cat is a former semi-feral stray and the advice was 6-8 weeks, we are 7 months in now and she's decided to be an indoor cat!

That’s interesting @thecatneuterer - I was wondering if it might work the other way around and that confident cats might need longer because they’re more likely to set off on an expedition when they are let outside!

Our new puss has been confidently exploring every inch of the house and getting into nooks and crannies we didn’t even know we had so I’m worried that when we let her out she’ll be getting into all kinds of mischief!

Raisin - not really because a confident, relaxed cat is obviously happy where it is and will therefore be happy to return. Most cats go on a bit of a recce when first let out - the confident ones are happy to return, whereas the nervous ones often don't want to return if they haven't yet come to regard their new place as home.

Thanks, that is reassuring! (and I hope I didn’t sound like I was questioning your expertise, I know you know what you are talking about!)

We were told 2 weeks when we got our rescue cat 6 years ago. I think she’d have been fine sooner tbh. I remember walking round the garden with her in my arms a day or two before letting her out as I must’ve read that somewhere too!

We left it about a month, but our poor cat had a bit of 'previous' - we were her 3rd rehome after the 2 before didn't work out.
The placement immediately before us didn't work out because the rescue centre told the owners not to let her out for 2 weeks, but they let her out after a day and she was terrified and hid outside and wouldn't go back in. The rescue centre had to trap her in the end, and took her back.

After 4 weeks, we took her out on a harness, and made sure she knew where the catflap was (it's not in a door), and made her go through it from the outside so we knew she knew how to get in. She took to outside straight away, and is now a total PITA if/when we ever have to shut her in for any reason.

My brother/sister pair came to live with us in the mid May and had their first outing about 7 weeks after ( theyve been here 2 years now)

At first we tied to door securely , DH and DD were outside "ignoring" them . Female cat slid out like a python , male poked his nose out .

It was a pre-breakfast jaunt so they were keen to get in for food

After that DD sat outside in the day and they ventured more .
Next hurdle was the catflap
They gpt the hang of it -never having used one before- and a whole new world opened up for them.

We adopted a cat 10 days ago and the rescue told us she should stay in for 3 to 4 weeks.
It's taking a bit of juggling to make sure she's shut in another room when we open the front or back door so I'll be glad when it's not an issue anymore.