How do introduce our cats to outside?

[Snowywintersundays123]

Hello, just looking for tips to introduce our toddler kittens to outside.
We’ve had them 2 months… both are settled and when called will come , ie treats food etc.
Both have had the snip so to speak, are chipped and cleaned etc.

Backstory is that they are rescues, we’re feral and reduced when 9/10 weeks old (guesstimate). We got them at 23/24 weeks.
They are desperate to go out ans spend most of their lives staring out of the windows attempting to get birds or trying to get out of the front door.
Any tips or techniques for when we start letting them out? Not sure if it’s a case of get a cat flap and hope for the best?

So I am a new cat owner but can give my recent experience with our rescue cat.

I read a lot and chatted to friends with cats and basically, just before mealtime, I took Dcat outside and let her explore for a short while before picking her up and bringing her in.

We did this a few times before letting her out on her own. I was told to try and train her to come when I shook dreamies and that works in the house but not with all the exciting smells of outside🤣

We did have a cat flap fitted soon after we got our cat but she wouldn’t use it for a while. I had to tempt her with food and eventually she got it.

We are lucky, Dcat doesn’t go beyond the garden. She is not much of a climber and hasn’t attempted the fence in the past 2 months. I’m sure she will at some point but I feel more confident she will return now.

It’s an anxious time. I remember a friend saying she let her cat out and basically followed him, picking him up when she thought he’d gone too far🤣🤣 I was a bit like that….Still am really, regularly checking where the cat is when she is outside🤷‍♀️

When we got our rescue cats we let them out in the morning before they were fed to let them sniff and scent and they didnt wander far as hungry. Did that every morning for just under a week before letting them out for longer

Let them out when hungry and I've read it's best not to carry them as they will lay down their scent when walking out which will help them to find home again.
It's scary there's no doubt about it. We're very lucky our dcat doesn't go far and comes in when called.

Thanks for all the tips and advice hugely appreciated, the consensus seems to be let them out when hungry first thing so will try that one! Thanks again everyone

That's what we did, waited till close to meal time, opened the patio doors and stood back. They spent about 5 mins sniffing around the garden and came back. We only allow ours out the back door because we are close to a main road at the front and use Dreamies to lure them back in if they escape through the front door, they know they're not supposed to do it and this has been so since we first let them out. Out the back they are free to come and go through a catflap but won't respond to Dreamies at all, so a bit of training and routine does seem to set habits.

Our cat was three and had been an indoor cat, she’s eight now. It was July when we adopted her and after a few weeks we started leaving the back door open if we were in the garden - I teach so was off. She didn’t click about coming back in the door for a couple of weeks, so one of us would pick her up and carry her inside. Once she got it, we gave her a Dreamie each time she came in by herself, then were able to just rattle the packet to bring her in!

We don’t have a cat flap because we have a utility room between the kitchen and back door, so she generally pops up at the window when she wants in. I think we are quite lucky that she doesn’t roam, and is either in our garden or next door. In the summer she will happily spend whole days lying in the borders.