Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

What happened when you first let your cat out?

27 replies

Cheeseandlobster · 14/04/2022 17:31

Thinking about letting mine out for the first time. And I am nervous!

What happened when you first let yours out? Did you hover anxiously watching them? How long did they go for? Were they ok?

We don't yet have a cat flap so I am going to be a sideways meerkat for days aren't I?

OP posts:
SirYawnsAlot · 14/04/2022 17:49

She came back in through the cat flap I'd propped open. She'd been in 8 weeks and has food and bed near the door. It was a tense time. Maybe leave the door ajar.

tothemoonandbackbuses · 14/04/2022 17:54

Ours just cautiously walked round the garden. We had to leave the door open for the first week otherwise the cat had a panic.
We’ve had a few cats and they’ve all been the same.
The danger point is when they start to feel confident and take risks

lljkk · 14/04/2022 17:58

they were usually terrified. cats don't like new places. Took a while to want to explore more than a few feet near the door.

DramaAlpaca · 14/04/2022 18:05

Cat went out. A short time later, cat came back. Not a problem.

Cleothecat75 · 14/04/2022 18:10

First time we let our cat out, she jumped over the fence and was gone for about an hour. I was so nervous and worried the whole time. We left the Back door open and she waltzed back in when she was ready. She had been desperate to get out for at least a couple of weeks and seemed quite confident. Within a week, she had figured out how to get from the back of the house, round the row of houses that adjoin ours and figure out which was our front door And sat by it. I was amazed she did this! My mum reckoned she recognised the view from the front window and worked it out like that but I have no idea.

I think my best advice is to let them out while they are hungry and as early in the day as you can, so they come back to be fed. Also, Make sure they recognise the shake of a bag of dreamies. If our cat doesn’t seem to be about, a shake of the dreamies by the door normally has them running home (I reckon quite often they are sat next door listening to me shouting them and are choosing to ignore me).

milcal · 14/04/2022 18:16

My cat ran down the back steps and then it started to rain and she quickly ran back inside 😂

AnnaMagnani · 14/04/2022 18:29

Depends on the cat. I've always made sure that I've only let my cats out when they are hungry, and they know the call of their name for dinner.

Most cats - go for a wander, come back in, not necessarily when called but no problems the first time.
Silkycat - absolutely terrified, needed both me and DH to stand with her outside and tell her it was OK. One of us on our own was not enough. Had to do it repeatedly until she could face it by herself.
Bonkers cat - had to chase her out of neighbours garage/get nextdoor's gundog to round her up to come in doors.

Ideally you want an average cat. Bonkers cat sadly did not live long as her over confidence led to an early death on the road. While Silkycat is a nuisance who has to be thrown outside when she gets annoying.

We don't have a cat flap either - the cats have to learn to keep regular hours and that's it. Door is on the latch in the summer (DH is at home all day) and in the winter they don't really fancy being out anyway.

violetbunny · 14/04/2022 18:54

One was curious, the other was terrified and tried to bolt over the fence. Fortunately we took them out on harnesses so the bolter didn't actually escape.

We then took them out for 10 mins a day each on the harness for a few weeks until we were sure they were familiar with our garden and what "outside" entailed. They loved it and would get super excited when they saw the harness!

Eventually we let them out minus harness. One of them disappeared for an hour and we had no idea where she'd gone, DP was beside himself! Eventually she turned up though!

If you live near other cats then I'd wait until they were big enough to handle themselves - ours got into loads of scraps with neighbouring cats at first.

Original poster
Cheeseandlobster · 14/04/2022 19:11

Some great advice here Smile I think we will hold off for a few more days just to make sure he definitely recognises the sound of shaken dreamies rather than the quiet rustling of the pack. Though he is getting rat her tubby so not too many in one go. Hopefully going out will give him more exercise. He is quite a bold cat so I think he will saunter off for a while but we will make sure the door is open and that he is hungry when he does go

OP posts:
Svara · 14/04/2022 19:14

Six month old explored the backyard then came in. Two year old disappeared socialising with the neighbour cat for hours. Kitten was looking around the house for him.

DinkyDaisy · 14/04/2022 19:32

We have a busy road so going to cat fence patio. He is on the windowsill now, looking longingly at the outside...

longtompot · 14/04/2022 20:11

When we first let our kittens out, one (the timid one) went nervously sniffing around the garden the other (the bolshy ginger tom) sniffed for a bit then disappeared over the end garden wall. The timid one shortly followed. A bit of a nervous 10 mins or so and they both came back, but it was tense.

Svalberg · 14/04/2022 20:52

OH has always taken cats round the garden in an "all this will be yours" fashion, for longer each day. And once they know how to use the catflap, left them to their own devices. Except for one cat who never worked out the catflap 😹

Purpleavocado · 14/04/2022 20:55

I took our cat into the garden and then carried him back a few times. He soon got the hang of it, even when we moved.

Prestel · 14/04/2022 21:06

It's best to let them walk out the door themselves, rather than carry them out, so they can have a good sniff around the doorway before they venture further afield as this is how they remember where their home is.

DontKeepTheFaith · 14/04/2022 21:12

I let her out for 5 minutes, she sniffed the grass and explored a little then I got spooked, scooped her Up and brought her back indoors😳🤣

4 months later, she now goes beyond our garden but she still doesn’t go far. She adores being outside and comes and goes as she pleases now. She normally comes back within about 45 minutes, even if it’s only to check we are still where she left us😍

I love seeing how much pleasure my cat derives from being outside. It’s just wonderful.

mostlydrinkstea · 14/04/2022 21:47

My latest kitten is not related to my other cats who are all sisters. The first time she went out they all went out with her. It was an odd vibe of 'we the older cats don't like you but we will hang around to make sure you are safe, not that we care.' She worked out the cat flap really quickly. It is always scary letting them out for the first time so make sure it is near a feeding time so they are happy to,come back In for food.

Original poster
Cheeseandlobster · 15/04/2022 12:20

@mostlydrinkstea

My latest kitten is not related to my other cats who are all sisters. The first time she went out they all went out with her. It was an odd vibe of 'we the older cats don't like you but we will hang around to make sure you are safe, not that we care.' She worked out the cat flap really quickly. It is always scary letting them out for the first time so make sure it is near a feeding time so they are happy to,come back In for food.
This is lovely. Typical sibling behaviour even if they are not related
OP posts:
70isaLimitNotaTarget · 15/04/2022 17:23

Ours were young adults who had never used a catdoor and had been indoors most of their days since being rescued from a garden (CPL cats)

IIRC it was a good 8+ weeks till they ventured . DD was at home ( school holidays ) she sat outside reading quietly . We secured the door shut so it wouldn't swing back.
They were both very keen to explore they'd spent ages supergued to the door Grin
Female slid out like a crocodile going into the river , Male hovered on the doorstep . Then over a few days they got braver .
Started using the catdoor once they got used to the "click"

Definately get a food routine so they know the sounds of dinner and let them go out hungry .

They like to sit out with a "All this is mine , this will do - for now" look

Furries · 16/04/2022 01:32

Mine had lived in a flat for 2 years. I had a decent sized balcony, which I had protected with the Katzecure system. They loved stretching out in the sun.

Whole different ballgame when I moved to my house with a decent garden. Watching them encounter grass for the first time was amusing! They never roamed (apart from the one time I forgot I hadn’t shut the gate). My remaining boy has blooming good recall generally. Which ramps up to very impressive the minute he hears Dreamies bag being shaken. He only gets Dreamies when he comes in when called/bag shaken. He’s tried the “I’ll come in of my own accord and demand a treat”, but I got wise to that pretty fast!

SingingSands · 16/04/2022 01:37

Ours went straight up an oak tree and stayed stuck up it for 24 hours. Idiot.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 16/04/2022 01:44

We have to put something buljy in front of the catdoor otherwise (when they're locked in for the night ) they go up and use their magic necks to 'click' the lock, but the catch is twisted shut .
So they punch the door .

"Bored" Ciick. Punch . "Bored" Click , Scrabbly pawing at the door .
Over and over till the bloody batteries wear out .
So now there's a box to stop them.
Little gits ,

GiantHaystacks2021 · 16/04/2022 02:01

Neighbour's cat ran out the door, took off over the high wall, never seen again.

PukkaP · 16/04/2022 05:56

How long have you had the cat for?

I had mine for six weeks. When I let her out, I opened the door, she went into the garden and sniffed everything for about ten minutes, then she jumped over the fence and came back about an hour later.

I think she must have had a cat flap before as she used it straight away. She’s a rescue and I don’t have any background on her. My previous cat never learned to use the cat flap.

Original poster
Cheeseandlobster · 16/04/2022 10:41

@GiantHaystacks2021

Neighbour's cat ran out the door, took off over the high wall, never seen again.
Oh my god. I would be devastated. How long had they had the cat for?

@PukkaP it will be 10 weeks today Smile

OP posts: