Cat doesn’t return for evening meal daily

[kittyp13]

Hello,
I’ve posted before about my cat’s adventurous side and her need to be outside. For about a week she has decided on staying outside all night after leaving the house at about 3pm and no amount of luring, tuna, treats, dreamies gets her back - maybe she senses we are trying too hard 🤷🏻‍♀️ My previous post was about the bond between us, and now that she’s spending all night outside she has become more skittish when she is inside the house which is deteriorating matters - she won’t come near us nor play anymore. I do understand with this heatwave cats will want to go out, but staying out all night seems extreme and it seems to be making her act more wild. Last night at 3am we heard her screaming and when I ran out a fox was running off through the bins.
She is a rescue and and has high outside temperament. I’m at loss as she’s unhappy inside but it’s dangerous out there after dusk. Would you let her just stay out?

I think she sounds fine outside, op. Cats are pretty good at seeing off foxes and it'll be cooler out st night than in.

The heatwave probably means she doesn't want to play or be fussed atm either, I'd see how she does once the weather is back to normal and the nights start to draw in again

If she's leaving the house daily at 3pm that presumably means she's returning to the house daily also? In which case she seems to have settled into your home at least partially. How long have you had her? It can take quite a long time for a cat to settle fully into a new home, sometimes years, so patience is called for, especially with a rescue. All cats will be outside a lot more during the summer months so I wouldn't worry too much, once it starts getting colder I'm sure you'll start to see a lot more of her.

Thanks both for quick replies. Yes she’s back every morning without fault. I did personally think it was okay especially as there is one added bonus, she comes in exhausted and cuddles up with me (well near Me) in the morning and falls asleep. Yeah we were a little naive with a rescue. We wanted a pair of kittens as we have two young children but rescue agency recommended an adult. In hindsight I think they were trying to rehome her quickly due to living arrangements of the foster Carer but i went for it.

How old is she op?

She seems happy enough to me. I've had a lot of cats and without fail in the summer they spend almost their whole lives outside. Once had one who take himself off camping for a week every year.

She's prpbably dining on mice

She's enjoying being out when it's a bit cooler. Cats are nocturnal anyway. They can get away from foxes (though I don't think foxes usually bother cats - we used to have a fox that used to come into our kitchen! We had 3 cats then and they all hissed at her)

Let your cat enjoy being out. She'll be fine. The weather is set to cool down from tomorrow.

Had cats for 42 years.

Mines just rocked up now, he's been out since 3 am. He was kind enough to shout out and let me know he was off out on his way through the window.

My rescue cat lives outside all the time, except in winter he sleeps in the utility 11pm-4am. My other cat wants to stay out all night in summer. Both cats have skipped meals the past few days, guessing it's just too hot for hunger.

Ps we also have foxes. Don't worry about those.

My first thought was mice buffet too. If you do find a high value treat do keep her in at night and have a play session with her.

You've just got to find a treat she really likes. Eventually I had the Bengal trained that 9pm was inside time.

It is cooler outside at night. Two of ours have been going out all night for several weeks now. It's in their nature. Some cats just can't cope with being indoors.

My cat used to be out all night in the summertime. He would come in at about 4-5am and eat biscuits then sleep all day.

Although appealing, kittens and small kids aren't always the best mix. Kittens are great but hard work and in terms of temperament a complete lottery. My tabby boy was a bitey nightmare when he was little, which was fine with my two teenagers but wouldn't have been ideal with toddlers, for instance. You're already getting cuddles, which is a good sign, I bet she'll be a lap cat before you know it.

She sounds like a perfectly normal, happy outdoors cat to me.