How to prepare cats for meeting other cats outside?

[ChatterMonkey]

Our cats have just started going outside, and are enjoying exploring the garden.

However theres been a few times where theyve met other cats, and they seem so unprepared for it! Yesterday a big black cat was in the garden, not particularly hostile, more curious, but defensive in case ours attacked i suppose. But it took ours ages to notice him, even though he should have been relatively easy to spot. They stared each other out for a while but then ours got a bit upset so we shoo'd the other one away.

This morning our boy cat was outside, hes srarted going outside in the morning to do a poo, and i assume the other cat was around, and either attacked, or more likely, similar to yesterday and our cat didnt spot it until it was mid-poo and got a massive fright. Resulting in him yeowling loudly and running inside, scattering poo everywhere 🙁, he must have been so scared.

How do you prepare them to be a bit better at dealing with potentially hostile situations? Its like theyve had it so good so far they have no awareness of dangers?? Or is that just normal for a 5.5 month old and i need to let them get on with it?

First of all, it’s very difficult to give advice without a picture of your little ones! 😉

Our little tabby has not long started going out, she’s a bit older (7 months) and she was really nervous at first. Every little sound would have her bombing it back in!

I think the only thing you can do is leave a window or back door open at first, so they have a quick route back to safety, and otherwise let them get on with it. I think they need to discover for themselves that the outside world is not as scary as it first appears!
Ours took a little while but got increasingly confident. It took her a few weeks though before she was happy to leave the immediate vicinity of the house, and she has really only just started to disappear for an hour or two.

Here she is:

I think their issue is that in their first week or so of exploring outside, there were no dangers of note, so theyve been lulled into a false sense of security about the dangers of outside. So now they need to re-learn that it is actually dangerous so need to be a bit more aware of their surroundings. Yesterday when they were oblivious to the other cat sitting there watching them, i was surprised, as they should have been aware of different scents?

Heres a photo of them having a little sleep together!

Should add that they have a microchip cat flap thatt i only lock at night, so they have free access in and out, and they are comfortable using the cat flap.

After this morning though they have both chosen to stay inside so far though... think they are both a bit traumatised!

Well they are absolutely adorable!

I think they had a fright and it will take them a bit to get their confidence back. But it’s very likely their curiosity about the outside world will get the upper hand again soon.
WRT the scent, it could just be that the wind was blowing in the other direction, so they just didn’t pick it up. Plus, if they have only just started going outside their senses are most likely completely overstimulated by the variety of sounds, smells and sights.
Honestly- they will get used to it and enjoy going outside in the end! They are all different - I used to have cats that loved to disappear all day and sometimes all night too, whereas our current one will just pop out for a bit and then come back, and that’s (currently) enough for her.
They will find their own rhythm and they will enjoy it. I would try not to worry too much, they are only little and are only just discovering that their universe is so much bigger than they had previously thought. They will get used to it in their own time, nothing much you can do apart from giving them continuous access to their safe haven when they need it, and it sounds like that’s what you are doing!

The other thing is that cat "fights" usually sound a lot worse than they are. The screeching will be out of all proportion to the actual contact made.

I agree that it sounded more dramatic than it was, based on how the cat was yesterday, more curious than aggressive, i very much doubt it actually attacked this morning. Much more likely that it jusy sneaked up on my poor cat while he was mid-poo, and he got a massive fright. But i suppose he'll have learned now to check his surroundings before going 🤣

After a reluctant start, theyve both been out lots today, a bit more cautious, and appear to be sticking together more than they were before, no sign of the other cat so far today.