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

Elderly cat was indoor and now going outside - I don’t want her to leave garden

11 replies

Urgsleepmoresleep · 12/07/2023 21:35

My 12 year old cat was indoor most of her life until 5 days ago. I nervously let her out and she is enjoying life. I am like a nervous parent. How do I keep her in my garden and not explore?

I got my cat 11 years ago via a charity. I fostered cats as I lived in a garden flat that was close to a busy main road. She ended up staying with me and had no interest in going outside.

3 months ago I moved in with my partner as sold my house for a new build that is yet to be built. He lives in a quiet estate away from main roads. Has a lovely back garden that has 6 foot fences.

I let her out as she was asking and never asked before. She pottered in the garden, ate lots of grass and chilled out. I left the patio doors open. She loves it and seemed to be happy in the garden. I only let her out when we are in the house.

in the last day she has started to walk along the fence. The gardens behind us are a drop down and all have big dogs living there. She hasn’t seen them yet. I worry if she gets down there she can’t get back up. She is also still nervous of noises. She is Sufi not very good at balance and I had to rescue her today as she cooks get down. thinking she had a fright she wouldn’t be keen, she did it again and got stuck.

I worry she won’t be able to get home if drops to houses behind. Will get freaked out with the dogs and get lost. She is not the most street smart cat. I can’t cat proof the garden as it’s expensive and not mine.

what do I do. I created a monster allowing her out.

OP posts:
anythinginapinch · 12/07/2023 21:54

I'm stoic about my cats. It's so wonderful she's finally having a cats life - outside, the smells, the wind, the life out there. If she dies, so be it. You e given her a great second chance. Ask her, would you rather live to get arthritic, old and with fucked kidneys, (I'm looking at you, Tammy!) or live fast die young.
Instinct is HUGE. She'll work it out.

anythinginapinch · 12/07/2023 21:55

Also. I walk my cats round their perimeter. They don't (seem to) go further than where I go with them. Also bring her in at night. 10.30 on the dot mine come in for Dreamies and bedtime.

Urgsleepmoresleep · 12/07/2023 22:19

@anythinginapinch i am not too sure what you mean so it she dies. She was happy indoors and lots of toys and was always purring.

I don’t let her out after dark. I am not too sure she had instinct

OP posts:
anythinginapinch · 12/07/2023 22:22

She'll have instincts! That's the whole point - she cannot not have instincts, they are qualities that are in her as a cat.

I guess I mean, let her be free-er. It might be a shorter life, but a richer and better one for her.

But I know a lot of people think cats should be kept indoors. This is just my opinion. I couldn't have indoor only cats. I see how much joy, excitement, pleasure, exercise, delight, that my two get from being outdoors.

TamzinGrey · 12/07/2023 22:24

We had the same worry with our elderly cat and in the end we solved it really easily. We bought lots of metal brackets from our local DIY store and attached them at regular intervals just below the tops of our fences. Then we laid chicken wire across the top of the brackets, secured with cable ties.
Our old girl could enjoy the garden but could never escape from it. An added bonus was that neighborhood cats couldn't get in to fight with her (she was a feisty old thing and hated other cats)

Stopsnowing · 12/07/2023 22:25

That is a great idea! Also our cat took things very slowly in terms of expanding his range.

TamzinGrey · 12/07/2023 22:31

Forgot to say that we were able to do this really cheaply using a bargain DIY store. If you attach the brackets with screws you can easily take them down again without damaging the fence if you're renting.

Chchchanges23 · 12/07/2023 22:40

I would discourage her from jumping up onto the fences. Pottering about the garden, fine. But no exploring up and over the fences. That’s what we do with our older cat who was indoor when we got her as a rescue, and remained so until we moved to a house when she was about 10. Just like your cat, she has loved getting that bit of freedom, eating grass etc 💕 But we got too permissive! We let her wander, turned out she wasn’t brave or smart enough and she got scared when next door and ran under their shed. She was then lost under there for 2 days until I heard her quietly miaowing. Since then we only let her out with (loose) supervision - she runs in when we call her, and she never tries to jump up onto the fence ever. I think she’s mentally scarred from getting lost!
Keep her to short visits outside, she’ll still enjoy it and you’ll feel confident you’re keeping her safe in her older years. She won’t have the same instincts as a fully outdoor cat, it’s inevitable.

cinnamonfrenchtoast · 13/07/2023 15:10

If you can't cat-proof and don't want to let her out to roam, then all you can really do is harness-train her and have her out on a harness and lead while you're around to supervise.

Urgsleepmoresleep · 13/07/2023 22:14

It’s weird. During the day she just potters in the garden. Come evening she wants to explore. I just spent a comical time trying to get her off the fence and inside. I literally hearded her inside.

I have turned into a helicopter cat parent

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