Nervous about letting cats stay out at night?

[Deargodletitgo]

Very sleepy today as one of my cats was a dirty stop out and didn't come back last night. I went to bed but keep checking on whether she returned, which she did at 2 am. I blame the lovely weather, my other cat was out later too but tucked up on a bed by 11. I usually have them both in at night and find it stressful when they are out, but am I being an overthinking stress bunny? Both are over 2, have been out and about since I had them. She's timid with other humans and I doubt goes far, not a lot of traffic on the one road that is close to us, especially quiet at night. She won't use a cat flap either.

So why do I find it so stressful? Should I just let them roam?

you’re maybe putting human fears on them. It’s not like another cat is going to kidnap them or get drunk and fight them in the night. They’re nocturnal animals

My cats have always been allowed to come and go as they please (previous cats were in their mid 20s when they died and current cat is 17). Your cat will use the cat flap if she needs to! My cat prefers me to be a doorman but if I'm unavailable (especially when I'm asleep at night) he just uses the flap.

no, she refuses to even try, had it there for 18 months, my other cat uses it happily. I have to leave the back door open.

I know the reason for my anxiety, we had two cats in a another house and while my marriage fell apart we got two young cats, which were allowed to come and go. One was hit by a car one night and died, although the road is busier and much faster, with a blind corner. I feel like I let my eye off the ball. the other cat is still there though, and my ex lets him come and go at will and he seems safe enough.

tbh I wouldn't be surprised if my other cat got drunk and started a fight, but he has a tracker as he's a twat who wanders into people's houses.

I’m exactly the same! In fact sometimes on a sunny day I get her in at 7 and then we are all stuck in the house because I don’t want her going out again! We don’t have a cat flap. I think it’s because our previous cat was run over although that was in the day time so my paranoia doesn’t really make sense.

So I only Recently got a cat flap after 10 years as i as anxious about them being out at night - turns out nothing to worry about - I set up a cheap Amazon camera to watch the flap and they generally come in themselves and don't stay out - they are 10 now though and I know they don't go far which helps

yes, I can track one cat's movements and i know once he is in (11ish normally, he stays in till dawn). She is much the same....I will just need to learn to relax about it. I am more chill when I have someone else cat sitting, it's like I can give them the parental responsibility.

I was like this @Deargodletitgo ..previous girl cat was always in at night, usually now later than 10am. Now have a boy cat, and he is a night boy!! Initially I would get really stressed, stay up stupidly late, go out looking for him & bring him home etc. But it was making me so stressed! So now he stays out, the cat flap is locked at 10/10:30 so once he's in, he is in..but honestly we are both happier this way. And tbh he makes such a racket coming through the cat flap I usually hear him coming in! (We do live in a cul-de-sac, which eases my worries)

So...I just learn to chill?

I leave an upstairs window open and she pops in and out at night. I'm fine with that. There's hardly any traffic through the night so it is probably much safer.

Ours was in at 9pm. Cats get run over in the dark.

My 15 year old is kept in at night at last feed. Odd time he has got out ended up fighting with injuries on his back, luckily healed with anti-septic spray. Also risk of car accidents.nJust not worth it. Know it can be harder to control a younger boy though

I prefer my cats to be in by the time I go to bed and to stay in overnight, however my eldest ds often comes in late or goes into the garden for a cigarette late at night and the cats escape! It used to worry me but it doesn’t now that they’re older (4 and 10). They generally have enough interest in the garden and the hedges in the front and the road is quite quiet at night. They have a cat flap I set to let them in but not out again at night. In winter they would be in a lot, anyway. I’d probably worry more if they didn’t come in during the colder months.

I'd let mine out if they had a cat flap but as they have no way of getting in I'd rather they were in. I'm sure they'd prefer to be out in this weather though. They do tend to come in by 10pm anyway, if earlier I shut the door. Some nights they'll be pains but it's only in the summer.

Well we went away for 3 nights and both cats were left to go in and out as they wanted as they refused to come in when the cat sitters called them🤦 both happy to see me, probably loved their extra bit of freedom

I let ours roam. I offer him the chance to go out when I go to bed or at any time he goes to the door. In summer he tends to go out at night and in winter he tends to stay in. During the day he snoozes mostly! We do live somewhere with fields behind us so I suspect he stays mostly in fields and gardens.