When to let cat go outside?

[Canyoudigityesyoucan]

5 month old kitten. Full vaccinated, wormed and flea treatment done.

He has a mountain of toys, scratching post, laser pointers- you name it. One of us WFH so are with him all day every day.

He is like Houdini at the moment and desperate to go outside. We have taken him outside on a harness and lead in our garden (it’s not entirely enclosed but high, brand new fences all the way round) but his behaviour is wild at the moment. Jumping on the sides and smashing plant pots, jumping on our bed in the middle of night and scratching any bit of exposed skin.

We play with him actively for hours and do try and tire him out but I think he’d be so much happier if he could go outside. Is it too soon and is he too young? He’s charging around our house and has so much energy, don’t want him to be bored!

it’s not entirely enclosed

well no then OP, i wouldn’t

Sorry when I say not entirely enclosed it’s not like a catio. If he wanted to really jump and go for it, he could get up the side of a fence

They're a bit daft at 5 mo. I left my kitten until 8 mo. It was summer at the time, so we could leave the door open for her to come and go

Is he neutered? An intact tom cam wander quite far from home in search of females and can also get into fights with other males.

If he is neutered, you could let him outside for short periods to begin with, ideally before he has had his dinner. That way he will be likely to come back to the sound of the packet or tin. If you don't have a cat flap, leave a door or window open so he can return home safely. They can often be quite skittish the first few times they go out and need to know how to bolt home.

Yes he’s neutered and microchipped! He has a little collar with a pet tracker on which we’ve been doing periods of him learning to wear and not pull off

thanks for advice @ADessertOrAMeringue I might try and eke him out to March so it’s a bit spring like and he’s 6months, perhaps we just need to spend more time with him on his harness and lead outside with him!

well then my point stands 🤷‍♀️

Thanks @theeyeshaveit82

I let mine out once vaccinated.

I sat outside with them for the first two weeks to keep an eye on them. They were quite wary at first (next door has barky dogs).

If you have a tracker on him then I'd let him out for short supervised periods.

Also just consider what's nearby outside of your garden. We're lucky that we are surrounded by other gardens and not near any busy roads so I'm not too worried about mine being out. Obviously if you have traffic nearby I would be more cautious but if he gets confident enough to climb over a fence into another garden he will probably work out how to get home.
Just be aware that if he likes 'hunting' with toys at home, he may well bring you home some gifts!

I'd wait another few months and when you do eventually let him out , do it when he's due a meal and hungry . Sit on your back door step or on the floor close to the back door with it open and after a short time 10/15 minutes he will hopefully be quite close to you for you to pick him up or he will follow you back in for food .
Keep doing this so he gets to know he will be fed when he comes in .

If you think he can jump the fence I wouldn't, he's too young to have any sense. When my new cat leapt the fence my heart was in my mouth and she is over a year old and streetwise. I followed her around so she could find her way back home. She's very independent and savvy, so I don't need to worry now. Plus there is no way she can be let in, she is very sneaky!! You don't even see her sneak past you !

We live in a fairly quiet culdesac and the garden is pretty massive and full of fun stuff to explore. I’ll probably just suck up a few more weeks of pure chaos and then get him outside with supervision!

He has even managed to find two kickboards in our pretty large newly-fitted kitchen which haven’t been secured down (small ish ones on tight corners) and has managed to pull it down and open it and get underneath the kitchen cabinets. He is the most intelligent and chaotic cat I’ve ever had!

I would keep taking him outside on the lead. You could also walk him round the local area a bit.

Might do this today and really lean into the crazy cat lady sad and single on Valentine’s Day

We started letting our kittens out (accompanied initially) at about 5 months. By six months they were free to come and go at will. No way to block in our garden so they have freedom to go where they like.