Birman cat desperate to be an outdoor cat

[Minimum85percentCocoa]

Hi,

I have a Birman cat just over a year old. Everything I’ve read suggests she should be happy being a house cat, and we have an enclosed yard so she does get outdoor time.

However she is increasingly desperate to get out and roam, and I’m starting to feel that it’s unfair on her to keep her in.

No matter how I try and cat proof the yard, she always manages to get out. She doesn’t roam far and always comes back but I don’t know if it’s safe with this breed or not.

Shes just spent 10 nights at our cat sitters who li es on the next street, and she escaped from there twice - one time she was found back in our garden so I know that it’s not that she hates us!

I’m going to ask my vet for advice but I’m considering putting a collar with contact details on and maybe an AirTag? (I wouldn’t usually bother with a collar due to risks but she ends up on Facebook groups if people spot her out as they understandably think she’s lost).

I already take her out on a lead which she loves but she also wants independent time too.

Has anyone let their pedigree/supposedly less ‘streetwise’ cat out?

I don’t know if it’s relevant but I have this breed because it’s literally the only cat breed my husband isn’t severely allergic to. I know some people have opinions about pedigrees as opposed to rescue moggies etc but this wasn’t an option for us. I don’t want an unhappy puss but want to keep her safe too.

Thanks in advance and pictures for tax obviously

Just to add this isn’t new behaviour either, she’s been like it for months.

@Minimum85percentCocoa no advice but oh my she's absolutely gorgeous!!!! If you did let her go free range I'd be worried about her being taken. Can you make a bigger run in your garden?? Or take her for more walks?? Absolutely gorgeous cat though 😍

There’s a Ragdoll who is often seen wandering around our neighbourhood. He enjoys sitting on pavements and blagging tickles from passers-by. He’s been around for five or so years now.

Gorgeous girl.

What is the area you live in like? I'm on a quiet cul-de-sac and mine (not a pedigree) doesn't leave the road but she does visit everyone. She also often lies in the middle of the road.

As everyone around here knows her it isn't a problem, well only when a new person moves in and I have to explain that no she is not a starving kitten.

As you walk her you could maybe crate a 'perimeter' that you don't go beyond with her?

In summer I rarely see mine in the house, she just decides whose drive she is going to sleep on for an hour.

Hi, although I live on a city outskirts it’s fairly quiet round here. Coronation street style houses and 20mph speed limit - people often drive slower than this as narrow streets are double parked. I’ve seen a British short hair and a Bengal regularly roaming. It’s the type of neighbourhood where people would get to know her pretty quickly, and we have a primary school behind our house with a big staff car park with trees that tends to be her favourite place.

when she has got out there’s usually a facebook post where someone has taken her to their house to keep her safe, but if that doesn’t happen she finds her own way back. Sometimes she sneaks into people’s houses on her own as well(!) I think that will happen less as the weather gets worse and people aren’t leaving doors open.

i got another kitten recently to keep her company, and they got on so well cuddling up together and playing, but traumatically he got ill at around 4 months of age and passed away two weeks ago :( I can’t face getting another one and going through that again but she obviously craves more company/excitement than we are giving her.

Let her explore. We have ragdolls and kept them in for the first year. We have been letting them out since (15 years).
They have their own cat flap to come and go as they please. One of them spends up to 15 hours a day outside!

I use the Tractive cat tracker collars for mine. Gives a good sense of the way they're ranging around during the day (mine seem to stick quite close to home but go back and forth patrolling the same area all day) and where they are at any given moment.

I think I’d let her out if she’s desperate to do so.

When you say you’ve tried to cat proof the garden - have you tried the ProtectaPet mesh on the fences? My cat thinks she is a gibbon - a very strong and athletic climber! - and it keeps her in!

I agree with previous posters, let her explore outside.
She's unlikely to wander very far, and will be so much happier.

Was your cat sitter a professional one? If so I would be changing to a different one.
How have you tried to cat proof the yard?
I fully netted my back garden ( small with six foot fences) so my lot can go in/out as they please but not escape. I have plenty of wooden runs on the fences so they can run up high and along and I have a viewing platform in centre so they can see beyond the fence to watch the world go by. Lots of scratching surfaces, cat friendly plants and a paddling pool in summer and they v content and safe.
My worry wouldn’t be cat not coming back but someone stealing her.

I’ve had 3 Birman X cats over the years. Not sure if their half-mogginess made them any more streetwise, but they have all had complete freedom to come and go. My main concern would be theft as they are such beautiful cats - your girl is just gorgeous. Mine have all tended to run away from people when out and about though. Would yours allow a stranger to pick her up? If she’s so desperate for freedom, I think you’ll have to bite the bullet and just do it… Air tag is a good idea.

Please don’t let your cat out to shit in other people’s gardens.

She's telling you she isn't an indoor cat. Just let her out.

A shit tag would be better as far as the neighbours are concerned.

No advice but wow she's absolutely stunning

I have two Maine Coons and live in a terraced street in London. One is a homebody and one practically lives outside. The former goes out but it's unusual not to be within sight (and he used to come on dog walks at night). The other one tends to hang out on the tops of sheds - she can pretty much go the whole length of the block from one shed to another - and 9 out of ten times comes in when I call her.
I couldn't imagine keeping them inside.

I have two Maine coons that I let roam during the day. They are very beautiful and conspicuous (though maybe your cat has the edge) so I suppose theft is a risk, but I'd rather take the risk than keep them restricted.
They have tractive trackers. From these I know that they go in my garden and 3 others but suspect the gardens are on a different scale to yours as we are in old detached houses in a village so gardens are more generous than coronation street style. Both come when I call and stay in for the night from when the light starts to drop.
My girl is very feisty and is up trees, on the roof of our outbuildings and balancing along high garden walls constantly. My boy tends to just potter at ground level mostly sticking within my garden.
Both come in to use the litter tray, I guess because this was engrained habit by the time I let them out at over 12 months old.

We had two Rag Dolls who went outside. One didn't venture far but her brother covered large distances and was well known in the village. When we first got them we had thought we would keep them indoors but they escaped at every opportunity. I spoke to the vet who laughed like a drain and said if we shaved them they would just look like any other cat so of course they could go outside if they wanted. My only fear was that they might get stolen but they didn't over 14 years.

Imagine coming to the cat board to moan about cats.

There is a gorgeous grey Maine Coon boy that comes into our garden and has a stare down with our dog. He's utterly fabulous and struts about the place like no tosses are given. Our two bengal crosses both went outside, and stayed away from roads....little sods killed every small thing going though, and hence can't cope with more.

Can you add enrichment to your yard for her? Trees, branches to climbs, multi level perches including some with grassy areas, tunnels, bushes and places to hide?

She is a beauty😻

I have a ragdoll who goes out. She isn’t much of a wanderer and basically stays in our garden these days but she could go further if she wished.

Dcat loves being in the garden and I wouldn’t want to deprive her of that. She would run if anyone came near her but it is always a worry. She was attacked by what we now think was a fox and sustained a nasty leg bite so her curfew is now much earlier in the evening!

The decision was made for is as the rescue adult Dcat came from wanted is to let her out. I’m glad they did because it enhances her life no end!

We have three neighbour cats. One patrols the front two patrol the back. The have air tags on. We all know them though. They are regularly rounded up at night from various houses.

Personally think making them indoor cats is cruel.

We had Birmans growing up. Never treated them any differently to any other breed. We never tried to keep them as indoor cats. She is telling you she wants to be out, trying to force her temperament to be different to what it is will make her miserable and end up with causing other medical problems.