My cats don't want to be outside

[Killerqueenie]

We live on a farm, and wanted to get some cats to keep the mice/rats down.

At the end of last year we got 2 kittens, Who are now 6 months old. We kept them inside the house while they were little. We have a small conservatory that we kept them in overnight but through the day when we were at home they could roam the house. Now they are old enough to go outside, but they just constantly want back inside. I don't want them to be house cats, our plan was to have them as outside only cats. We have a porch that we have moved them out to, so it is sheltered, and they have a cage to sleep in that is covered that they can freely go in and out of. They have constant access to dry food and we feed them wet food at scheduled times. They also have a litter tray outside. But they spend the whole day sitting outside the house waiting to get in. They only ever go and explore if we are outside with them. They follow us everywhere when we are outside, and as soon as we go back inside, they just wait by the door.

How can I get them to go and explore/hunt on their own? They have had access to outside for a few weeks now.

My MIL has one of their siblings on her farm, and it goes off on adventures on its own all the time, so I'm not sure where we are going wrong?

Ime if you are feeding them they won't go hunt....

They need to build up their confidence first, they are still in the kitten phase.

Leave the door open a cat sized crack so they can come and go as they please, they will get on so much better knowing they have a bolt hole back to their safe space.

Once they're confident and have explored a bit you'll be able to shut the door.

Some cats just don’t like being outside much. I’ve had several cats and 2 of them roamed everywhere, we live rurally and they’d be off over the fields all day long. Current cat just spends 10 mins outside the back door in the morning and then comes in again…! 🤷‍♀️ I don’t know how you can change it, I think it’s just their personality.

One of the most disgusting things I've read on here for a while! And very ignorant, a well fed cat tends to be a better mouser according to my farming family.

You could try slowly moving their feeding station further away from the house, ending up in the place that you would like them to think of as "home". But a "cage to sleep in that is covered that they can freely go in and out of." isn't sufficient. They need a warm cosy place to sleep, such as a pile of blankets up off the floor in a wind and rain proof shed.

Unless they came from a farm in the first place and born to an outdoors cat, kittens aren't the best cats to get as outdoor pest controllers. They have learned the comforts of being an indoor cat during their most formative time and none of the particular skills they need to be outdoor cats. Ideally if you want cats specifically as mousers you need to get ones born and raised to at least 3-4 months on a farm or similar, or a semi-feral from a rescue.

Every time my cousin has moved to a new place she's ended up taking over the resident cats, except the place she lives now where a local stray adopted them. All these cats have become better at rodent control since she started feeding them properly, despite the fact that they've all ended up becoming partly indoor cats e.g. current cat comes in at night all over winter by his choice, then stays out all night in the warm weather.

Of course they hunt if you feed them. They don't catch mice and birds because they taste nice, it's their instinct. They play with them, not actually eat them.
I guess you maybe should've introduced them to outside a bit sooner. I'd imagine they will get used to it. But a farm is probably quite overwhelming for them, so many different smells and maybe lots of different animals, wild and not. Just keep giving them access and when the weather gets warmer I'm sure they'll be out a lot more.

I’d accept your fate with this pair! Rescues near us often advertise outdoor/barn adult cats - could you rehome some of these in addition? On my grandparents farm growing up was a population of barn cats plus ‘pet’ cat that hung out in the kitchen with my granny.

I imagine they are getting uses to all the new smells and noises. They probably need to build up their confidence.

If not you may need to get a feral cat from a rescue that will live a happy hunting life with you

I agree you would be better getting a couple of adult barn cats. Most rescues will have these. Sometimes referred to as working cats.

6 months is still young, mine still liked to spend a lot of time with me and playing at that age. Going from being indoors to fully outdoors so suddenly is maybe a lot for them and they will still want to be around you for cuddles etc. My two only went out for a bit at a time a few times a day at that age to build their confidence and get used to the outside, they could come in whenever they wanted. Within a few months they were spending a lot of time outdoors in the summer, one of them rarely goes out in the winter though and only during the night ( think she has had a fright from something but we are in a suburban area) they have a cat flap so can come and go as they please. They are all different i guess. Give them time and let them build up their time outdoors gradually so they feel comfortable and can get to know their surroundings knowing they can come back indoors when they need to. As they grow out of the kitten phase they will hopefully become more independent. They don’t need to be hungry to hunt at all, as others have said it is their natural instinct and don’t hunt for food but for play etc.

I dont agree with that reply either. My cats are well fed and always have access to food, and always will have. I have heard that cats hunt better when they are fed well. They are currently in our porch, which is attached to the house but open to outside. The porch has a roof and sides, but one side is open, so they have shelter from wind and rain. Their cage has a solid bottom to it and is filled with blankets and a fluffy bed, and the top of the cage is covered with old blankets, so I have no concerns about them feeling cold. Plus they love to snuggle up together.

Maybe I do just need to adopt a barn cat. It's just frustrating as their sibling was also inside as a young kitten then moved outdoors, and has no problems with going off exploring.

Our farm isn't particularly noisy. We don't have constant machines running. We have sheep and lambs in the field next to the house, and the cats are quite happy to walk through the field amongst them when we are in there.

Hopefully as they get older they will gain more confidence. We are hoping we can gradually move them further from the house into one of the barns.

Thanks for the extra info - sounds like their living quarters are very comfortable 😀. I've seen too many farm cats over the years who aren't treated right & are just left to fend for themselves in every way, even to the degree that they don't get taken to the vets for treatment etc.so I can be a little paranoid about them.

Cats can be very different even from their siblings and having grown up together. My friend has 2 litter mate boys he's had from kittens. One loves to go out & be adventurous, the other can be pretty timid & never leaves the garden and is always in at the first sniff of wind or rain. One is an overweight guzzle guts, the other isn't too fussed. One is very territorial to the extent of resource guarding sometimes, the other doesn't care about anything as long as he's next to Daddy.

Are they male or female, OP.

Females tend to be the better hunters. I used to work on a farm where this tiny little female cat used to come home carrying pheasants and hares, and giant rats.

They are both female. One of them has caught one mouse, but it was when they were out walking around with us outside 😅 haven't seen them go off hunting on their own yet. Fingers crossed as they get older they will be fab hunters.

They’re still really young - mine didn’t show any real interest in the outdoors until they were about 12 months old so I’d just give it more time - the spring and summer weather should help as well, mine are always out more in the lighter, warmer months.

Only two of them have ever hunted anything though - the oldest just sunbathes and rolls in the grass 🤣

They're still kittens, they're probably scared the local mice will gang up on them and beat them up 😁 or get carried off by a herd of sparrows!

We've adopted ex farm kittens who would go out hunting as soon as they were allowed out, and ex ferals who took one look at indoors and refused to go out ever again. Some just aren't interested, some will be little terrors from their first day out and some take a while to get confident. And some remain scared of mice their whole lives... Even litter mates are so very different to each other.

Great to read that they're well fed and obviously well looked after - so many farm cats get ignored and left to fend for themselves. Where I've kept my horses in the past, I've spent thousands on vet bills for farm cats because the farmers couldn't care whether they lived or died. So like Allergictoironing, I get concerned about barn and farm cats.

Give them time. When we adopted our boy last year he was one, and after an initial burst of exploring madly (obviously we kept him in for a month before letting him out) he showed little interest in going out for about three months. He’d been a stray kitten who a woman was feeding, so maybe he just wanted to feel settled inside with us, but it was such a change from our previous cat who loved being out.

Now - almost a year on - he really likes being out, catches mice, and once brought home a sparrow. Having a live mouse running round the kitchen with the cat chasing it and me chasing the cat was not my favourite! He still doesn’t roam much (which I am glad of) and will come in to use the litter tray then go back out again (which I am less glad of, our previous cat always toileted outside).

Rehome them to indoor homes.

Outside only cats is a brutal life. Cats are domesticated animals. They rely on a warm home to return to. Even people against indoor only cats must agree on that.

You cannot force them to be outside if they don't want to be there.

They sit by the door all day waiting to be let in!! How can you not see how cruel you're being? I just can't understand this. Poor kittens. Please let them be in a home with people who care for them and want them there. Why would you even want kittens to live outside? Adopt some of the adult ferals who aren't able to live inside, do a good deed for sad animals with no other hope. Don't consign a fucking kitten to this cold and cruel life.

All cats have different personalities, there is a huge spectrum in domestic cat behaviour.

Sounds like you don't want a pet, you want 'working' cats. In that case, rehome your home-comfort-loving kittens and get an actual feral cat or cats.

Feral cats generally don't like human contact and much prefer the outdoors - although you would still need to provide a good, warm and clean outdoor shelter as they need to shelter from the cold and rain, and they also need to be regularly fed.

Are these the first cats you have had? 6 months is very young! I feel sorry for them too.

@hoarahloux They sit by the door all day waiting to be let in!! How can you not see how cruel you're being? I just can't understand this. Poor kittens. Please let them be in a home with people who care for them and want them there. Why would you even want kittens to live outside? Adopt some of the adult ferals who aren't able to live inside, do a good deed for sad animals with no other hope. Don't consign a fucking kitten to this cold and cruel life.

I agree it is cruel for @Killerqueenie to be refusing to let the poor domesticated kittens inside. She obviously hasn't a clue about cats. Doesn't understand the difference between domesticated and feral cats.

But I disagree with you @hoarahloux that feral cats are "sad animals with no other hope" - they're perfectly happy to be feral, they don't want to be domesticated, and it's their natural state, just as any wild cat prefers to be outside.

Cats have a surprising amount of cultural inheritance, eg their mothers generally teach them how to use litter trays, cat flaps etc. Are these kittens from an outdoor hunting mother? If not, as pP have said, they are still kittens. They want cuddles and play. You know one of them at least will hunt mice, so as they grow if they feel secure, will likely bring you a daily bag. Probably let them follow you around outdoors, until they are happy to go on their own ( in 3 or 4 months)?

I feel so sorry for these babies! They just want to be indoors with their family! How cruel to bring them into the bosom of the family and now that they're 6 months old (still babies!) you want to fuck them out to live outdoors? How can you?

I have three cats, all rescues and all indoors. They were all used to being outdoors when we got them. One was straying in a city centre. She was 5, now 8. She panics and runs when anyone opens a door! She loves her nice, warm, comfy indoor life. The second was 18 months and while she had a home, she was neglected, pregnant and living on the streets being fed by 4 families. She's never looked to go out in three years. Our baby was also 1.5 and he was indoor/outdoor with 5 other cats that he had to fight with for his food. Again, just over a year later, he has shown no interest in going outside. I'm delighted because he's a bit dopey lovebug and I don't know how he would cope outside.

If you wanted pest control, you should have got feral cats that wanted to live outside. These wee babies want to be in with you, as they're used to. Are you going to be hard-hearted enough to shut them outside crying to get in while you casually sit there watching TV and ignoring them?

Rehome them.

"Sad animals with no other hope" in that contained in a shelter for adoption, they're miserable and will shortly be killed, is what I meant.

Cats are still domesticated animals and an invasive species, and aren't adapted to be outside, unlike wildcats which are a totally different creature. But feral cats, trapped and contained, often aren't able to be socialised, so their best option is to become a barn cat where they carry out a service.

The "natural state" of a domestic cat is inside with the humans who domesticated it. Just as you wouldn't let your hamster roam free...

To have them inside and then turf them out is very cruel in my opinion.
My cats live inside. But one is a prolific hunter and constantly catches mice and hangs round where they are for hours on end when the weather is ok. He'll be out late into the evening and then come in and curl up on my bed, so it's not all or nothing.
My cats are very attached to us and I expect yours are too.

You need to introduce them to the outside yourself slowly. As in back door open and you out there encouraging them. It takes time. They’re only going on what they know. Having a litter tray outside will be counter productive. Once they feel safe being outside at first with you there, they’ll go with their instincts. They’re only very little still. I only let mine go outside once they were over a year old. They won’t understand why they’ve been booted out to a cage outside.