Does your cat / kitten go out at night

[rubyslipperss]

My kitten is only 7 months old. I’m not feeling happy about him being out at night yet even though he’s happy going out with a tracker during the day. Is it reasonable to keep him in at night for a bit longer ? Our other cat is older and goes in and out at night with the cat flap but she’s very large and I doubt she goes very far.
I feel there are so many dangers for him as he’s still quite small .

My cat goes out but our next one won't. He came to us feral and stuck in his ways and when he does have to stay in after a vet visit then we have to drug him to make him sleep. Bless him, he's hard work 🙄😂 Keep yours in , much better for them not to be out and about.

No, I never let them out at night unless the buggers have refused to come in ( usually for other people)

Ours are kept in at night as a general rule but if they won’t come back or manage to sneak back out then I don’t worry too much if they’re out.

Our 5 year old male cat 90% of the time comes in at night (we don’t have a cat flap) - normally around 9pm summer and earlier in the winter.

If he is out all night in the summer I don’t fret too much. But the odd occasion he hasn’t come home on a winter night I do worry. However everytime this has happened he arrives home in the morning suspiciously warm so we suspect her settles down for the night in one of our neighbours houses with a cat flap 😻

No, they have as much outdoor access as they want in the day but I couldn't sleep with them out. The little one is incredibly high and energy and dramatic, doesn't matter if she's had 13 hours outdoor access, she still has to give a protest performance when curfewed. This usually entails lying flat on her side on the windowsill, slapping the window and making an incredibly human sounding whinging noise. Luckily I have a treat she cannot resist and has to come in for, even if she knows what's going to happen.

How do cats react to a cat flap being open during the day, but being locked at night? I’d fear that, particularly in the early days of such a routine, the cat would give up trying to get out in the night, but how do you then signal that it’s working again in the morning? Or is it best to put a physical obstruction in front of it when it’s locked?

My cat just seems to accept that it doesn’t open after a certain time. It’s what we’ve always done. He might pat it a couple of times but then knows it doesn’t open and that’s that. We have a litter tray for him to use by the back door and he uses that if he needs to overnight.

To be honest, we have this problem. We have a cat flap with a curfew timer, keeping our cat in at night and then unlocking in the morning. When we first got it he'd try all the time, and he still tries occasionally at night, but he has given up trying in the morning. So I get up and show him that its open and then he'll happily go outside! I wish the cat flap made a sound when it unlocked to alert the them- they're smart cookies and I'm sure they'd soon learn what the sound meant. If anyone has come up with a clever solution to this I'd love to know!

We have a cat flap with a curfew timer, keeping our cat in at night and then unlocking in the morning. When we first got it he'd try all the time, and he still tries occasionally at night, but he has given up trying in the morning. So I get up and show him that its open and then he'll happily go outside!

Yes that's exactly my point! I fear my cat would try all night, then have given up by morning and not make further attempts. So I was thinking about putting a large box of Persil in front of the cat flap overnight (!) and moving it in the morning

Mine does. I’ve tried keeping her in but she absolutely hates it and poos on the floor in protest. If I put a litter tray down she doesn’t use it and it sits there for weeks. I can’t win.

I’ve never thought of that! What a good idea. My cat isn’t interested in going out during the day much so if I keep her in she just sleeps 24/7 and gets even fatter.

Cats are usually pretty good about accepting a routine once they get used to it. Mine does her performance strop when the catflap is closed at night in summer, but she will reliably settle down afterwards.

Arthur broke through two flaps, he pushed and pushes until the plastic breaks. Thug cat. We gave up.in the end, it was getting expensive!

No, cats can go out during the daytime but I shut them in at 8pm and it will be earlier as we near Nov 5th.

We have got into a bit of a routine now . He goes out in the morning but just can’t get the car flap ! So meows to be let in now it’s getting colder as we are not keeping the door open. Then we make sure he’s in by 6ish and getting earlier now , before dark . He seems totally fine with it .

Mine is coming up to 15 and very set in her ways and despite the fact she doesn't go out much by choice, if we tried to keep her in even overnight she would go absolutely mental and wee on our stuff instead of using the litter trays. If she doesn't get fed as quickly as she would like she likes to pick something and wee on it!

So for everyone's sanity she is free to roam 24/7.

Future cats will definitely be kept indoors at night if not permanently, haven't yet decided.

No. Our cat flap is locked internally from 9.30pm (8.30pm) in autumn/winter. If she’s out when it locks she can get back in but then she’s stuck in the house all night. I think it opens again at 6.30am.

Mine is 14. He goes out for his evening patrol at about 20.00 after his dinner and comes back in about two or three hours later for an evening treat of Dreamies.