Should we let our cat roam free?

[LavenderLxx]

Our cat is 15 months old. We adopted him when he was 4 months. He had been an indoor cat and initially we were going to do the same. By the time he was 8 months old and the spring had come he was increasingly more interested in the back door being opened so we bought a lead and started taking him outside. He loved it!! After a while we started letting him out in the garden on a longer lead and then with the lead dangling along the floor. He has never once made any attempt to jump/climb the fence or try to leave the garden! We thought this was perfect and the patio doors have been open for most of the time since - with him happily coming and going from the garden to the house.

All of this was fine until a week ago!! He’s discovered that he can climb a bush and get over the fence into next doors garden! But he can’t get back again so we had to go to the neighbours to rescue him! This has now happened quite a few times and yesterday he made his way through the neighbours garden and out onto the road. We live at the end of a culdesac on quite a quiet estate - but the garden behind that he jumps into is quite close to the main road. The neighbour spotted him and managed to pick him up and bring him home.

I know this is a long ramble but I’m unsure what to do… my husband says to just let him be a cat and explore. There’s no way that he would agree to cat proof the garden. But I’m soooo worried that he has absolutely no road sense or climbing ability!! How will he find his way back? After a horrible year he has been the only good thing and I couldn’t bear it if he got lost or squashed. He’s so cuddly and affectionate and loved his time inside; but equally he loves the fresh air and being a cat! Words of advice or reassurance please!

I have a cat flap in my glass door. A glazier can provide new glass for you with a hole cut to the size of your cat flap. I’m not sure if you’ve mentioned, but it’s sensible to have him neutered, if he isn’t, this will help with the roaming. He needs to be chipped as well. You can also get him a tracker to wear, then you’ll always know where he is when he’s out.

Yes he’s neutered and chipped. I’m thinking a tracker might be a good idea - at least while he gets used to being out and about!

If he’s anything like my cat a collar won’t last long, I gave up. If you do go down the tracker route, please ensure the collar is quick release should he get it caught.

OP, your set up sounds similar to mine, in that you're on a quiet road but a garden near yours is adjacent to a busier road.

Cats, on the whole, ARE sensible. The best way to get them used to their outdoor environment is to acclimatise them gradually, so they have less chance of getting spooked by something (dog, loud noise, etc) and running frantically into the path of danger. I'd do lots of short outdoors sessions, stay in the garden while your cat is out and talk to them. Get them more familiar in the immediate environment. If a cat can get over a fence or up a tree or under a bush, it can get back again! My advice would be not to pursue, just stay in the familiar-smelling garden and keep talking. They do come back.

Our young cats spent the last half of last year gradually getting used to the garden. We went out with them first and they only got 15 minutes. This gradually extended. As they got braver and more familiar, they went through an Intrepid Explorer phase where they were sussing out all the local gardens and we did follow them, watching over fences etc Now they're a lot less feral and have their demarcated areas they like to go. They always have litter trays indoors, access through the cat flap to water and food, and I check in on them a few times a day. Mostly they'll come when called - eventually.

Cats need to roam and explore. This means that a few of them will meet with an accident. I think that, sad though it is, it's an acceptable risk to take in order to allow them to live their full lives. I think the cats would agree!

Cats are here for a good time, not necessarily a long time. Assuming he's not some posh & stupid breed, I think it's a bit sad (and cruel sorry) that a cat of that age can't climb a fence. I'd consider your cat over yourself and let it roam. If it dies, it dies free. Because you've kept it constrained it's got a bit of learning to do, but they are smart and will adapt quick.

Yes let him roam, it's cats instinct and part of their nature, it will be a more rewarding and enriched life for him

Thank you for all your thoughts. I think it feels hard as he’s been outside pretty much all day everyday throughout the nice weather in the summer - we’ve had the back doors into the garden and hes just wandered in and out as he pleases; only ever staying in our garden. We thought we'd hit the jackpot with a cat who was happy to stay in his own garden!
As the weather has got colder we've had to shut the back door and he's normally miowed to be let in - maybe it was this change that made him explore a bit further afield!

He got stuck again in our neighbours garden at the weekend - he managed to climb a bush that he's never shown any interest in before and then go along the fence and jump down into a neigjbours garden. Despite us calling him and showing him treats over the fence he couldn't/wouldn't jump back onto the fence to get home so we had to go and rescue him!!

I think he wouldn't jump over the fence is likely to be the real explanation rather than couldn't. Did he try and fail? Or did he look at you like you were being daft / completely ignore you?

@LavenderLxx I remember when my cat was a kitten, on one of her first explorations she got stuck in my neighbour's garden and couldn't get back over the fence. Admitting defeat, she sauntered into neighbour's house via cat flap and ate the salmon that was put down for the cat there 😬 Another week or two and she was scaling that fence like a pro. By 6 months or so she was climbing half way up neighbour's huge silver birch and back down again without complaint. Boy cats (in my experience) do not learn quite as quickly as the girls, seem to have a little less finesse and tend to exaggerate their own abilities. But despite this, they catch up in the end! My boy definitely roams a lot more than the girl, but he always comes back for dinner.

Another vote for roam. It's a cat not a kid. And it has 9 lives. And will work out how to get over the fence if you let it

You can put a cat flap in a wall,not just doors,it's super easy,or in a glass door.definitely let him free range,he's a cat it's his whole point of being.

My cats are so happy going out that I would never keep them in, even though if they are late back I do worry a lot, especially one of them. All that's happening is that he is stalking some mice somewhere and ignoring me! That cat is an agile climber and jumper, and can get everywhere, but I'm not sure the other can do the same thing - I've never seen him climb a fence and he's 8 now!
For me, I want my cats to have the most fulfilling life, even when there is risk. Cats aren't stupid though, and once they are no longer kittens are mostly quite careful. Your cat has already had a taste of being free and so it seems a bit cruel to stop now.
I would just let him out in the day time when you are there if you're worried, and keep him in at night - roads are the most dangerous at night when drivers can't see as well. But hopefully he will not go on the road - mine never do. If you want to know where he does go, get a tracker for a while to put your mind at rest.

I live on a moderately busy road there are loads of cats around. I have always let my cats roam free but am very aware of the risks and have lost a cat on a road in the past.

I have one 10 years old and one who is 5.

My last cat was 19 and a free-roamer. My cats love the outdoors.

Ha ha, yes he did look at us and then pay no attention to us! But after a while he was miowing and pacing back and forth which seemed as if he was stuck and didn’t know how to jump that high!