Advice for a kitty

[mummysaz21 10]

alfie is around 13 weeks old,queit big for his age i think and seams to be fattening up in the last 2 weeks basicaly growing liek a good cat should and is very happy,but the problem i am having which seams to be getting worse is him trying to run outside, what i am wanting to know is am i going to be able to keep him as a house cat?is it goign to be do able as he gets older with him already liking the look of the outside world lol, the reason im scared of letting him out when hes older is becouse my female just dissapered last year and she was chipped so im worried it will happen again, but then im thinking if i cant keep him in and he realy does want to be an outside cat aswell, would a cat flap be handy?just incase he needs to escape from foxes or dogs ect?obv he cant go out yet he hasent ven had his injections yet and obviously i want him neutered preferably before he does go out if he ever does, how do people with house cats stop them being outdoor cats if that makes any sense?

[helenasq 10]

Sorry can't help on this one. I had trouble keeping mine in when they were young so I don't know the answer. All mine go out now, except Milo who is recovering from an operation on his back leg. He still tries to escape though

[Cat86 10]

Its natural though that he wants to be outside.

To be honest I do think unless a cat has a disability where it would be in danger if it was outside, I'd let it out

 

I do think its a good idea for you to have him neatured, hes probably less likely then to roam as much

I always feed my cat too at a set time- so that I know she'll come back for her dinner.

[mummysaz21 10]

hi cat86, im not worried about him runnign away i dont think he would he loves the dogs far to much, and this is the problem hes trying to follow the dogs out of the door lol, but again its not that hed run awa its the dangerous outside, my road is riddled with foxes and we also have neighbours with not so nice animals i dont think my last cat jusT(RAN AWAY)she was chipped and we still havent found her its basicaly the dangers outside, plus my ginger tom i had only lasted a year becouse he got killed by a car everrytime i have let a cat outside its ended up in heartbreak so im kind of scared to let him out

[Lotti 10]

Smitch is getting on a bit now and though she always used to be an outdoor cat, we've had new doors put on which means no cat flap

 

Since her sister died in Jan/Feb time she hasn't really wanted to spend time outdoors and now goes out for half an hour in a morning and that's it It's very easy keeping her in, getting her to go out is the problem!

 

I feel so much better now knowing she's inside. Personally, I wouldn't have another outdoor cat now. If I did have my own cat when I get my own place it'd be allowed out but only when supervised and possibly in an enclosed space.

 

Adolf (my childhood cat) was run over aged 10 and though Smudge died from diabetes, not a road incident, it does make me feel safer knowing Smitch is in most of the time now.

I did also worry not only about Smitch getting hurt but someone swerving to miss her and causing an accident, or the long lasting effects on whoever did hit her - I've seen a cat run over and even though it wasn't me that did it, the image was left burned in my memory.

 

Can you get him a little harness to go outside with? So he gets to experience the outside but only with you there to check he's ok etc?

 

Good luck! They are inquisitive by nature but remember the old saying 'curiosity killed the cat'!

[mummysaz21 10]

Can you get him a little harness to go outside with? So he gets to experience the outside but only with you there to check he's ok etc?

 

thats the thing i dont want him to experience it to much that he likes it and does a runner when im trying to get in house with pushchair or the bike lol AAAARRRGGHHH animals

[kitty katt 10]

My cat is an House Cat,I got him from the Cat Shelter about a year ago he is about 3 years old, he has escaped twice since I got him, but within 10 Minutes he was back at the Door crying, he does not seem that bothered about going out and seems happy inside. He is a very nervous cat the other day i put a bunch of bananas on the side and he went and hid, then came out and started hitting them until he realised they were alright. Your cat is very young and kittens seem more daring when they go out and mishevious I would try and keep him in until he is a bit older. My last cat was a neighbours cat i took in when they moved and he was always outside, one day he was up the tree in the garden crying and a fox was at the bottom chasing him I had to chase the fox away. If you want to let him out do it gradually and dont give him a lot to eat.

 

I also put my cat in the back room when I go out of the door so he does not follow me, there is nothing wrong with keeping your cat in mine I am sure is happier than being in the cat shelter homeless.

[vizsla 10]

Your kitten may have been bred in a shed or something, we had one from a racehorse trainer never been inside and she wanted to be out all the time.

Pedigree cats except bengals do all make better housecats as they have been bred for generations to be that way.

It sounds like your boy is an adventurer.

[mummysaz21 10]

bred in a shed?are you on about mine here or the other person?mine was in home before i got him and very well loved, so it cant be anything like that i think im just going to have lock him upstairs when getting the bike or buggy in and out, hes getting worse trying to go he wants to chase the ladies im sure lol

[mummysaz21 10]

It sounds like your boy is an adventurer

:hihi:

[katkin 10]

alfie is around 13 weeks old,queit big for his age i think and seams to be fattening up in the last 2 weeks basicaly growing liek a good cat should and is very happy,but the problem i am having which seams to be getting worse is him trying to run outside, what i am wanting to know is am i going to be able to keep him as a house cat?is it goign to be do able as he gets older with him already liking the look of the outside world lol, the reason im scared of letting him out when hes older is becouse my female just dissapered last year and she was chipped so im worried it will happen again, but then im thinking if i cant keep him in and he realy does want to be an outside cat aswell, would a cat flap be handy?just incase he needs to escape from foxes or dogs ect?obv he cant go out yet he hasent ven had his injections yet and obviously i want him neutered preferably before he does go out if he ever does, how do people with house cats stop them being outdoor cats if that makes any sense?

 

 

I've owned moggies and pedigrees and up to 6 yrs back all my moggies were outdoor. Pedigree breeders usually insist on their cats going to indoor homes so when we decided to get our Maine Coon and Norwegian Forest Cat kittens, we agreed to this massive change in our lives (and it was- we still had elderly moggies, but they showed very little interest in the great outdoors once anyway). It meant we had to provide litter trays 24hr and have pletny of fun things for our indoor cats to do - they needed sleeping spots, climbing frames and more attention from us - and that was the great thing - our indoor cats are far more interactive and interested in us than our old moggies and they love being picked up and playing 'fetch' and other games. They are also much more tolerant of the dobermutt too. She's just part of the family to them.

 

We have a sturdy mesh outder door which we keep closed if we have the back door open on warm days and we've secured the windows so they can't escape- having said that- we own 2 bengals and they are the wiliest, most sure-footed and determined beasties known to man - if there is a way out, be assured our Alfie WILL find it and exploit it to the full - he chews through strong string and light pulls, chomps venetian blinds and scales tall buildings if he spots a bug... Indoor cats can easily get bored and become destructive if you don't give them plenty to do - Alfie has oodles of energy and immensely strong muscles and jaws, it takes a lot to tire him out, but we make the effort.

 

Oh we do let them out occasionally - supervised - our backyard is pretty secure and some of the cats are trustworthy- they don't dash off over the fencing - but with ones who are a little more skittish, we use a harness. Next year, we are thinking of converting our gazebo into a caged outdoor cat playroom - one where we can still sit out but where with plenty of climbing activities and shady areas, our furry friends can enjoy a bit of vitamin D and sunshine as well...

 

When I had outdoor moggies, I lost occasional ones to the roads, to dogs, to cruelty from horrible neighbourhood thugs- and through illness - outdoor mogs are more prone to illness and infection and often have a shorter life-span because they come into contact with other, non-vaccinated cats. All my cats are microchipped and collared, just in case they ever do escape, but I don't regret converting to indoor - and I'm not the only one on my road.

Edited November 9, 2009 by katkin

[JarvisCocker 10]

alfie is around 13 weeks old,queit big for his age i think and seams to be fattening up in the last 2 weeks basicaly growing liek a good cat should and is very happy,but the problem i am having which seams to be getting worse is him trying to run outside, what i am wanting to know is am i going to be able to keep him as a house cat?is it goign to be do able as he gets older with him already liking the look of the outside world lol, the reason im scared of letting him out when hes older is becouse my female just dissapered last year and she was chipped so im worried it will happen again, but then im thinking if i cant keep him in and he realy does want to be an outside cat aswell, would a cat flap be handy?just incase he needs to escape from foxes or dogs ect?obv he cant go out yet he hasent ven had his injections yet and obviously i want him neutered preferably before he does go out if he ever does, how do people with house cats stop them being outdoor cats if that makes any sense?

 

We have in indoor cat. You just have to be very very careful. We live in a different house now to when she was a kitten, but basically we NEVER opened the door if she was in the kitchen. We never have windows open in the summer either, unless the door to that room is firmly shut. As Katkin has said they do demand more attention so they don't get bored. When she was younger, every night when I got home from work we would have an hours playtime. She's 8 now so isn't so bothered about playing, but she still has a mad half hour when I get in from work. Its quite hard work when they are young, they have so much energy and because they are not going outside they don't expel that energy, hence mad hours and wall-of-death.

 

I am glad I have an indoor cat, infact now I would NEVER have a cat and let it out. We live in a really quiet area now but she still stays indoors, with me, where I know she is safe. She does go in the garden occasionally on a nice summers day, but always supervised by me.