indoor cat... now want to let him outdoors!

CamperMan

Hi,

we have a male cat, 2 years old, he's had the snip, but we have always had him indoors since we got him aged about 4 weeks old, the thing now, is were moving into a mobile home whilst we self build, he would crack up confined to a mobile home.

Question is, would it be safe to let him have the run of the land, it's a quiet rural area, any advice would be a big help.

Thanks

Sigma Force

When a cat moves to a new place they need a good few weeks kept indoors so they become used to the new surroundings and accept it as home.
Letting him out to roam may lead to him getting lost, on the road esp. as he wouldn't be street wise or even injured because when you are building there are a lot of cars and diggers etc. coming and going he could end up under one.

One other option would be to build or get a run for him you could place it outside at the window of one of the rooms in the mobile. It's possible to build your own but places like slaneyside (think that's their name) and cilldare.ie do cat runs that you can put together in minutes, you can get a panel for the roof or just wire the roof yourselves.

The runs last for years but if you have no need for it when finished building you can always sell it and make some money back on it. Or keep it for use outside the new house.

Either way ensure, if not already, that he's microchipped in case he escapes.

CamperMan

thanks

sex panther

hey ive 2 cats and they are indoors most of the time but love to go out aswell,

we started when they were kittens so that was maybe easier, we we kept them in for 6 weeks when we first got them and then started to go out with them, we just sat on the grass and they ran around us they never went too far, over weeks of doing this we then left the kitchen door open while we were in there so they went out but could run back in straight away, over time i nervously left the door open as much as i could but they always stayed near. now six months later I leave the window open during the day only when im home and they can come in and out, but to be honest they like staying indoors and only go out in the evening for awhile.

Also my vet told me that never feed them before you leave them out cos they'll never go too far when they are hungry,

Its up to yourself which end of the spectrum you prefer,

I would hate if my babies got lost but then again they are animals and its nice to see them play outside chasing flys in the garden and fall asleep on the roof of my car in the sun,

best of luck whatever u decide to do!

CamperMan

I think a big outdoor play cage sounds like an idea.. might try that.

seen too many cats run over.

we will be moving to a rural area, no main roads for a mile in each direction, and the road that passes by our plot is so quiet, maybe 2 to 5 cars a day pass by

jw297

We've just moved house, from a suburban estate with lots of other cats, dogs, kids and traffic, to a rural area with sheep and cows in the next field and a quiet dead-end road outside the house.
Our cat was used to being indoors and outdoors, so not quite the same situation as you, but still a big change in environment. We just let him explore the new house and surroundings in his own time - fortunately the weather has been good so we've been able to leave a window open for him all day. He gets shut indoors at night though.
So far he's been grand, he's a bit wary of the livestock and the odd tractor that passes but sits at the window watching everything and ventures out from time to time. He doesn't seem to want to wander too far from the house, and since the move has spent as much time as before sleeping on our bed and looking for attention.

I'd say definitely make sure your cat knows where his food/water/bed etc. is before letting him outside, and also keep an eye at first that he knows how to get back in to you. I think since you've had the cat since such a young age he'll think of you as his family, and will come back to you rather than run off, at least that's the impression I get with my cat!

The Sweeper

Cats + roads = you can never tell. Some cats will live their lives in a house that fronts onto a main road and they'll never get hurt because they have road sense. Others, well.

A few years ago I lived on an acre property with a 1.5 acre to my left and a 2 acre to my right, a 12 acre paddock behind me and a protected nature reserve across the road from the house. The road has a 50km speed limit and at the time, about five cars an hour went past the house - sometimes you'd get none for an hour, then five at once because the train had pulled into the station.

Eric got a smack from a car on that road at about 5pm on a summer's afternoon (so still very bright) and came out with a broken jaw. The jaw had to be wired and the wire left in place for six weeks. He was seven months old at the time and we'd taken the approach of large property, young cat, stays near us and the house, doesn't roam... Never again. We've moved and now he has access to a big yard every day but he can't get out of the yard.

Where we live now, there's rural paddock land across the road - hundreds of acres of rolling fields and bushland, because we're on the edge of a low density housing estate - quarter to half acre blocks with detached houses. The road in front of the house is the road only used for people to access their houses, there's no through-road to anywhere else. I picked my neighbour's cat out of that road, dead, in December (our summer).

You just can't tell. Friends of mine in the city have one of those living legend cats, who has free access to the outdoors; he walks to the train station down the road from the house and greets people on the platform. He's even been known to ride the train one or two stops and then ride it back to the station again, and he does all this via the station access road with no problems to date. He's about 10 years old. That's cats for you!

jw297

The Sweeper wrote: »

Friends of mine in the city have one of those living legend cats, who has free access to the outdoors; he walks to the train station down the road from the house and greets people on the platform.

My mum used to have a cat like that, he would walk her to the bus stop! He was a real city cat, and lived for years in a small apartment, negotiated crowds of people, traffic, all the urban hazards. Then she moved and had to leave the cat with her brother in a rural area, the cat was agoraphobic and was too scared to go any distance away from the house because he got freaked out by the wide open space! And then... sad end to the story... he finally got a bit more used to the open space, ventured away from the house, and got hit by a car.

OP, I'm sure that's not a great story to give you any reassurance, but just to echo what the sweeper said, you never can tell!

Sapsorrow

I'd say be a bit careful even if the roads are quiet, my sister moved from the city to the middle of nowhere and within a year lost 2 of her cats on a quiet little back road. They're often the ones people will boot it on and if it's quiet most of the time the cat gets complacent and won't expect a car to come. I know where we are the tractors are a nightmare esp at this time if year the young lads in them boot it along so fast you wouldn't believe we're just lucky we're on a little tiny T junction so everyone has to slow right down near our place, that and the snow made sh*t of the road last winter which I'm delighted about
A good way to get them used to the outdoors is to start taking them out on cat harnesses for walks. Be careful for a while with them letting him out alone he will be a bit naive and won't have the life skills other cats would :P Some cats are a bit dim aswell, one of mine the last day sat in the middle of the drive while a car pulled out really slowly watching it coming toward her and let it actually bump her before she moved, she looked so offended about it too. He'll quickly learn though. We rev the engine really loudly at our cats when we see them on the road near the house to encourage them to be scared of cars. Moving house is always stressful with cats, last time we moved I was terrified for months that something was going to happen to one of them because they wouldn#t know their turf as well.

Howitzer

Our one is on a harness and long washing line attached to it. She has always had a line on her outside and knows how to work around it. She can still get tangled now and then - so we keep a good eye on her.

But she will never end up under a car / chased up a tree by a dog this way!

Worth a go?

Sapsorrow

Howitzer wrote: »

Our one is on a harness and long washing line attached to it. She has always had a line on her outside and knows how to work around it. She can still get tangled now and then - so we keep a good eye on her.

But she will never end up under a car / chased up a tree by a dog this way!

Worth a go?

My sister does that too now, you do have to keep a very good eye on them though in case a dog comes along or anything because they might be or get tangled and not be able to get away.

doctor evil

The idea of a run sounds good.

In a rural area there are dangers such as slurry pits, poisoned bait etc

Morganna

doctor evil wrote: »

The idea of a run sounds good.

In a rural area there are dangers such as slurry pits, poisoned bait etc

Dont forget snares and traps either

Graces7

We have had several moves these last years and now let the cats out straight away.

They come in as soon as they are hungry.

But they were hand reared and have never been indoor cats so they have that advantage.