Keeping a cat "mostly" indoors

ravendude

Hi there,
We're thinking of getting a cat soon. We'd ideally like to keep the cat indoors, but its not entirely feasible as we have 2 kids who play out in the back garden and leave doors open etc Realistically, if we get a cat it will get out. There is a reasonably busy road not too far away also, - 20 metres or so behind the back garden of the house, behind a neighbours garden.

So, I'm wondering if its possible to "encourage" or train a cat not to wander too far. The ideal thing would be to have a cat that "wants" to stay near the house.
Eg. by slowly introducing them to the garden etc, Someone mentioned to me that neutered cats don't tend to wander much anyway, any truth in this?

We're thinking now of getting a cross bred cat (half a purebred) or possibly a pure bred British shorthair, - female, and it will definitely be neutered asap.

Thanks...

SillyMangoX

Yes usually getting a cat neutered will reduce the urge to wander so much, they still might a bit but would tend to come home more. What I did with my 2 was keep them fully indoors for the first year,only bringing them outside on a lead or harness, then eventually leaving them outside (supervised) attached to a long length of rope, if you do this it absolutely has to be supervised though, then the first day we let them out we didn't feed them and when we called them back then we fed them and brought them in so they associate coming home with being fed. Now my 2 go out every day from 8 to 6 and have never spent a night outside!

Just as an aside, if you do go for a 'half bred' cat, under no circumstances should you pay any money for it, they are a moggie no matter what they parents are, people advertise them as being part pure bred to make a fast buck even though half the time neither of the parents are purebred. British short hair cats are beautiful though, a great choice if you go for a purebred!

angeline

Hi, there really is no way of training them to stay in the garden. Cats vary. I owned a neutered male cat who always left the garden and was unfortunately killed on the road.I now own a female spayed cat who I leave out and she rarely goes beyond the back garden. She stays very near the house always and I feel very lucky after what happened my last cat. They do say the life span of an indoor cat is generally far longer than an outdoor cat due to roadkill. Perhaps you could consider an enclosure in the garden?

zcorpian88

Get the cat neutered and he/she shouldn't wander off too far, get it done as soon as the cat is big enough for it. We have had 3 cats, and managed to keep them all till they had to be put down due to illness. We got them all neutered, they will wander off but if they are anything like the ones we had you can almost time it to a tee when they arrive on the window sill for their feed.

mymo

Google cat proof gardens or cat fencing and you will find ideas.
Basically you fence and gate the garden with no gaps for the cat to get out, on top of the fence you place a frame and netting that goes up then comes in at about 30-45degrees (start bend inwards about 6ft up or more if you're tall family). This overhang prevents the cat getting up and over the fence, but you need to make sure that there is no shed or garden furniture for them to use as a launch pad.
It does work, I have friends in the uk that use this method, netting can be very fine so not too visible, and means you can open doors and windows freely.

Reggiesmammy

hey, I have a purebred persian, when i got him i was told he was strictly an indoor cat but I dont believe in keeping a cat indoors all the time its cruel. Anyway i kept him in for the first couple of months when he was tiny and then let him out for an hour a day now he goes in and out as he pleases but never leaves the garden and the longest he would stay out is an hour at a time , this is prob because he wasnt used to being out as a kitten so id say keep him in for a while then let him out bit by bit and gradually hel do his own thing but a house cat will never stray once they are neutered and fed well so i wouldnt worry too much about it.

kylith

+1 on catproofing the garden. That way you can leave your back door open, but still know that your pet is safely contained and unable to get into any danger.

Have a google for it and you'll find some great solutions. Obviously not doing it is cheaper than doing it, but you have to factor in how much your cat is worth to you.

Themadhouse

If you get a purebred cat and agree to the indoor only agreement and then let that cat out you are breaking the terms of contract. Breeders do this for a reason.

OP i would advise teaching your kids about keeping a cat indoors. Try and get them into the habit of closinf the back door etc.
Getting the cat neutered will not stop it from wandering, a neutered cat has a mile wide territory, not just the back garden. Being neutered also wont prevent it from running onto that road that is close by, it wont prevent it from being poisoned or ending up in a cat fight and catching diseases.

Dont go near half peds please, people making money from this sicken me. If you want a ped save for it but be aware that you will have to sign a contract for indoor only.

There are options for cat proofing your garden, i would consider looking ito it.

fattymuatty

Our cats are indoor only and we have 2 young kids(2&5). We agreed to indoor home only when we bought them off their breeders and tbh I wouldn't dream of anything else. We have a ragdoll and a siamese, we also have a rescue moggy and foster kittens who are indoor only also. The kids know that the doors have to be closed behind them, it took a while and a bit of running from me at times when I saw they left them open but on the whole they are great. Kids can be trained with a bit of patience just like pets .

Edited to add, like someone else says don't pay for a cross breed. Some of the prices are extortionate. We also bought our cats off hobby breeders. I dislike the whole cattery set up, I hate the way they sell on their studs and queens once they are no use to them anymore. Make sure you get papers too.