Letting a kitten out for the first time..

irlblae

Hey there. I adopted a kitten back in the summer. She's around 6 months old now and has been spayed/has all her injections etc. I'm just wondering when would be an appropriate time to let her out on her own? I bring her for walks around the garden (sometimes on a harness, sometimes without) and have done for a while now but actually letting her go off by herself is making me extremely nervous considering we live close to a motorway. I have 4 other cats who are all indoor and have been since I adopted them several years ago but this little one is feisty and seems to be drawn to the garden so I feel it's only right to let her be an outdoor cat. I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing since I never did this with my other cats. Should I wait until she's older? Will she be able to find her way home if I do let her go off? Should I just continue with supervised walks instead and keep her indoor the rest of the time? I've raised her since she was 2 weeks old and I'm very attached so letting her out isn't something I'm happy about but I also don't want her to be miserable. Any advice is very much appreciated. Thanks!

Nody

Living close to a highway I'd definitely stick with supervised walks and possibly look at setting up a cat fence like discussed here around your garden as well. That way she can be out and not escape (as easily) without supervision (but make sure to go through every corner etc. or item high enough to jump over the fence!).

janmaree

I've walked in your shoes already and given a second chance, I don't think I would have let mine out, especially in your case where the kitten is used to being indoors. Also, she's feisty now but she's still only a baby and she will calm down, at least keeping her in with the others gives you both a chance at more years together. I often wish I'd known about Jackson Galaxy back then because I would have known to give him a place to climb to inside where he could look out but still be safe. I've learned lots of things from his shows that I wish I'd known before but there's one thing I do know from heartbreak and bitter experience and it's that roads and cats don't mix; I live on a narrow semi-rural road that's driven day and night by people who seem to be under the impression that it's a motorway. They either don't think or they don't care but it's a sure-fire way to lose a pet. I wish you luck and also strength to stand up to those beseeching eyes, it's tough but the alternative is worse.

goz83

I have lost a cat to a main road behind my house. I currently have 3 cats. Even after losing my first cat, I couldn't keep them locked away in a house, or restricted to the garden. I am of the view that cats should be given the chance to get out and about if they want. Some cats will happily stay around the house, but many will have a lower quality of life if they are kept in. I would personally choose 5 years of freedom, over 50 years of being locked up in a nice prison.

Letting the cat out is always going to be a risk, but there will be no trouble with the cat finding home, as long as you are the food supply.

DEFTLEFTHAND

I lost my favorite man Seamus to the road also, be very careful when introducing a hand rared cat to a garden by a road. They're not street smart and they can get themselves into big trouble if not properly supervised in the early stages.

aonb

I found some tiny half dead feral kittens. After months of keeping the surviving female indoors until neutering, during which , like you I brought her outside into the garden in a harness, it was time to let her have outdoor access.

Keeping her indoors was never going to be an option. We fortunately are very rural, with a lane that is used by a few neighbours morning/evening. We have dogs, horses, hens, the doors/windows in this house are open all year round.

The first day she was let out was nerve-wracking. I let her out without feeding her in the late afternoon. She was accompanied by me, and the dogs around the garden. Initially she stayed close to the dogs but once she got brave, went off to explore. She soon came back to be fed. For the next few days, she went outside but was only fed when she came home. After that we happily havent looked back. We are so lucky to be in such a quiet/rural area. She goes out in the morning, then in to snooze for rest of the day, then out once dusk for a few hours, then in around 11 for final feed and bed in the house. Having said that she is a fairly shy/timid/small female. Again, we have very small, quiet lanes around here, the secondary road is about 2 miles away, so we dont have to worry too much about cars. You'll have to decide yourself OP whether her personality is such that she wont be happy as an indoor cat vs the dangers of her being killed by a car