To let cats outside or not?
Discussion
I have recently taken on two cats from an unwanted litter and they are now 7 months old. I have had them for about 4 months. As they are getting older I now have the dilemma on whether to let them outside or not.
They have been spayed/neutered (one boy and one girl)but have not had any injections or flea prevention medication. I plan on doing this soon.
I've got a cat harness and have been allowing them to roam one at a time for ten minutes or so when the weather is nice. Now they meow at the door and are quite keen to be let out.
The problem is that I live on a very busy road. At the moment they appear to be scared whenever I have taken them in front of the house which is a good thing. At the rear of the house my garden is quite big and none of the neighbours have aggressive dogs or anything. The only thing that they have have to look out for is next door's Tomcat which according to next door is quite vicious. Apparantly it killed their other cat.
My cats also charge about all the time and I'm worried that they may chase one another into the road.
If I do let them out it will only be for a few minutes each morning and whenever I'm out in the garden.
Quite a few of the neighbours have got cats and I haven't seen a flat one by the side of the road yet.
Obviously they would be safer as indoor cats but I can't help but think its a bit cruel even if it does keep them safe.
What should I do?
They have been spayed/neutered (one boy and one girl)but have not had any injections or flea prevention medication. I plan on doing this soon.
I've got a cat harness and have been allowing them to roam one at a time for ten minutes or so when the weather is nice. Now they meow at the door and are quite keen to be let out.
The problem is that I live on a very busy road. At the moment they appear to be scared whenever I have taken them in front of the house which is a good thing. At the rear of the house my garden is quite big and none of the neighbours have aggressive dogs or anything. The only thing that they have have to look out for is next door's Tomcat which according to next door is quite vicious. Apparantly it killed their other cat.
My cats also charge about all the time and I'm worried that they may chase one another into the road.
If I do let them out it will only be for a few minutes each morning and whenever I'm out in the garden.
Quite a few of the neighbours have got cats and I haven't seen a flat one by the side of the road yet.
Obviously they would be safer as indoor cats but I can't help but think its a bit cruel even if it does keep them safe.
What should I do?
Well, I think it depends on the cat, and where you live. Mine are outside cats but they have fields, barns, and the like to play in, and quite a distance to the neighbour. Still, when I was in the UK my cat was an outie, and was quite happy. That was on a new estate type thing as well. It's entirely up to you. They will cope either way.
My two were rescue cats and were terrified of their own shadows. They're also incredibly daft (one especially) and I wouldn't dare trust them to come home alive. They've both been house cats for 10 years now in a 2-bed end of terrace house, albeit I did build a cat-run in the back garden about 5 years ago. They can go out the back onto the patio and about half the garden but no further, all nicely fenced in.
They're as happy as two cats can be and I don't feel guilty in the slightest. They are so spoilt and loved and I couldn't imagine letting them out one day and either of them not coming back. I can totally understand why people feel that cats should be let out, but I know my two are perfectly happy with what they've got here.
They're as happy as two cats can be and I don't feel guilty in the slightest. They are so spoilt and loved and I couldn't imagine letting them out one day and either of them not coming back. I can totally understand why people feel that cats should be let out, but I know my two are perfectly happy with what they've got here.
Simpo Two said:
I wouldn't want to let cats out near a busy road. Don't suppose you could make the garden cat-proof?
A quick play with the measure tool on Google Earth shows my garden as being 32 metres long and 8 metres wide so there is no chance of making it cat proof.The thing is I'm not bothered about them going out of the back garden; everything behind my house is quiet cul-de-sacs for about a mile. I could secure my garden at the front but I can't stop them going into next door's garden and accessing the main road from their driveway.
Our cats were house cats for the first six or seven years of their lives. We lived in a terrace right on a busy A road. They were happy, I guess, as they had never known anything else.
When we moved to a cul de sac off a cul de sac, we have let them out. Apart from having a bit of trouble with the more streetwise cats in the neighbourhood, they have loved the freedom.
It's probably only a problem taking the freedom away.
When we moved to a cul de sac off a cul de sac, we have let them out. Apart from having a bit of trouble with the more streetwise cats in the neighbourhood, they have loved the freedom.
It's probably only a problem taking the freedom away.
Galsia said:
A quick play with the measure tool on Google Earth shows my garden as being 32 metres long and 8 metres wide so there is no chance of making it cat proof.
Why not? Okay, not all of it, but you could partially fence off part of it for them, like I've done with mine. Half the garden for me, half for them.Using some decent wood and wire you can get a pretty good result.
New POD said:
7 months old and not been out for a s
t ? You heartless bd.
In all seriousness, I think the usual way is to forget to feed them, today, and let them out tomorrow morning, so that when you call them, they'll be desperate for food.
fk me, that's a fking big spider on my chair.
I've let the spider outside. t ? You heartless bd. In all seriousness, I think the usual way is to forget to feed them, today, and let them out tomorrow morning, so that when you call them, they'll be desperate for food.
f
k me, that's a fking big spider on my chair.Galsia said:
New POD said:
I've let the spider outside.
Did it come back when you called it? 
Galsia said:
If I do let them out it will only be for a few minutes each morning and whenever I'm out in the garden.
Obviously they would be safer as indoor cats but I can't help but think its a bit cruel even if it does keep them safe.
What should I do?
Chilli & Bast were house cats til I moved here, next to a quiet, but main road - both loved being let out to play but it was never for just a few minutes, they came back then they wanted to. Until they couldn't come back because they had crossed the road Obviously they would be safer as indoor cats but I can't help but think its a bit cruel even if it does keep them safe.
What should I do?
Pepi hasn't been out since we lost Bast in August, he doesn't mind. Beauty is blind & has never been outside (nor can she!) she does however climb the windows like that ^^^
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