Discussion
We recently,( 4 weeks ago), adopted a cat from a rescue centre.
He is settling in well and has come out of his shell. Initially he was so scared he hid in a corner for 36 hrs before venturing into the room.
He has now learned to 'play' and is becoming more relaxed in the presence of people. He is still nervous. He likes being stroked but will not let us pick him up.
He is not aggressive at all, but likes his own space.
How long before we can let him go outside ??
I'm worried he will see the big open spaces and dissappear for ever. How do we make sure he won't slope off and get lost ??
Suggestions welcome.
He is settling in well and has come out of his shell. Initially he was so scared he hid in a corner for 36 hrs before venturing into the room.
He has now learned to 'play' and is becoming more relaxed in the presence of people. He is still nervous. He likes being stroked but will not let us pick him up.
He is not aggressive at all, but likes his own space.
How long before we can let him go outside ??
I'm worried he will see the big open spaces and dissappear for ever. How do we make sure he won't slope off and get lost ??
Suggestions welcome.
We adopted one from a member on here nearly a year ago and had the same dilemma. We kept him in until he was totally relaxed with us, then took him outside on a long lead to see the environment of the house. He had never been an outdoor cat in his three and a half years of life so he was really nervous, but after a while he took things into his own paws and climbed a tree and refused to come down until we released the lead. He's now a totally comfortable outdoor cat and is in and out of his flap all day. He is never allowed to stay out overnight, though. Gently does it - good luck!
We adopted a rescue cat, settled her down for the first night and went to bed.
In the early dawn we were woken by 'fighting cat' noises followed by a plaintive mewing.
This was coming from behind the curtains, I thought she was on the window sill, with a 'bad cat' fighting her through the window.
I opened the curtains to find her outside on the windowsill, with a big cat about to leap up at her. There was a kind of mutual WTF moment!
She had opened the door of our room, leaning on the handle, climbed out of the top vent, and was out on the prowl, till the local Top Cat had tracked her down!
By the end of the first week she was patrolling the neighbours gardens and scrounging treats off of them.
Good luck in keeping the cat in!
In the early dawn we were woken by 'fighting cat' noises followed by a plaintive mewing.
This was coming from behind the curtains, I thought she was on the window sill, with a 'bad cat' fighting her through the window.
I opened the curtains to find her outside on the windowsill, with a big cat about to leap up at her. There was a kind of mutual WTF moment!
She had opened the door of our room, leaning on the handle, climbed out of the top vent, and was out on the prowl, till the local Top Cat had tracked her down!
By the end of the first week she was patrolling the neighbours gardens and scrounging treats off of them.
Good luck in keeping the cat in!
Our newest rescue cat stayed in for 4 weeks. We took her out on a harness in the back garden 3 or 4 times, and after that just left the cat flap unlocked so she could come and go as she pleased. No problems. However, we thought we'd lost her the other morning when she was nowhere to be seen. 'Er indoors called the cats' name from the back door, whilst our other 2 sniffed at the garage. Sure enough, she'd been locked in there overnight. I got the blame for this misdemeanour...
bomb said:
How long before we can let him go outside ??
I'm worried he will see the big open spaces and dissappear for ever. How do we make sure he won't slope off and get lost ??
I don't know - not much of a cat person myself.I'm worried he will see the big open spaces and dissappear for ever. How do we make sure he won't slope off and get lost ??
Next door neighbour had a kitten who was very shy & afraid of eveything initially. Used to hide in our garden from the passing cars as it has shrubs/plants/trees etc. Theirs is rather bare (easier maintenance).
Not too sure how long it took him to settle down but soon was picking fights with some other cats (much bigger than him).
Harness can be very useful.
Also put some of his used cat litter around the garden (doesn't need to be loads) and walk him over to the areas to have a sniff.
First time you let him out alone make sure he is hungry but also make sure he'll come running when you shake a bag of food or tap a tip. When you take him out on a harness give him some treat food when you get back in doors.
Some cats are ready to go out after a couple of weeks, my cats who have have had to get to new houses quite regularly will still be ultra caustious the first times they go out and I keep them in for a month (but I know them) First time I let them out I will go out in the garden with them and keep calling them as they wander, before they get too far I encourage them back with food (they like their food
)
There is no rush too let him out so another month or so indoors is a good idea using the harness a few times over that time. good luck with him.
Even though my cats are chipped I do put snap release collars on them to start with so the neighbours realise they are not strays that have just turned up. I also let the neighbours know about them (esp a neighbour with a prisitne garden so they could let me know if my cats caused any hassle)
Also put some of his used cat litter around the garden (doesn't need to be loads) and walk him over to the areas to have a sniff.
First time you let him out alone make sure he is hungry but also make sure he'll come running when you shake a bag of food or tap a tip. When you take him out on a harness give him some treat food when you get back in doors.
Some cats are ready to go out after a couple of weeks, my cats who have have had to get to new houses quite regularly will still be ultra caustious the first times they go out and I keep them in for a month (but I know them) First time I let them out I will go out in the garden with them and keep calling them as they wander, before they get too far I encourage them back with food (they like their food
)There is no rush too let him out so another month or so indoors is a good idea using the harness a few times over that time. good luck with him.
Even though my cats are chipped I do put snap release collars on them to start with so the neighbours realise they are not strays that have just turned up. I also let the neighbours know about them (esp a neighbour with a prisitne garden so they could let me know if my cats caused any hassle)
I'm just about to go down the vets to collect our latest (of two) adopted cats. He sort of came round with our first adoptee back in July but has been getting more and more friendly (he's a better house-cat than the first adoptee) recently.
He does like to shag Lorraines' leg though, so he's gone to have his nuts off, but gets a full course of antibodies and service at the same time.
Will post how he is in a little while.
He does like to shag Lorraines' leg though, so he's gone to have his nuts off, but gets a full course of antibodies and service at the same time.
Will post how he is in a little while.
He's back, a bit wobbly, and sporting a bald patch on his front leg. He's had his nuts off, his ears washed out and his teeth done. He's also had his blood tested, which has shown he's got FIV, which, given he's about eight or nine, had been living wild most of that time, and has lots of war-wounds, is only to be expected.
Still, he's got some chicken to look forward to when he steadies down.
Still, he's got some chicken to look forward to when he steadies down.
mrmaggit said:
He's back, a bit wobbly, and sporting a bald patch on his front leg. He's had his nuts off, his ears washed out and his teeth done. He's also had his blood tested, which has shown he's got FIV, which, given he's about eight or nine, had been living wild most of that time, and has lots of war-wounds, is only to be expected.
Still, he's got some chicken to look forward to when he steadies down.
Yep he's the right candidate for it. Just keep a close eye on him though, having all that work done is going to knock his immune system and may now cause the FIV to give him problems, esp with healing. Are you going to keep him indoors now you know he's FIV?Still, he's got some chicken to look forward to when he steadies down.
When I first got married we decided to adopt a cat and thought the same if we
let him out will he run off, never to be seen again.
We tried a harness, what a laugh that was. It took us more than half an hour to get
it on him complete with nice scratch marks on our forearms. When we took him
outside in the back garden he was out of the harness in about 10 seconds flat.
He just stood there for a while then had a sniff around and went back into the
kitchen to his food bowl.
All you need to do is give him plenty of treats in the first week and feed him 'Whiskas'
as it's the best imo. Cats know which side their breads buttered on, believe me it's
all cupboard love
Good luck
let him out will he run off, never to be seen again.
We tried a harness, what a laugh that was. It took us more than half an hour to get
it on him complete with nice scratch marks on our forearms. When we took him
outside in the back garden he was out of the harness in about 10 seconds flat.
He just stood there for a while then had a sniff around and went back into the
kitchen to his food bowl.
All you need to do is give him plenty of treats in the first week and feed him 'Whiskas'
as it's the best imo. Cats know which side their breads buttered on, believe me it's
all cupboard love
Good luck
We had/have 3 apopted cats. the older two although nearly 10 are still s
t scared of their own tail.
Same thing, we had them together and they hid in a corner of the study as soon as anybody in the house moved.
We let them out after around 3 weeks. we couldn't find them in the house and blamed our housemate for letting them out. In reality they had legged it out of the kitchen window which was open to let the tumble dryer tube out.
Best thing to do is once they have found their favourite spot in the house, don't feed them on a day when you will be in the garden. 'leave' the back door open so they can explore the back garden, but put a little food down so they know where to get fed.
An old wives tail is to put butter on their paws. It doesn't work.!
t scared of their own tail.Same thing, we had them together and they hid in a corner of the study as soon as anybody in the house moved.
We let them out after around 3 weeks. we couldn't find them in the house and blamed our housemate for letting them out. In reality they had legged it out of the kitchen window which was open to let the tumble dryer tube out.
Best thing to do is once they have found their favourite spot in the house, don't feed them on a day when you will be in the garden. 'leave' the back door open so they can explore the back garden, but put a little food down so they know where to get fed.
An old wives tail is to put butter on their paws. It doesn't work.!
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