Cat advice!

[Northernsi]

Hi people,

I was wondering if you can give me some advice about letting my cat out. I adore her to pieces and she's at that point where she's ready to go out - I got her from Celia Hammond after they found her lost on the street so I've obviously been airing on the side of caution. She's had an afternoon out before (4 hours) and she wandered back in and out of my garden freely but on her first full day out yesterday she didn't come back. Worried sick about her I was really relieved when a lady called a few streets away around 10pm saying shed found her distressed and lost. She's back home now but do I let her have another go today and hope for the best or keep her in and seek advice from the vet when they are open. We tap her plate with a spoon so she associates that as us calling her for food - works perfect in the house but didn't do anything yesterday when we couldn't find her. I have a garden and she's got gardens either side before she gets to a road but I do worry.

Any helpful comments much appreciated

Many thanks,

Simon

[pommie]

have you contacted celia hammond for advice? Or contact deptforddiva on here as she will be able to give you advice too

[Fuschia]

Is she very elderly?

Once way of helping a cat find its way back is to let them out while you are in the garden, and call out to them every few minutes, so they are less likely to wander off

[Northernsi]

I'll send deptford diva a MSG - I think Celia Hammond is closed Sunday but will try now - big question is do I let her have another go at it today...

[Northernsi]

Hi fuschia,

No she's very young and lively - 8 months old. She's a dream in the house and responds to every call but when she's out I get the teenager approach ;)

[computedshorty]

Have you put a name on her collar with her Name, Address, Phone number etc, this is helpful as anyone finding her can phone you then and there, and if only next door might bring her back.

[intexasatthe moment]

I'd keep her in until she's older .

[Northernsi]

She's got a collar and tag with my contact details on - she's also microchipped so all bases covered from that end but just think she gets so excited that she then forgets where to come back

[The Minkey]

Hi Simon - that's great you've got her back. I can imagine how worried you must have been as I recently let my kitten out at 5 months. The first few times he got to go out, I let him out just before he was due to eat and kept him close to me by playing games with him, attracting him back through the door so he got the route back in to the house firmly established. After a few days, I relaxed it and he started goinging a bit further. He'd also been trained to come to my whistle so the first few days he roamed further afield, I'd whistle him back every now and then giving him a treat for his trouble, which hopefully helped imprint the route back from gardens further away.

They do get so excited, don't they. If she's anything like Kato, she'll have been spending her time hunting and leaping for flies, easy to see how they might lost track of where they've come from.

[pommie]

is she definitely an outdoor cat?

[OAKIE95]

Hi Simon,

We got two kittens from Celia Hammond in January so have just been through all this! How long has she been inside for? We kept ours inside for two months as they need to learn the smells and environment of their new home before they go any where else.

I agree with what the post above says, let her out when she's hungry and try and get her into a routine so she knows what time of day she goes out. Then when you want her to come in, tap her bowl, call her and give her food and maybe a treat as soon as she comes in so she associates coming back home with something nice.

We did this first thing in the morning and in the evening before dark.

I would also leave the door wide open the first few times so she know she can run back in for safety if she needs too. Another thing I read is to put butter on their paws when they go out so they sit outside and lick it off while taking in the scent of their new home.

Ours have been going out for two weeks now and I was nervous at first but they soon learn when they come in they get cuddles and food etc so do come back!

Good luck!

[Northernsi]

Thanks for your comments everyone - I'll give her another try. She's come back in the first few times which I encouraging but yesterday just got lost. I guess I've just got to brave it and let her learn it to a degree - she's totally meant to be outdoors, she has the time of her life out there

Thanks

[DJKillaQueen]

Cats are all different. Some know their way around instantly. Others take time to get used to their patch and know their way around. I live on the first floor of a four story block of flats. One cat knows what floor she lives on. The other always goes too many floors up and I have to go and find him! All of the neighbours know him now though :). I suspect that if your little lady is one of those who forgets which garden she lives in, it will only be a matter of time before all the neighbours know her and will be able to point her in the right direction. She's chipped too so I'd try not to worry too much.

[Alex K]

"Advice about letting my cat out"... ah, Simon. Don't if you aren't ready to lose her.

Fifteen years life expectancy for an indoor cat, five for an outdoor cat, according to results of a Google just now: "Indoor cat" x "outdoor cat" x "lifespan", try it yourself.

She won't feel the wind in her fur... true. But nor will she wind up the subject of yet another EDF post headed "flat dead moggie in the gutter two houses down, yours? come fetch it".

Sometimes, popular culture notwithstanding, the rule should be: If you love something DON'T let it go.

Good luck.

[Huguenot]

That's an interesting moral proposition AlexK!!

[woodrot]

pets lite for indebted generation

[The Minkey]

"Fifteen years life expectancy for an indoor cat, five for an outdoor cat".

Ah, but what a life ;-)

Trouble with a lot of those google figures, imo, is they take stats from all over and other countries may have a lot more natural hazards for a cat to deal with, snakes etc. My old outdoor cat - a very street smart dude - lived most of his life in Brixton central, reached the grand old age of 19 and died of ill health related to old age. No doubt about it, I'll be devastated if either of my current two come a cropper outside, but I'll always be glad they had a much more exciting life than they would have had indoors with me.

Yes, outdoor cats face more dangers but we let our kids out (eventually), don't we, and they are infinitely more precious to us. It's said that most road traffic accidents involving cats happen at night, so we can mitigate against the risk by only letting them out during daylight hours. This also helps reduce bird fatalities as a lot of kills occur when the birds are most active feeding at dawn and again at dusk.

[DJKillaQueen]

I've had cats all my life. Plenty of them went outdooors and none of those that did died before the age of 14, and usually from old age.

[Alex K]

@The Minkey, DJKQ -- I can't gainsay anything you've brought up. The caveat regarding selection bias, the trust in good luck personally experienced, and the suggested restrictions on hours outdoors all seem perfectly sensible.

However, Simon's cat (isn't there a book deal in this somewhere?) seems not to be the twinkliest fairy light on the tree, intellectually speaking. Sorry, Simon. I'm sure she's lovely, but... do you really trust her skills in vector analysis and vehicle-trajectory prediction?

So, you size up the pluses and the minuses, and you do what seems like the best thing at the time.

If I had a cat who moved its lips when it watched television (and I do; Burmese, he is, and without a lick of common sense), I'd keep it inside. Sonny Boy, this household's "special" fur-child, takes a ramble through the back garden only under supervision. He loves squatting under an acanthus leaf, admiring the feathered aerial traffic overhead and dreaming of fat wood-pigeons on crutches; I can't take that away from him; but big ol' pudding that he is, he seems best off not roaming on his own.

Again, Si, good luck.

[charliecharlie]

When I first got my kitten I kept her in till she was about 8mths. My vet asked me if there were any feral cats or foxes (we have both in our area) and when I said yes, she said, "keep her in till she's is big enough to fend for herself". She is basically a moggy (tabby with a bit of bengal in her) and she is big and quite a strong build (my cat, not the vat that is!). At the beginning I watched her like a hawk (I was super cautious as I had never had a cat before) and did not let her out of my sight and kept the time outside short, then gradually I extended it until I was sure she knew where home was, then I would wait for a sunny day and then, while I was doing some gardening, keep the door open so she could nip back in if she felt worried. She soon got used to it and now is totally confident about going in and out... she knows exactly where home is and is often waiting to great me when I get home... I am not near a road though. So generally my advice would be to it take it slowly.

I also splashed out on a Sureflao cat flap... expensive but worth every penny, as it only lets in the cat(s) with the correct microchip in i.e. MY LOVLEY CAT brilliant, no toms and ferals eating her food and spraying, and she knows once he's is in, she is safe so she can dash for cover if a ruckus starts... RESULT!

http://www.sureflap.co.uk/

[Pugwash]

Having had several rehomed cats we find that keeping them confined to one room initially, then open up more rooms in the house, letting them explore and get to know their humans and other cats in the house. We have various methods of introducing them to the garden, including a harness and lead, letting them explore one section of the garden at a time with us there. Meeting the other house cats in the garden. Our last 'new cat' was very nervous and it took her around 3 months to venture out in the garden where she promptly ran next door and hid behind neighbours shed. She did this for a couple of weeks then gradually strolled through the garden. She has a problem with her voice and cannot mew so a collar with a bell was essential (as was a microchip). All our cats respond rapidly to the sound of a tin being open with a tin opener, so we stand in the garden and open a can of tuna - the buggers can hear this yards away - beats calling out each time.

[woodrot]

In the Hospice shop today, there was a well thumbed autobiograpical/ humour book about a woman living with a house full of mischevious cats.

I wept until I could weep no more.