How long to keep a cat in...

rsom

We have adopted an 8 year old female cat after her owner passed away.

We live about a mile from her previous home. She has been with us for just over a week now and is settling in happily.

So just wondering how long we should keep her indoors before letting her out?


Thanks:D

Amberjack

Personally I'd leave her another week or so. If she is comfortable and isnt looking to go out, then it should be easy enough to keep her in. The last thing you want is for her to go missing or try and find her way back home especially if there is another cold snap on the way.
Good luck with her, lovely thing for you to have done.

muppet_man

I got my cat from from a rescue shelter about 2 miles away and was told by them to keep him in for up to 6 weeks as they had other cats that found their way back.
I have seen other threads on here recommending about 4 weeks and only let them out for a short time before feeding so they'll come back.

Shenshen

I would recommend keeping her in for about 4 weeks.
When we got one of ours from the shelter, that was the timeframe we were given, and it worked.
Another tip they had was not to feed her before letting her out, and to try and make sure the weather is miserable when she goes out the first time.

dan_d

About 4-5 weeks and entice her back with food.

mymo

As said above another few weeks, and when you start letting her out only let her out when she hasn't eaten in a while, watch her and let her nosey around then call her back in with food. I'd recommend tapping her bowl before putting food in or something that makes a noise, start doing it now so by the time she goes out she knows what it means. Give it at least a week of doing this for no more than few minutes before you let her explore further. Even then keep outdoor visits short until she gets her barings.
You're lucky its winter and the weather is so cold, that will help, if its raining when you let her out at first even better.
Just take things slow.

BengaLover

When you do let her out, go with her each time until she gets her bearings.