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Cat outside?

  • 08-01-2019 6:07pm
    #1
    Wesser
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,813 ✭✭✭


    My cat is 9 months old. She has always been allowed to have a ramble outside a few times a day. Always out the back. Never out the front ( buses).
    Recently she has been let out the back and returned via the front ie she found her way around the back lane.
    My friend informs me that says should not be let out until they are 18 months old. 'They don't have sense until then'
    Is this correct? No outdoors time for another 10 months? She is currently staring longingly at he back door.


Comments

  • #2
    SillyMangoX
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,003 ✭✭✭SillyMangoX


    Cats can live a very happy indoor life with proper enrichment for a much safer life, as you say yourself there are busses around! My older two were indoor only for the first year, then indoor/free roaming outdoor for 8 years, and now are back indoor with an outdoor catio during the day. My younger fella has always been indoor and also uses the catio during the day.
    I have peace of mind I’m not going to see them squashed on the road, and they are happy that they can still watch the birds and eat some grass outside. Also have dogs coming and going all day with work and have the peace of mind that if an owner didn’t bring them on lead, they won’t be savaged. (Or the cats won’t attack the dogs as has happened!)


  • #3
    volchitsa
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,106 ✭✭✭volchitsa


    Wesser wrote: »
    My cat is 9 months old. She has always been allowed to have a ramble outside a few times a day. Always out the back. Never out the front ( buses).
    Recently she has been let out the back and returned via the front ie she found her way around the back lane.
    My friend informs me that says should not be let out until they are 18 months old. 'They don't have sense until then'
    Is this correct? No outdoors time for another 10 months? She is currently staring longingly at he back door.

    I don't know what age is "right" but it's true that any cats I've known who were hit by cars (or in one case, driven over because she was lying under the car near the wheel) do seem to have been young. I wonder whether it's really a matter of age though, or whether only the clever ones survive.

    But I think a place that has busy traffic nearby is going to have a high rate of outdoor cats being killed, unfortunately.

    Uncivil to the President (24 hour forum ban)



  • #4
    aonb
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,277 ✭✭✭aonb


    I assume your cat is neutered OP - that would be my first issue with a cat going outdoors. If your cat is outdoors, she is going to be in danger of being attacked by another cat or dog or worse - if you live where there is traffic, there is that danger.

    I live in a very quiet/rural area, and my cats go in/out at will. I cant imagine keeping them indoors 24 hours/day, but only because they were originally feral, so it was never something I considered - there are indoors only cats who live very happy lives. Only you can decide whether the dangers of being an outdoor cat are justified, given your location an circumstances


  • #5
    metaoblivia
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,256 ✭✭✭metaoblivia


    18 months seems like a long time. I would say by about a year they should be able to go outside, if your intention is to have them be an outdoor pet. When cats are allowed outdoors unsupervised, you just have to accept that anything could happen to them at any age.

    That said, my 2 cats are indoor only. One does like to go outside, so I've trained him to walk on a leash, and that's made him very popular in the neighborhood as people aren't used to seeing a cat go for a walk on a lead. But he loves it! I've found it's a good way to get him outside without letting him roam unsupervised. If you manage to get them walking on a leash, it's an option. A catio is a good compromise too. (My other cat is too scared to go beyond the front yard, no matter if she's on a leash or not.)


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