I'm Scared To Let My Kitten Outside

[LinziMissy]

Hi all, I'm back for some more advice as I know there are lot's of cat and kitten experts on here. Missy is now 6 months old and doing very well. She's such a funny, lovely, kitty. She got spayed last week and is doing fine. My big concern now is whether or not I should let her outside? Our house is on a private driveway with only two other homes there. At the end of our front driveway there is a narrow country road with a shallow river on the other side and then woodland past that. Our entrance is hidden, and although it's not a busy road all the time, cars come flying down there! To the back of our home we have a small garden, a fence, a big goose field and then a very busy by-pass :( I don't want to be cruel to Missy and keep her holed up but I'm also so, so scared to let her out. If anything happened I would never forgive myself! I have considered cat proofing our small garden. Does anybody know if this works or do kitty's still try to get out? Advice would be much appreciated thank you.

[ganesh]

Yes, I agree, don't use a collar but getting microchipped is a good idea if she ever got lost.

[Dusty Bin]

I agree with ganesh that you are sounding a wee bit overprotective. I can understand your concerns regarding your losing her but, again as ganesh has said, your cat's no.1 priority will always be avoiding hunger, so use food as bait!

[mccfluff]

re the cat proofing - cats are devious little sh*ts and if they want to get out they will

murph is 13/14 with arthritis in her back legs and i found her on top of the 8ft wall the other day

[LinziMissy]

Sqad.....you're brutal!! Our windows have vents and can be put on a lock latch so not too worried about summer. dmbhunt, I do agree, if she did escape and wasn't used to the outside it would be scary for her. Thanks for everyone's help. Not necessarily what I wanted to hear but maybe some 'firm talking to' has made me realise I'm being silly and need to stop being selfish

[boxtops]

Hi woof - under those circs the best thing to do is to take the cat to a vet who can check for microchips.... (not what linzi wants to hear...)

But linzi yes, I think we all understand your fears, very well, we've all been there and our little kitties are very precious. However, my hulking cats survived - the weeny kitten I was scared to let into the garden 13 years ago now comes and goes with confidence. The catflap is in the back door, not the front - my cats rarely go out the front but have been, and know how to make their way round to the back door to get back in. Cats have good location finders - make your home and garden a lovely place for them to come back to safely, and they will!

[redparpyman]

dont let her out just yet, let her out when she is 1

[boxtops]

why, redparpy? She's old enough now, as soon as she's microchipped and recovered from her operation!

[ganesh]

One year? That's crazy. Just make sure she is healthy, got over her operation etc, get her microchipped and let her go. Maybe have a chat with your vet and get some reassurance. Go out in the garden on a nice sunny day (lol) and play with her outside, then call her back for grub. She is still at the 'learning' stage and you shouldn't leave it for a year!

[boxtops]

sqad's not being brutal, linzi - he's being honest, as only a cat-loving man can be.

[ladybirder]

Linzi if you do decide to let your cat out please please put a collar and a bell on her. There are many safety collars now that unclip when they get caught on things. The RSPB pleads with cat owners to put collars and bells on their cats to save the lives of many of our song birds. Do you want to find she has brought you back dead and dying wildlife. The bell isn't foolproof but at least it will warn other creatures of the cat's presence.
More cats get killed at night than at any other time so make sure you keep her in at night by locking the cat flap. My gorgeous funny loving boy cat was killed at 10 years old on a quiet country road that had occasional cars using it but when they did use it they were fast. He roamed a lot further than my girl cat who lived into her 21st year.
IF you decide to keep her in, get her a companion cat, or you could build a play area for her outside with a bit of imagination albeit enclosed to keep her safe. Good luck whatever you decide. It's lovely to see someone taking cat ownership seriously.

[LinziMissy]

Everyone has differing opinions. I was advised not to let her out until she was 1. I guess I will know when she's ready, and seeing her eager to run and play in the sun will make me cave. I'm too soft! Which is probably why I find sqad too brutal ;)

[anneasquith]

get her micro chipped, let her decide if/when she wants to go out, or keep her as a house cat forever .

[LinziMissy]

Thank you ladybirder. I have been looking into safety release collars. Sorry to hear about your cat :( great that your female lived to a grand old age though! Incredible.

[boxtops]

ladybirder, you know what we all fear, and our little girl cat was killed on a road half a mile from here - she was clearly chasing something, and didn't see a car coming. It was only her microchip identified her.

There are divided camps about collars and bells - since Rover nearly hung himself, and No1Son got his leg caught through his, I'd never put a collar on a cat again. Our birds aren't stupid, they just don't come near the garden any more - and a bell wouldn't stop the frogs, snakes, snails and half eaten mice which our boys still bring in from time to time, it's part of the joys of cat ownership!

[horseshoes]

We live on a quiet country road which isn't busy but has the occasional idiot driving like he's on the M6, and to be honest, because Soxy isn't used to traffic noise, any vehicle sends her running back into the house. I'd say don't waste your money on so called "cat-proofing".

[boxtops]

Soxy, I love it!

[woofgang]

boxy, on a friday night on a hot bank holiday, I wasn't about to keep a corpse till tuesday :( I am expected to keep my dogs contained and not allow them to be a nuisance to my neighbours whereas cats get away with murder.
It used to be common for dogs to be allowed out to roam all day and this is now totally unacceptable in most places in the UK...I suspect that the time of cats being allowed that privilege are numbered.

[ganesh]

Who 'advised' you to keep her in until one year old? I still say that's absurd. I actually work in a rescue centre and there are some cats there that are indoor cats and have trouble with re-homing but its pointless to say you should have got a 'companion' cat now.
I am also against collars and especially bells. Ok, it may save a few birds and mice, but most birds see cats coming and warn others when a cat is around-I've seen them do it. And a bell would drive Me mad, let alone the poor cat!

[ladybirder]

Cats are still classed as wild animals woof as far as I know and I haven't read or heard of that classification changing. Perhaps you've heard something I haven't?

Boxy, I did say collars and bells aren't foolproof but if they help to save a few of our vastly diminishing bird population, then good. If your poor cat got its leg stuck through its collar then the collar was too loose. And as I said there are plenty of good safety collars on the market. As well as a microchip, I also put a disc with my address and contact number on my cats' collars so that if anything happened I would be notified without the need for the person to traipse up to the vet to get the chip read. You have to do that by law for your dog now. I know camps are divided on the bell and collar issue but I stand firmly for them despite Maggie getting her leg caught in her collar once but that was my fault because it was too loose. My vet said lots of people make the same mistake.

[boxtops]

ganesh, I didn't put that - constant tinkling would drive us all batty :-(

woof - understood!