Cats Escaping; How Far Should I Spoil My Cats?

[AIice]

They escape by climbing, but they can't return so they stay under the nearest car to the house and wait for me to open the door.

Should I ignore them and let them suffer and realize the pain of the outside world, or waste my time in front of the door waiting for them to return?

Keep in mind that I will let the older one out if he asked me(as long as there's no humans or cars outside), but with a collar which he doesn't like.

 

[danteshuman]

I would keep them inside if at all possible. If you can get the fencing in your backyard that makes it so cats can not escape (purfect cat fences.) I will add that you should always reward them for returning. Also vet bills if your cat gets in a accident with a car are crazy! We used to call our cat the 10,000$ cat ...... but truthfully over her lifetime her vet bills added up far beyond that. Her last vetebrea got broken and she lost the ability to pee on her own (unless she was sleeping, in which case she peed where she slept.) We were horrified to see the bruises when they shaved her. She hid her pain and injuries from us! Eventually she lost her tail (she lost use of her tail and it was getting sores from dragging it around.) I say this has a cautionary tale to warn you about the danger out there.

Good luck keeping them inside. Over years I trained my punk to stay in the backyard but I still supervise him. It was a pain to train him and I recomend a harness over training your cats!

 

[Maria Bayote]

When I first rescued one of my cats that I was feeding on a daily basis from the streets and determined that nobody owns her (no microchip, no collar) she was initially very unhappy that she suddenly became an indoor cat. She kept standing by the main door, waiting for someone to open it, occasionally glancing back at me as if begging me to release her. Once or twice she managed to slip, like Flash as I opened the door, and my husband had to come running after her. Now she is contented just lying around, beside the window where she sees the action outside. Point is, our cats are much safer if trained as total indoor cats. Too many bad elements out there. I kindly suggest that you block all possible exit ways from the house (except of course the door). If they escape from the yard through the fence, I suggest that you install a revolving bar on top of the fence and gate so they would fall back in.

 

[AIice]

So you still tell me to not let him out even though it's quiet outside and he is cautious & alert about his surrounding?

I have no control over the house, and there's nothing he can do inside, I bought them so many toys but they got bored of them eventually. He comes to me, meows constantly then lead me(walk behind him) all the way to the outside door, or just sit by the door and wait for it to be opened.

 

[rubysmama]

How old are your cats? Are they spayed/neutered? If not, that could be part of why they want to go outside all the time. Can you install a cat flap door so they can come and go as they want. Per the below meme, cats do change their minds about whether they want to be in or out, a lot.

If you decide to try to keep them inside, here's a TCS article on The Five Golden Rules To Bringing An Outdoor Cat Inside

Plus:
How To Prevent Your Cat From Darting Out The Door
How To Make Your Home Bigger (at Least For Your Cats)