Effects Of The Age A Cat Is First Allowed Outside

[Dacatchair]

I am wondering if a cat that spends it's youth indoors, will be less likely to end up roaming and more inclined to stay close to home, or if a cat deprived of gaining experience for that long, and then given a gradual introduction to it's own yard will always be more vulnerable due to lack of experience in their formative years? By youth I mean the first 1 to 3 years...

I live in a reasonably safe area and do not need any more information on the many hazards cats may encounter outside. I have participated in many discussion on that topic and that is not what I am asking.

But I would really appreciate hearing peoples experiences with introducing an older indoor only cat to the indoor outdoor lifestyle, and if these cats tend to cling to the familiar and stay close to home, or if they see it as their opportunity to express all their pent up wanderlust in ill considered ways?

 

[Furballsmom]

My Big Guy is neutered but in this discussion that doesn't matter. He is 13 and was very gradually introduced to our fenced back yard, with a harness/leash about five years ago. He did chase a feral over the fence into a neighbor s yard once. She took off, he stayed put and eventually started to yowl back at us so we could find him.
All that said, there is the factor of being declawed which absolutely makes them more vulnerable.
My opinion is that no matter the age, they will consider wherever food is available consistently to be a home base. Beyond that, and especially if that food source disappears, they will roam. There's a documentary that tracked numerous house cats in Britain and some of them put on some serious mileage, some of the others didn't go terribly far. But they did roam.
Whether a young cat has more street smarts than an older cat that has to play catch-up, personally I think it depends on the cat.

 

[danteshuman]

It depends on the cat. I will say this, cars will kill your cat. Our semi-feral thankfully is scared of cars but he gets in fights with other cats.... especially the black & white one across the street. My 2 boys, 1 stays inside. The other I trained (over years) to stay in the backyard. I do however make sure they are in before dark because just in case they get in the front yard I want cars to be able to see them!

 

[Dacatchair]

Thanks for sharing both of your experiences... I guess what I am mostly asking is if there is things that can be done that discourage roaming but do not involve keeping a cat indoor only or restrained to a catio or leash for it’s whole life.

I have lived in this rural area over 35 years and only 1 cat in the neighborhood has been injured by a car in that time and it was a cat no one recognized. So actually it is pretty unlikely cars will kill anyone’s cat in this area. But if cats are allowed out one of the things that increases the risk is roaming. So I am wondering if there is ways to discourage this and make it less likely. Like maybe keeping a cat indoors until it is well into adulthood? But other suggestions to reduce roaming that do not involve physical restraints would also be helpful...

 

[danteshuman]

Build a fence that the cat can't jump.
Cat Fence: Purrfect Cat Enclosures and Cat Fences

Don't forget coyotes/some falcons/ bob cats & wolves will kill cats to. It was a PAIN to teach Dante to stay within the backyard fence. How did I do it? Supervision. If he got near the gate I called him. If he got out I would go get him (calmly) bring him inside & end that day's outside time. I always reward him for coming when I call. I also have a schedule I stick to. We didn't have a side gate for a while (and he isn't allowed on the side of the house to even go near there) he used to sneak in the front yard ..... until a neighborhood pit bull scared him (and me) to death chasing him back inside the back yard & up a 8 foot concrete brick wall! I think the dog made him stop going out front more than I did. We now have a gate but still I keep an eye on him. So if you don't want to spend years training your cat, just buy a fence your cat can't climb.

 

[Furballsmom]

danteshuman ugh, I practically have nightmares about that scenario you described of the pitty and your cat.
Anyway, this is one of the reasons I love this site. I'd always figured people would think I was out of my mind if I told 'em that I'd been able to train the Big Guy to stay inside the fenced yard off leash, but just like Danteshuman, (and here again, I think it depends on the cat as well as the relationship with its human, a LOT) I worked with him every single time I went outside. In my case, a strong NO, sometimes a handclap or a slap of my hand against my pantleg, and it's to the point now that I have to be aware of my presence outside or he'll mistake it for me wanting him to come back inside. So,
it is do-able, but takes time and again, in my opinion even though he's always under supervision, it just isn't something to rely on due to those "unforeseen circumstances".
To answer the question then, in my opinion, no.

 

[danteshuman]

In all fairness Dante wants to be everywhere I am. Which means he wants me outside with him; or in the living room next to the open sliding glass door. His nightmare is accidentally getting locked out for a few minutes. He doesn't even like a bathroom door between us. Also the neighborhood pit bull was wanting to play but if he had gotten his teeth into my cat, he might have killed him.

 

[Dacatchair]

A lot seems to depend on the personality of the cat. I had a kitten that passed away 3 months ago from what was most probably dry FIP. He was only 9 weeks old when he came to live with me and in retrospect I think being taken from his Mom and siblings so young was quite traumatic for him. As a result he was REALLY attached to me and he would have a crazy hysterical fit if I was outside doing yard work and he was in the house. I stopped worrying about him wandering, at least until he was older, as he almost always came right away when I called him and generally stuck to me like glue.

My new kitten was 4 and a 1/2 months when he came to live here and seems to have a healthy attachment to me, but he doesn’t seem to mind being in the house when I am out. And he loves his toy mouse. I have a feeling when he meets a real mouse, his relationship with me will be secondary...

My plan is to finish the catio and surrounding enclosure of the space under the house which has rodents, let him get used to exploring and hunting under there and when he is about a year and a 1/2 old, and the weather is getting cold and wet, begin introducing him to the yard on an harness when he is hungry and feed him a nice meal when he comes in.

I am hoping with a slow introduction wearing a harness, when he is older, when the weather makes the whole experience less delightful, that he may learn to cope with being outside and learn important life skills like not to climb trees higher than he can climb down, but without starting to feel frustrated and held back from the wonderful things in the yard by the enclosure. And then if he seems inclined to stay close to home, and not do dangerous stuff, eventually I would like him to be able to come and go as he pleases. Maybe at first wearing a gps device so I can see if he roams or stays close. If he stays within 300-500 feet of my house the dangers are near zero, and it seems a shame to prevent him from enjoying the orchard and pond and yard just because some freak accident that has never happened to any cat in this neighbourhood, might happen to him...

But I also worry if I don’t let him learn what he needs to about being in the yard, when he is a kitten and when he is still is looking to me for guidance he could be at a permanent disadvantage...?

One thing I am sure of is I don’t want to give him a taste of freedom and then take it away. I would rather he doesn’t know what he is missing. So I want to be really careful any freedoms offered will be long term.

 

[Furballsmom]

You've put a lot of thought into this. For your situation I'm hoping everything works out, and enjoy your new baby!!

 

[Dacatchair]

Thanks... I really really do not want to go through loosing another kitten or young cat.

 

[Furballsmom]

Sending many many good thoughts your way that you have a long life of love and joy with your furbuddy!

 

[danteshuman]

Oh and my cats are vaccinated against everything they can be vaccinated for (along with the semi-feral I live with.) Before you let you new guy out & about I would make sure he gets vaccinated for FVRCP & ask the vet when it is safe to let him outside with supervision.