Is My Indoor Cat More Likely to Get Lost?

[Wheekie]

My kitty Princess NEVER goes outside. Someone ( who thinks she's a cat expert!) told me that I should take her outside once in awhile...let her sniff around...learn how the house and yard smell, so that if she ever does escape, she can find her way home again. Is that true? Never heard that before!

 

[Maria Bayote]

I am not an expert on this, but if your indoor cat is perfectly content and happy inside then there is no reason for her to sniff around and familiarize the surroundings. However, indoor kitties get confused and disoriented when taken outside. So, if you wish her to get "familiarized" bringing her out and walking her around the block is not a bad idea, but only with a leash. I, too, allow my cats to get out of the house once a week, to breath fresh air but they are also with leash when I do so.

Some stray cats I had been feeding outside never returned even when obviously they were too familiar of the area.. They were totally strays but I knew several who had failed to come back.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. You'd be better off getting her microchipped so that she can be easily identified if she would happen to get out by accident and wander away from the area. IMO, it is better that she not get used to being outside as I am inclined to believe that would make her bolder about straying away from your home should she happen to get out. And, if she wanders far enough, she won't likely know how to get back to your home anyway.

All my cats have been indoors and each one of them managed to get outside at least once - in all but one case they cowered by the house waiting to be let back inside. It's not that I wanted them to be fearful, but am kind of glad they were because it was very easy to find them and bring them back inside quickly. The one who actually wandered but only a couple of houses away was my sweet Gracie - it was week before she died of cancer, and I swear she was checking off a 'bucket list' item. The only other time she ever got out was years before and she had no desire to venture away from the house that time.

 

[Neko-chan's mama]

I agree with everyone. IF you take her out, only on a leash and harness. Also yes to microchip. Neko-chan isn't allowed outside (it's too dangerous here in an urban area) but we still got her microchipped just in case.

 

[abyeb]

I haven’t heard this advice before. If anything, I think that taking her outside could make her more likely to try to dash out the door, after she starts to get excited about everything the outdoors has to offer. If you want her to be able to go outside safely, a leash-and-harness is the way to go, as Neko-chan's mama said.

 

[fionasmom]

I also agree...out only on a leash. However, my indoor cats have never gone further than the other side of the door in the event of a mishap which almost never occurred. When Milo got out years ago, he was confused, but circled the property over and over trying to figure how to get back in. No one ever took off completely, but there are enough lost cat signs around that some must.

 

[Azazel]

My cats have no interest in dashing outside because we make the doorway the most least interesting place possible. I agree with others that letting them out the door will only make them more interested in wanting to go again and will make it more likely that they door dash. Only one of my cats goes on leashed walks and that’s because we trained him as a kitten and he’s very rambunctious and confident so he needs lots of exploring territory. But, I always carry him out the back door. I never take him out the main door that we are always coming in from and I never let him walk out on his own. The harness has to be on him and I have to be carrying him.

 

[nycats]

That doesn't sound like a sound advice. Haha. Taking an indoor cat outside would unnecessarily stress them out and expose them to fleas, parasites, and other unexpected elements. My friend once tried taking her indoor cat out on a harness and got a flea infestation on her hand.

If you are interested in taking her out on a harness, make sure to do your homework. Kitty needs flea/tick treatment + microchip/collar/tag with your information in case she gets loose. Also make sure your she is up-to-date on her vaccinations. And most of all, make sure that she is actually interested in exploring.

 

[Dacatchair]

I have not found many studies looking at this, but one study I managed to find seems to suggest if cats that have access to the outdoors through a catio or enclosure, and while on a leash are counted as "indoor only", just as many indoor only cats were reported lost or missing, as cats with free access to the indoors or outdoors, and the chance of them making it home alive are about the same for both groups. If other studies came up with the same findings, it would seem that if there is any possibility of an escape, being indoors only, may be a substantial risk in itself, and a naive indoor only cat may be at the same risk in a few hours or days, as an experienced street wise free roaming indoor outdoor cat experiences over the course of it's entire life time. This also seems to be suggested anecdotally online by the many people with indoor only cats who tell tales of tragedy when their cats accidentally get out.

Search Methods Used to Locate Missing Cats and Locations Where Missing Cats Are Found

It is my belief and limited personal experience that cats that are introduced to an area while on a leash for an hour or 2 every day, and allowed several months to learn basic survival skills while on a leash with human protection will have much better chances of surviving if they ever get out accidentally or if this is a prelude to allowing them to free roam.

Other research on lost cats suggests spayed and neutered free roaming cats with enough experience to know their neighbourhood very rarely "get lost". Like wild animals, they may be killed while out and about, or run off their home territory by another scary animal, or just decide they prefer a different home, but an experienced cats ability to find it's way home is usually excellent.

I have never had indoor only cats before, and in our relatively low risk rural area I have definitely seen how my cat that has spent a lot of time out on a leash has developed excellent road sense and a 1/2 mile mental map of where home is. When we are headed towards riskier areas, my cat clearly anticipates this, and would prefer to head in another direction. He also accidentally got out once for a couple hours, before I realized a door had been left open, and all he did is go to his favorite spot in the yard like he was out for a walk without me. He came running as soon as I called, like he had been wondering where I was. There was none of the life and death dramas that come up with a scared and disorientated cat, that I so frequently see described by people in cat groups.

But the down side of him having had a chance to develop basic outdoor survival skills is that he has also gotten attached to his outdoor territory and even though he has a system of enclosures many cats would envy, he still really wants out a lot more than I can be out with him on a leash. I have prevented him developing any tendency to door dash by building a screen door to the entry way in front of the door I use to enter and exit my house, and I have always carry him out the door wearing his harness and in a cat carrier, so he has never had a successful door dash, or any reason to start. But this may also depend on the personality of the cat, and my younger cat who has spent very little time out on a leash, might not be as well behaved if he ever got a taste of the outdoor lifestyle. He seems to see door dashing - just inside the house - as an amusing sport, and he could become a real challenge if he decided he wants out. But if he ever accidentally gets out, because he is so naive, on an hour by hour basis, I imagine he would be a a lot higher risk than any other experienced free roaming cat in my area. Or compared to my other cat who has had a lot of leash time.