Some friends of ours had their 3 older cats trained to stay within the fenced boundaries of their back yard. 2 of those cats have crossed (old age illnesses), and they now have the remaining oldster, a 2 year old and two 10 month old kittens.
They asked me the other night if I thought they should start training the young ones about the backyard. They like the option to allow their babies to be outside, but want to train them to stay within their fenced yard.
When they trained the original 3, they were older, had never been outside and were frankly intimidated by the outdoors at first. It made training easier for them. In training the younger ones, my first thought was that it will be harder on them since their kittens are very adventersome. I suggested initial harness training, and I also suggested an enclosed play area, which they can't currently afford due to recent unemployment difficulties.
Does anyone have any experience with establishing boundaries for outdoor kittens/cats? There is a wooden, 5 foot tall fence that surrounds their back yard, but not too tall that they can't jump over it.
Any tips that I can offer my friends?
They asked me the other night if I thought they should start training the young ones about the backyard. They like the option to allow their babies to be outside, but want to train them to stay within their fenced yard.
When they trained the original 3, they were older, had never been outside and were frankly intimidated by the outdoors at first. It made training easier for them. In training the younger ones, my first thought was that it will be harder on them since their kittens are very adventersome. I suggested initial harness training, and I also suggested an enclosed play area, which they can't currently afford due to recent unemployment difficulties.
Does anyone have any experience with establishing boundaries for outdoor kittens/cats? There is a wooden, 5 foot tall fence that surrounds their back yard, but not too tall that they can't jump over it.
Any tips that I can offer my friends?