# Hesitant about letting cats out - advise please



## CharlieChaplin (Dec 30, 2012)

Hi all,
My 2 10 month old male (neutered) cats are getting to the point where they want to go out and I am hesitant - There is a main road nearish our house but I have never seen any cats by it, and are they too young?

My main concern is that at the end of our close is an office block - which next week is getting knocked down - then houses built. Now this will take over a year to complete and I don't want to let them out then keep them in when it is being built as that wouldn't be fair. But I don't want them to be able to get into the site as they could get trapped and hurt! Do you see my dilema? 

I have let them out in the garden on two occasions - but then this demolition notice came in and I am now worried they could get hurt. But I am also worried they are getting bored at home

I am unable to cat proof our garden and a cat run is unfeesable too. I think they are too old/ would hate a harness.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated - I am tearing my hair out!


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## jill3 (Feb 18, 2009)

I would try them both on a harness and see how they get on.
I know you said you cannot cat proof your garden. Is there a chance you can cat proof part of it?

I walk one of mine on a harness now and again and he is fine with it. I think they get use to it.
After a while you could let them out while you are in the garden so you can keep an eye out on them.
We have a cat proof garden because i had one of my cats killed in our cul de sac
Living near a main road is not good for cats and also the office block being demolished. If i was you I would start them on the Harness and play with them in the garden. Always have a packet of dreamies on hand to get them in if they run off too far.
They are only 10 months old so they are still babies.
Some cats live in flats and never go out so I would persevere with the Harness for the time being.
There are some very good harnesses on the internet and I new a few people have them on this forum for their cats too.


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## Citrineblue (Sep 28, 2012)

I would advocate using Harnesses just as Jill suggested. I really do think at 10 months they are not too old, harnesses are not that expensive £12 ish, and all three of mine walk with them, or dawdle actually. When we didn't have the garden cat proofed they would wait by the back door and wait for the harnesses to be put on. They all do the dying swan act to start with but just put it on then play with them inside with a flying frenzy or da bird and a few nibble of Thrive and they'll forget they have it on.

A cat proofed garden is a godsend and truthfully doesn't look that bad.

We live in a Cul de sac near a canal but I couldn't contemplate letting them roam as all our neighbours have lost too many cats to the road and canal or lost.


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

I agree with the above,I wouldnt be happy letting my cats out knowing that there was major building work about to start.
We have just built a run for Meeko as I just couldnt let him out to free roam.It is a free standing run as the lay-out around the backdoor would mean a run would need to be fairly small and would be out of the sun most of the day.
I might add we also tried the "harness" route but Meeko just flatly refuses to walk with it on ,but now that he has this outdoor space he might be more inclined to walk with it on if it means he gets to walk out to his run 

http://www.petforums.co.uk/cat-chat/302073-fun-sun-meeko-style.html


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## CharlieChaplin (Dec 30, 2012)

Thanks for the replies - we can't cat proof the garden as the back gate needs to be open constantly as our drive is round the back - weird I know. If I was to cat proof part of it - wouldn't that just be a run? I really want a run - but my OH is against it - I saw an amazing one on a thread which I would love but we only have a smallish garden, this could be a problem.

I have seen a few cats around the area and none go near the road. It's still fairly far away - but then again cats travel far! I may do some more research and look around tho into runs and try and persuade the OH. I really don't want anything to happen to them 

I am deff not letting them go out whilst the office is being knocked down

Regarding hernesses - I think one cat may go on it but the other one - we can't even pick him us - so I am pretty sure he would freak out about it. But I could try.....has anyone had any experience with a timid cat in a harness? It's something I may try.

P.S Meko is a beautiful kitty!!


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

I have always found my neutered male cats tend to go into adjacent neighbours' gardens, and occasionally to my neighbour's garden across the road. 

My spayed female cats have never even gone that far, usually stayed in my own (not large) garden. 

If the main road is a fair distance away, and providing your cats have a cat flap so they can always get in and out during the day time the chances are they won't bother going as far as the main road. 

However the forthcoming nearby building work is a different matter. I would not want my cats out at all whilst that is going on, as have known of several cats who were sadly knocked down and killed by site vehicles during building works.


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## CharlieChaplin (Dec 30, 2012)

Thanks all 

I am not letting them out whilst it is being knocked down. My OH and I are going to talk about cat proofing/ pens. In order to cat proof we need to build a garage instead of having a gate at the end of the garden. O the lengths we go for our little ones.

Question to all you cat pen owners - how do you have window / doors open during the summer? Do the cats not try to escape?


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## MontyMaude (Feb 23, 2012)

I wouldn't let them out whilst they are building, my best friend moved into a house on a newbuild estate and was one of the first occupiers and her cat went out one day and went missing overnight and came crawling home the following day with a huge gash from his side down over his tummy and his intestines and vital organs were only just hanging on in, he had to have his body cavity washed out and had over 70 stitches to close the skin and was very very lucky to survive, she has now cat proofed her garden.


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## CharlieChaplin (Dec 30, 2012)

MontyMaude said:


> came crawling home the following day with a huge gash from his side down over his tummy and his intestines and vital organs were only just hanging on in, he had to have his body cavity washed out and had over 70 stitches to close the skin and was very very lucky to survive, she has now cat proofed her garden.


:O right they are deff staying in! It's just the summer with the windows that are an issue - and I am worried they are getting bored :s


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## Jonescat (Feb 5, 2012)

You can get cat proofing for windows, like these, amd I think it wouldn't be too hard to make your own if you googled around first.

Window protection for cats - Open your windows without endangering your cat

Great Deals on Window Protection for Pets at Zooplus: Trixie Protective Fencing for Tilting Windows, White

Our run is entered via a window so we can have the window open when it is warm enough. They can get bored if they don't have enough to do inside, so you need to provide lots of stimulation and attention to compensate. Cat trees, toys, cardboard boxes, birdtable outside the window - there are lots of options.


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## CharlieChaplin (Dec 30, 2012)

We got a cat tree and they rarely use it, and some balls and other fluffy toys. Also some fluffy/ feathery balls and a duck which hangs from the doorway (only up when we are in) and I also try and play with them with their mouse on a stick toy in morning/ evening. But I worry they will get bored  

I really want a cat run  or a cat proof garden.


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## Laurac (Oct 1, 2011)

How about you let them out when you can supervise. Even if it is an hour a day, then they will have some stimulation, and fresh air, burn off some energy, and you will be happy. I am sure they won't launch themselves at the nearest wall/fence - and if they head in that direction then try and divert with a treat or a toy. How about getting some outdoor climbing frames to occupy them - I can recommend the company below - everything comes ready built!

cat-climbing-towers.com


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## edwards222 (Apr 22, 2013)

I was worried too letting my two cats(13 months old and 9 months old) go outside because i was scared if they didnt come back home. It was yesterday for the first time i let both cats into the garden to do what ever they wanted. They disappeared straight away over the fence, i brought a product called Pet Loc8tor which is a gps tag that is attached to a collar which is a great tool to use. I was able to detect which direction both cats were at and how far. At one stage i could see on the device that one of the cats had gone a little too far so i started to call his name and i was able to see on locater that he was coming straight towards me with a fence blocking my view, so its a cool device to use to always know where your pet is. I think it cost £60


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

The Pet Locator sounds brilliant! My only quibble would be the expense of replacing the item if the cat kept losing their collar. How big are these gadgets?


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## edwards222 (Apr 22, 2013)

chillminx said:


> The Pet Locator sounds brilliant! My only quibble would be the expense of replacing the item if the cat kept losing their collar. How big are these gadgets?


If the collar is secure it would never fall off, it comes with a water proof casing. The tag is not too big, il show you in a picture so you can have a better understanding.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Thanks for posting the pic -- it helps to see the size.  

But I would not be happy to put any collar except safety-snap collars on my cats, as they are all climbers so there would be too much risk of an ordinary collar getting caught up. 

True, they only occasionally lose their collars, but when they do it is annoying enough, even though the collars (with printed postcode & phone number on) only cost £10.99 each. Adding on the cost of the lost radio gadget as well would be extremely annoying I feel!


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## edwards222 (Apr 22, 2013)

chillminx said:


> Thanks for posting the pic -- it helps to see the size.
> 
> But I would not be happy to put any collar except safety-snap collars on my cats, as they are all climbers so there would be too much risk of an ordinary collar getting caught up.
> 
> True, they only occasionally lose their collars, but when they do it is annoying enough, even though the collars (with printed postcode & phone number on) only cost £10.99 each. Adding on the cost of the lost radio gadget as well would be extremely annoying I feel!


If ur cat was to lose its collar depending if no one picks it up you would be able to use the loactor to track it down and retrive it, but a few garden fences would need jumping.

The printed collars with ur cats name and phone numbers are cool but expensive, i think i paid round about the same as u. I came across a sellar on Ebay who does a collar and text for £5 including postage.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

edwards222 said:


> > If ur cat was to lose its collar depending if no one picks it up you would be able to use the loactor to track it down and retrive it, but a few garden fences would need jumping.
> 
> 
> Yes, good point!
> ...


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## CharlieChaplin (Dec 30, 2012)

Hi everyone!

Sorry for my silence - been a busy week. Anyway my OH has been listening to me and has agreeed I can get those net things for the windows - Thanks Jonescat! So will order soon.

Anyway - we let them out into the garden last week (eek) but managed to block off all major escape routes and sat out with them (it was a lovelly sunny day). They were sniffing lots and did try and climb a tree at the end but I just said no - down and suprisingly my cheeky cat listened! We did have a situation where they got onto the window sill of the garage and look longingly to our fence, but no escaping this time!

Regarding those trackers - I have seen them advertised on the facebook site/ website cat aware

CatAware - missing cats, lost cats, found cats, reunite cats, cat lovers, cat owners, cat friends - because we love cats

A site for lost cats  they may have more info on them


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## CharlieChaplin (Dec 30, 2012)

Laurac said:


> How about you let them out when you can supervise. Even if it is an hour a day, then they will have some stimulation, and fresh air, burn off some energy, and you will be happy. I am sure they won't launch themselves at the nearest wall/fence - and if they head in that direction then try and divert with a treat or a toy. How about getting some outdoor climbing frames to occupy them - I can recommend the company below - everything comes ready built!
> 
> cat-climbing-towers.com


I have been looking for toys they can enjoy outside thanks  may move their cat tree into the garden\! Hope they don't go to the top and jump over the fence tho! But looking for inspiration on zooplus -


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