New cat.. let it outside?

Question

I picked up a stray and have had her for 2 days. No-one has claimed her and i think she may be pregnant. She is so affectionate and calm and tame. We decided to keep her and now she wants outside. Will she come back if we let her? Is it mean to keep her in when she wants out?

I have called and no-one has reported her missing. I am on a list as having 'found a cat'. No calls yet. SPCA thinks if she is pregnant she got dumped

Answer 1

If you want the cat to come back wait about a week or two before letting it out. that way it starts to associate your place as home.

Answer 2

Quite likely she was dumped. That happened to human females in the 18th and 19th century.

If she is using a litterbox I would not let her out. She needs to bond closely to you. I would give it a few weeks. If she is pregnant you do not want her to go off and have kittens outside.
Too dangerous for the kittens.

You can get some Rescue Remedy from a health foods store and treat her with that. A small bottle is around $20 with tax. I mentioned this on a cat site and a woman emailed me back that she took a bottle with her to the hospital when she went into labor.
She said it helped her relax and she felt the labor pains were not so bad.

You just shake the bottle well and put a few drops on the cat's fur between her ears. It will help reduce any anxiety she has about wanting to go out. You will then have it on hand if she does have a labor. It cannot harm the cat. Use it frequently on her for the next week or so.

On another cat site the leader posted about four pages of testimonial from veterinarians who had started to use the RR in their practices. "Miraculous" was a frequent comment.

It is not cruel to keep her in. It is for her protection and just like children you have to say "No" when appropriate. And the RR will reduce her anxiety and make her feel more comfortable staying in.

Answer 3

Was she in good physical shape when you found her? If so, then she probably belongs to someone else, and she wants to go home.
But, if she truly is a stray, and you want to keep her, I would take her to the vet for a checkup and shots, and then when you have her home, let her outside, but stay out with her. Keep food and water at your door.
If she wants to go, she will find a way to go, no matter what you do.
But, when she gets truly hungry, she knows where she can get a good meal. So, she will probably be back.
If you've only had her for two days, and she is ready to give birth, you probably haven't bonded enough to her satisfaction, and she is looking for a place to safely have the kittens.
I wouldn't keep her as a captive if she doesn't want to be with you.

Answer 4

I personally wouldn't but my cats have always been house cats and not gone outside except with me and my dogs in my fenced in yard only. You've only had her for two days and who knows how long she's been out on the street so she probably doesn't consider your house home and I think theres a chance she may not come back or even stay in the area.

I don't think it's mean either to keep them in even if they want out. I adopted a stray that was a couple years old and her previous owners must have let her out. She always tried to get out .. lol and finally broke holes in my window screens and would get out that way. Good luck.

Answer 5

Keeping her in or letting or out is completely your decision. I was raised with indoor/outdoor cats, but now how 3 indoor cats. Before deciding to let her outside consider the area -- is there a lot of traffic? If so I'd opt to keep her in. If she'll have a nice area to explore then let her out -- if she doesn't have a home and you're feeding her, then yes she'll come back. However, if she looks like she's ready to pop -- keep her in until she has the babies.

Answer 6

Well... she is not your cat in first place. But if you feed her well and are as sweet to her as she is to you , then it should be no problem letting her out. The reason she is a stray may be because she is pregnant and the horrible people who had her before dropped her off some where. Just let her out and see if she comes back. She should come back because it sounds like y'all gave her a pretty good home. Dont worry. She will be just fine.

Answer 7

You are wonderful for adopting her. However, if you can't take care of her, I'm sure the SPCA or a good shelter would take her. If you plan on keeping her, don't let her out. You need to keep an eye on her pregnancy. She may not come back.

Answer 8

If you want to keep her, DO NOT let her outside. Odds are she will go back to where she came from. Or if she is merely a stray she will wander off somewhere else. If you keep her safe and comfortable inside your house long enough, she will become used to it. No, it's NOT mean.....you are trying to keep her safe. She may see it as mean, but she'll adjust sooner or later. Just give her plenty of time.

Answer 9

It sounds like she has bonded to you, so it's probably safe to let her out. More seriously, some vets will spay pregnant female cats--this is not a pleasant thing-- but you should consider it if the kittens are unwanted. Good luck.

Answer 10

I definently wouldnt let my cats outside anymore. if they are indoor cats you have a better chance of having a healthy cat. If you let it outside, it could get in fights with other cats, like my cat did, and came home with infections and scratches or even get bit by a snake. We had to put him to sleep because of a snake bite, and its sad to lose an animal. We could have prevented that by keeping him indoors. So i dont think you should let it outside if you love it dearly.