we have just got a cat my friends cat how long do you keep them in so they wont go missing?

Question

so they wont go back to there old home

Answer 1

I answered a question similar to this one last week.
Roger Caras, former director of the Humane Society, says that it takes at least SIX weeks for a pet to re-orient itself to their new home. So please wait at least that long.
After this amount of time has passed, you may wish to walk your cat around the perimeter of your yard on a leash and harness a few times, so that he knows his boundaries. Then let him out only under close supervision.
And please...unless you live on a quiet street or in the country...don't let him out at all.

Answer 2

I would just like to remind these people that think cats should be kept in that cats are wild creatures who deserve to be out roaming as much as birds and mice. Shutting a cat inside a house all day is ok as long as they get plenty of attention but most cats instinctively want to roam around their surrounding areas. So cats may use neighbours gardens to mess in but foxes do that as well and also birds and squirrels etc. I have just got a kitten and i dont intend on loosing her out until she is 6 months and spade, also i will only loosing her out whilst im actually in the house so i can supervise her roaming. I dont believe in leaving cats out over night or whilst your at work with no way of getting back into the house for warmth.

Answer 3

Feed it lots for 2 weeks so it gets too lazy to roam and remembers where it gets an easy meal. It wont wander far from home when it's let out after 2 weeks - guaranteed!

Answer 4

I would of thought about 2 - 3 weeks ,
But it depends,
Just wait until your cat is settled in and used to its new home

Answer 5

We moved last year to a completely new location with our indoor-outdoor adult cat. He was a ferral when he decided to adopt us, so the neighborhood we left was one he had claimed as his own. However, we moved within five miles of our old home, and although I knew how much it meant to him to be able to have the freedom of outdoor life, I was a little concerned about him trying to find his old hunting grounds. So here's what we did:

1. We brought him home in the carrier, then put the carrier on the floor in the den, which about the center of the house. We just left the door open for him to exit at his will.

2. We allowed him to explore the entire house -- as much as he wanted, but indoors only, for about three days.

3. We have an enclosed backyard, so after about three days we supervised his outdoor exploration.

4. For about the next week, we allowed him to go only into the backyard or inside. We kept a pretty close eye on him while he was outdoors, of course.

5. Then we took him on a "tour" of the rest of the outside of the house. He learned very quickly that jumping on top of the car in the garage was a bad thing when I activated the garage door closer just before he jumped into it. He's never challenged that again.

6. After about two weeks, he was itching to go exploring on his own. I tried to follow him down the block and retrieve him once, but he was quite incensed, and it was very clear that he was telling me, "Mom, just cool your jets! I'm ready to do this on my own!"

He now roams where he wants -- indoors and out -- and has made many cat friends, who in return come over sometimes to visit him. There are some things to take into consideration prior to letting a cat run around outside:

a. Is this OK with the neighborhood or community? Some cities have leash laws that technically apply to cats as well as dogs. (You may find that as long as the cat is not causing a nuisance, these same neighborhoods ignore these leash laws, especially as there are U.S. Ferral Release laws that supercede the city laws, if you actually have a domesticated ferral.)

b. Does your cat have all his or her shots? These need to be kept up-to-date, and your cat will need to wear a collar with a tag to keep him or her out of the pound!

c. Does your cat have all his or her claws? If he/she's going to be indoor-outdoor, they need their equipment. You may live in a city, but you'd be surprised at the number of coyotes and other cat predators that live there too! You will need to consider your cat's age as well. If your cat is more kitten than cat, he or she may not be mature enough to handle the outdoors unsupervised.

d. But not ALL their equipment! Is your cat neutered/spayed? The last thing any neighborhood needs is a bunch of homeless kitties! Besides, it's the fully equipped toms that cause most of the nuisance with yowling and spraying, and then your leash laws start going into effect.

As for the other creatures that live outdoors, our cat has more than earned his keep by de-mousing our house. We also don't have a problem with grackles, although we have 11 trees on our property.

Back to the timing issue: If you supervise your cat's outdoor experience, you can slowly but surely acclimate him or her to his or her new home. They will recognize the home from your scent and theirs. Two weeks is the thumbnail estimate, but you can tell when your cat kid is ready to go out on his or her own. And don't worry -- with the precautions taken above, they do come back!

Answer 6

Usually keep them in one room for a few days or a week and then let them explore the rest of the house for another 2 weeks or so. So keep them in for 3 weeks at least.

Answer 7

At least 2 weeks. I have heard that if you put butter on their paws they will find their way home, but in my experience I just let mine out after 2-3 weeks, and hoped and prayed!!! I have 4 cats!

Answer 8

this is too undesirable you need to no longer take both brothers mutually. he will adjust. How lengthy this is going to take? i'm no longer certain. do not enable him out of the homestead although. today, he's conscious of that that is a clean homestead, this isn't any longer the position you lived earlier, and he's extra feeling lost than searching for the others. maximum cats do better as merely cats, or perhaps as he would have beloved having his brother, he will do advantageous there and love being an merely cat. :) merely develop his playtimes, ascertain that he has places to climb up and watch from or cover behind so he can hit upon, and do not loose feed him, yet make him come out for his nutrition, first on the fringe of a mushy hiding section, then extra and extra out. and ascertain his litterbox is in an section he feels mushy at. one in each of my cats hid in his litterbox even as he become feeling displaced, and that helped him plenty in feeling shield besides as prevented any muddle complications. provide your kitty a hug and manage from me. interior of a few weeks, he should be frequently adjusted see you later as you do not by coincidence encourage him to disguise via treating or petting him even as he's hiding. (Wait till he comes out to you.)

Answer 9

Hey,
This is Monique,
Keep it in until they get used to the surroundings and people in the house, then let the cat go outside, and see if he/she just stay in the yard/go back in the house or try to run!!!

Answer 10

Usually about two weeks is enough. Just be there with them when you let them out for the first time and don't let them out for that long.