Inside/outside cat?

Question

I have a 3 year old inside cat who likes to go outside. We make her stay on a leash (she does great with this) but today she got out and no one knew till i got off work and she ran up to me. She was outside alone for 3 hours. Should I let her go outside loose now that I know she will come back or is it to dangerous? We live by a busy road, and have cats and dogs in the neighborhood. I'm very nervous about he being outside and getting hurt. Am i being an overprotective cat owner? She is fixed so no chance of kittens.

Answer 1

i would not let her go outside. she is not used to it, she has no skills of it. she could get attacked by a cat or dog. hit by car, or get lost out there. or even stolen. is she declawed? does she wear a collar with your info? is she vaccinated for leuk/fip? sorry i work for a vet. those are usual questions at work. don't do it if you are not comfortable though!!

Answer 2

She's been out, so may want to go out again. Start by only letting her out when you're there, and stay with her. Do this fifteen minutes at a time, and slowly build up to more time. She seems to know where she lives, so that's good. Eventually you can go back inside, but leave the door ajar for her to return. Then you can think about getting a cat door so she can come and go as she pleases. You can bring her in for the night and latch the cat door.
I move a lot, and acclimate my cats this way every time we're in a new place. I live on a very busy street now, but they tend to not like the noise and the speed of the cars and don't venture toward the sidewalk, ever. Good luck!

Answer 3

I don't think you're being overprotective - you are making the best decision for them as their caretakers. Ultimatly, though, it's a personal choice and is up to you.

When I was growing up, all my cats were indoor/outdoor. My first cat died when I was about 5 - we have no idea what happened to him. He was found on the side of the road with no apparent injuries, but dead non the less. My first experience with death.

Two other cat's I had were indoor/outdoor. One of them left one day and never came home. Again, I have no idea what happened to her. I wonder sometimes, if she was adopted by someone else, or if she met an untimely death. Unfortunatly, I'll never know. Her brother, by contrast, lived to 18 and died from chronic renal failure. He never had any problems outside until he was ill. He wasn't grooming himself as well and got a few ticks. He also got his first and only bite abscess wound the year before he died. Thinking back, we were very lucky with him.

The two cats I have now are indoor only. One of them would like nothing more, as he is terrified of the outside. The other likes to go out, but she has to be leashed and harnassed. I see no problem in having them outside supervised (either on leash or in an enclosure), but I am leery of having them roam around the neighborhood. There are entirely too many dangers. Fleas and ticks are one thing, but when you throw into the mix fast cars, wild animals, and cruel people, it's just not worth it, in my opinion. I sleep much better at night knowing my cats are safe inside.

If you do let her outside unsupervised, please make sure that she is up to date on all vaccines - even ones that she may not have gotten being an indoor only cat. She also needs to have her claws, and have flea/tick provention medication.

Answer 4

The other day, when i was driving down a busy 4 lane road, i saw a dead cat lying with its eyes facing up at me. The eyes lit up as my car headlights focused on the cat. It was really creepy. Can anyone imagine the pain and suffering the poor animal had before it finally died? Days later, i still think about it.

Animals do not understand traffic as we do. Some may be very smart and think that they can get around it, but others dont. Why take the chance in finding out that your cat was one of the cats that did not make it across the street. Keep him/her inside where they are safe.

Answer 5

If you let her out, you should have all her shots up to date for all the outdoor stuff. I have my kitten indoor and do not need certain shots. He also has a virus and has great potential for getting sick so he will always be indoors. He is also de-clawed on his front claws. He is indoors for me. There are stray cats here, plus other cat owners let their cats out who fight each other for the territory. They even fought in my yard and made each other bleed. That was before I got my kitten. Someone could take your cat or as you said your cat could have a chance of getting hurt by other animals or get ran over by a vehicle. Someone might take her, or start feeding her and she may stay there because she may like their food better. If you really want her to stay healthy and know where she is, I would not let her roam free. If she was happy where she was before, keep her as she was. Best wishes to you.

Answer 6

Your kitty is much safer inside if you live on a busy street. It's hard and I used to have inside/outside cats, but after moving to a house that was closer to a busy road, I had to make them stay inside. Only one of the three really had issues and eventually, after a year or two, even he has relinquished trying to escape. The compromise for him was to let him go in the garage (with the door shut!) to do his exploring. The other two adjusted very quickly.

You'll never forgive yourself if she doesn't come back, gets run over by a car, or hurt by a dog.

Answer 7

I'm very protective of my cats too. I started taking them out a little each day when they were kittens to get some freash air. I think cats need freash air. Now they want to go out all the time. I let them play out during the day and come in at night so they don't get ate by coyotes. All of them are fixed so they stay pretty close to my house, they have never wondered off far. I still worry the whole time they are outside. I have 3 and one of them is terrible about not wanting to come in when I want them too.

Answer 8

Indoors only!

All they have to do is walk in grass where an animal with fleas passed through and guess what you will have.
All our cats lived 16-17 years. They were all strictly indoor. Don't worry about being over protective.

We used to let a cat out on a leash, until a neighbor who was an exterminator told us about fleas. To get rid of them you have to wash every piece of clothing and linen and bedding in the house, have the house sprayed, and apply anti flea teatment to the cats, The anti-flea meds must be applied everymonth for 2 years, and the cats cats DO NOT like it.

Answer 9

sometimes we should just let them be happy if she wants to go out for a little while then let her, by keeping her inside when she wants to be outside just makes her unhappy, i have a cat that was an inside cat but she was unhappy she always ran out the door any chance she got so i started letting her out and now she never wants to come in at all she has been out for over 6 years. and as far as fleas and ticks frontline for cats once a month will prevent any problems with them.

Answer 10

The average age an outdoor cat lives to is between 2-3 years old.
I have clients with 15-20 year old indoor cats.
Do the math.

Answer 11

I would advise you to keep her inside. One of my cats gets out every once in awhile (he sneaks out) and always comes back but I don't like it. He could get run over, get into fights with other animals or worse, eaten by a coyote (we have them here). Another cat I had got out one time when we accidently left a door open and he never came back. Better safe than sorry!