What are the positives/negatives for letting my (fixed, declawed) cat outside? comments please!?

Question

He is 5 years old, a siamese, neutered, healthy (goes to the vet once a year), and I am very consciencious and careful about his health. I would have him on a leash (harness) and be with him the whole time. The only thing I'm a little bit worried about is identification (microchip???? good/bad??) and enjoyment. What if he likes it so much that he tries to sneak out in the summer if we accidently leave the door a little bit open? THose are my concerns. We live in the midwest and near a train, but that's not a big deal. Any feedback would be very helpful!!! THANK you :)

Yes, thank you for the answers, but i want to make one thing clear.... He would ALWAYS be on a leash and TOTALLY supervised (i am an informed, safety-first kind of pet owner). The training thing is what I am pretty much worried about. It doesn't seem like it would be a big issue with parasites/ diseases since he goes to the vet often for checkups. Any advice on that would be the most helpful.

Answer 1

I have a harness and leash for my cat Mia. She loves to roll in the grass. The one problem is she & you cat as well, stands a chance of getting fleas.Get some flea treatment for him.Mirochip? Yes Mia has one should she get picked up by the pound they could call me to come and bail her out. Not likely that would happen though. I have seen the cat strollers that I would love to get. It is wise to keep him safe with you on the leash.

Answer 2

I had that same dilemma too. I moved to town from the country leaving 3 cats with parents who I know would not tolerate switching over to inside only. I have since gotten 2 kittens as well as my 9 year old cat. I never wanted them to get out the door and worried about that constantly until I realized they showed no real interest in getting out. My 7 month kitten loves the windows so she was the one I wanted to treat to an outdoor visit. Had a handful of outtings and they have all gone great. She is on leash and harness at all times and is no farther than a few feet. She loves it. Our outtings dont last long but enough for her to roll around and bird watch. I have to point out though that a cat should never be tethered to something because they can strangle while attempting to get out or actually get away. I see your real concern about him liking in and trying to escape. I worried too but have been surprised. Tess has connected the harness with outside time and doesnt even attempt to go out door unless thats on. Hopefully you could train yours as well. Also I would make sure not to take him out if you know the train would be coming thru as the sound may frighten him..Good luck!

Answer 3

I will not go into the declawing issue, but because of it he must always be on his lead when outside. He has no defense against anything.
Just because he goes to the vet once a year doesn't mean he is healthy, but will leave that one alone as well. I trust that he is flead and wormed regularly. Just because he is indoors doesnt mean he wont have fleas or worms.
Micro-chipping is a great idea. Here in Australia scanners at shelters and vets will recognize all the different chips. The actual chip is about the size of a grain of rice. Just make sure you keep your details up to date with the data base. We were able to re-unite a cat and owner after 10 months because the cat was micro-chipped.
If you want your cat to be outside in full safety, make him a cat enclosure, with access from the house.

Mind you, he may not want to go outside.

Answer 4

Vet stats say your cat's life is shortened by 1/3 by allowing it to go outside. Major concerns are FIP, (Kitty Aids) which can be gotten through casual contact with other cats.
Other risks, People who hate cats, cars, coyotes (which are prevalent in most the US), dogs, trains, weather etc. The cat has zero defense with no claws.

Positive, as long as Kitty isn't killed or hurt, it gets to enjoy the outside.

My new wife had an outdoor cat which hasn't been out since she moved in 2 years ago. We have 2 other cats who've never been out. None of them long for the outside.

Keep it inside if you want it around. If it seems lonely, get a kitten.

FYI: don't declaw the next cat. It causes them to be arthritic because they walk on the heels instead of naturally. Basically, if you were a cat, the last segment of your fingers and toes would be chopped off.

If it scratches your furniture, get the cardboard scratch boxes at Pet Smart. Place them where they are scratching. They'll switch over.

Answer 5

I have a cat that goes out on a harness-- he absolutely loves it. Make sure that the harness fits properly and get him used to it indoors before taking him outside. I would definitly get him a collar and tags with ID on it and also the microchip- Home again and Avid are the 2 major microchip companies (you can get more info on their home pages) Make sure that he is current on his vaccines incase he does get outside when your not around. Usually pets will run from a train because it is so loud but I have lost 2 cats in my lifetime due to a train. They were strictly outside cats that adopted us. A woman I work with has 5 cats- all of which are declawed- one of which is declawed all 4 paws- and they all go outside. They still climb trees and catch birds. It is true that they have lost one defense but they can still bite. I am a vet technician and in 80 percent of the cats that I have seen declawed have gotten along fine.. in fact most of them seem to bite more. Instead of using their claws they use their teeth. They can bite to hold on to another animal and use their rear paws for kicking. As a general rule vets tell their clients to keep their cats inside when they are or are not declawed- jsut to keep the pets safe. I think as long as you are with him and are careful he doesnt slip his harness he will be fine. Good luck!

Answer 6

You should let him out but always leave the door cracked open so he can run in if anything is scary out there for him....like a train! That is how cats get lost, they get scared and panic and don't know where to run to.

The train is not a hazzard to your cat. He would run if he heard it plus the ground vibrates. Also he must be sort of used to the sound by now.

A microchip is good if he gets lost and picked up or taken to a shelter or a vet. They have the machine to read one. The downside is the neighbor who sees the kitty may think he's a stray and would have no clue about the microchip.

I would suggest a breakaway collar (flea or regular) and tape your name, address, and phone number on it just in case.
But make sure he is collar trained before you let him go outside with it or you can run into problems. I don't want to make this long by giving instructions, so if you want, you can e-mail me and I can tell you.

Cats REALLY love going outside. Just use common sense and caution, and your cat should be fine.

Answer 7

This gets very tricky. As long as you are with him at all times and he gets some sort of worm/tick/parasite treatment like Revolution, then I don't see too much of an issue. He won't have claws and will be virtually defenseless if he is attacked by a dog or other cat. Also, if he is used to being outside, he WILL try to get outside whenever he has the chance.

Trust me on that.

I rescued a kitty from the SPCA, about 6 years old, and he was front declawed. I had him for a year and then tried to "blend families" with my fiance's cat... didn't work out, so he went to my mother's house. I always had a problem with him trying to scoot out the door, but she lives in a nice subdivision with plenty of yard space. She tried putting him on a harness and letting him out... He loves it to death, and he stays right by the house.
I think his previous owner did this as well. And yes, he is microchipped. Get your kitty microchipped!!!! If somebody takes him from you and then takes him to a vet, a vet is supposed to check all new animals for chips... and then you get your baby back.

It's your call. Your concerns are very valid. In my former cat's case, it works out just fine for him, but who knows how your cat's going to react.

Answer 8

If he's declawed, than he should not go outside at all. Since you, or previous owners, took away his main means of defense, it's not a good idea at all.

*edit*
I see so many people say that as long as they have their back claws it's ok for them to go outside. First off, it's common practice to only declaw the front anyway. Second, when is the last time you saw a cat roll over - and expose it's belly - to fight a strange animal? Cat's will only expose their bellies to people or animals they trust. Why? Because all of their vital organs are located in that area and they instinctively know NOT to let others have access to it. Some cat's won't even let their owners touch their belly area, let alone roll over and let them have full access to pet it. If they do show their belly it's because they trust and are submitting - just like in dogs.

It's not enough that your cat is on a leash and harnass. If he wasn't declawed, it would be perfectly fine. Anything could spook him while your outside and if you don't have a good grip on that leash, than he's off and running. Since someone thought it would be best for him to be without claws, than you'll just have to deal with the effects of it. He shouldn't be outside. Period.

Answer 9

The microchip would certainly be a good idea, just make sure what kind of chip reader your local humane society/animal control/shelter is using since all chips are not compatible with all scanners. I'd also advise practicing with the harness indoors first, cats sometimes completely freak out and if yours is one of those, then he's not going to be very happy going outside in any case. Also, you need to keep an eye out for coyotes if they are in your area. Although it would be extremely rare for one to attack your cat while you are with it, if he gets loose, then as far as the coyotes are concerned he's a four-legged snack.

Answer 10

Please be very careful with your cat and be mindful when he is outside. My father-in-law found a declawed cat that had been lost by people at a rest stop and the cat has been permanently scared by the ordeal. The cat growls a lot, strikes at your feet without warning, and is constantly hissing. The cat growls even when someone is feeding him or petting him. We believe that the cat was attacked by other animals and could not defend itself. Hence why the cat is constantly angry. It will take a long time to get that cat to trust anyone completely.