When to let adopted adult cat outside

Hello. Congratulations on adopting! If an adult cat has lived successfully as a stray, they will probably have some road sense and wariness of strangers. However, the outside will hold no terrors either. I would keep your cat in until she knows her new name and responds. Please keep her in after dusk: night is when cats can get into trouble.

thank you humpty and grannylondon He is on every site i know of. I am devastated. I have cried every single day. I pray for him to come home right now..but every day nothing. I feel i am letting him down by not searching every minute of the day. in my heart i know ive done enough and i i cant just wander around because he could have gone anywhere. ive done poster flyers facebook rescues dogs lost (i know its a cat) the lot...

I’m sorry to hear about your kitten Nanny2507. There are lots of missing pet sites, try putting his details on as many as you can. Try asking at local vets too as people often take found pets there. You could also try posting on local community face book pages too.
Good luck with finding him.

At least 4 weeks, and when you do let her out, go with her and make it a 10 minute exploration if you can, increasing as she gains in confidence. There's nothing wrong with her chasing her tail, etc., many outdoor cats still have a "loopy half hour" when they've chosen to come back in, racing around and doing just that. If you live in a very busy area, you might be better not to let her out at all - cats can be very happy kept indoors.

I have trained our various cats over the years to respond to a set of children's 'jingle bells' in exchange for a cat treat. It only takes a few days to train them. It has worked like magic up until present cat who roams for miles. He comes back if he is in earshot!

nanny2507 so very sorry to hear about your kitten, that's so sad, I do hope for good news for you.

Have you registered with a website called Pets Reunited (https://www.petsreunited.com/) ? They email details, including a picture, of your cat to all their members, you can download posters and flyers, and they notify local vets and animal shelters. You can also look at their found pets. I know of some people who have been reunited with their pets this way.

Very best wishes and hope to you.

Hope it all goes well, Lola and humptydumpty

One of my abiding (and funniest) memories of my first cat was of my husband trying to teach her how to use a cat flap when we moved - our first home was a flat and it didn't have a cat flap. She sat and watched him, but still cried at the door when she wanted to go out into the garden and the same when she wanted to come back in. I just ignored her and put her food down as usual (in sight of the cat flap window) - she slipped inwithout a fuss. BUT she wouldn't use it when he was there for ages!

please be careful...i am now 2 weeks in from my 10 month old kitten going out and never coming back...its killing me. it was only his 2nd early morning out and i,m actually now thinking someone has stolen him...he was is pretty..i cry daily i hope daily and i pray daily...but not even a sniff..(i even hired a scent dog but nothing)

Thanks, Tabbycat - I just saw her out of the corner of my eye dart into my bedroom - so rushed to shut the door! - she's already keen to go out again though, will have to check that she can use the cat flap as it seems she can find her way back..

We have only ever had rescue cats and they have all gone outdoors. When we moved with them, we always took them out on their harnesses at first, so they could explore the new garden. Only let them out before their mealtime and stayed with them the first few times off their leads.

When we came to this house we had two relatively young cats. The tom settled quickly and roamed far and wide, but always returned in time for his breakfast/tea. His sister had one or two scrapes. Once she got her head stuck under a neighbour's gate and they called us - she had our phone number on a tag on her collar. Then she went 'missing' for a couple of days - she had fallen down into the gap between two boundary fences and couldn't get out - we had to take part of the fence down to get to her. After that she pretty much stayed close to home and didn't really leave our garden!
Good Luck, humptydumpty

Well, having decided, reading the posts, that I would wait another week, Lola bolted past me and out the door having shown no interest previously! and she obviously isn't thinking of coming in any time soon.. and so the worry begins.....

Oh phoenix you have made me chuckle . I have this vision of cats coming from every corner straight at you, fur flying and claws out ready to fight for their treats.

We have only ever had rescue cats and they have all gone outdoors. When we moved with them, we always took them out on their harnesses at first, so they could explore the new garden. Only let them out before their mealtime and stayed with them the first few times off their leads.

When we came to this house we had two relatively young cats. The tom settled quickly and roamed far and wide, but always returned in time for his breakfast/tea. His sister had one or two scrapes. Once she got her head stuck under a neighbour's gate and they called us - she had our phone number on a tag on her collar. Then she went 'missing' for a couple of days - she had fallen down into the gap between two boundary fences and couldn't get out - we had to take part of the fence down to get to her. After that she pretty much stayed close to home and didn't really leave our garden!
Good Luck, humptydumpty

All my 3 cats are indoor cats with a Catio outside which keeps them safe from the road. I used to let my cats out but when they both got run over I decided that my new additions would be indoor cats. We have plenty of things to stimulate them so they don't get bored and I know they are safe.

Another note on shaking a tub of Dreamies (or other) cat treats.

I did this one evening and ended up with not only my neighbours 10 (yes, 10, really!) cats, but several other neighbourhood moggies hurtling towards me! [shock It was like something from a Stephen King film!

Cats!!! not ?

We have had several rescue carts and have always kept them in for four weeks but I purchased a cat harness and lead and took them out in the garden to get used to smells and sights. It worked most of the time except for the cat that hated the harness, he would just lie down. At least I knew that even if I carried him and he jumped down then I had him on the lead.

I have 8 cats and we moved house about 6 months ago. I was really worried about them - especially as we had to go back to the old house to capture two of them. Personally, I would not let them out for at least three weeks, ideally four or more weeks. I would then only allow them out for a short while, before encouraging them back in with treats.

Lots of good advice posted here - definitely put down used cat litter on the borders of the garden, make sure your cat is microchipped, wait until the cat is hungry before letting it out, etc.

Hope your cat soon seems well settled - they are such great companions

Personally, if you cannot currently pick up the cat, I would leave it a little longer and try to build up more of a relationship with the cat before letting it out.

When we moved I kept our two cats, who were 9, in for three weeks before taking the one out into the garden on his harness and lead. His brother refused to come near me when he saw the lead, so he stayed indoors.

After a month I took them out without their leads and stayed in sight of them in the garden, gradually letting them wander round the garden alone.

I wouldn't let a rescue cat out just yet, but do play with her during her mad hour. Here the best possible cat toy is also the cheapest, as it consists of a piece of fur fabric tied to a long piece of string. Does she recognise her name and come when you call her, or rattle the kibble tin? If not, you are going to worry while she is out.

I would never use a laser toy - as I am afraid that the cat's eyes could be harmed.

Some years ago I adopted a 12 year old cat and did not let him out at all for 3 weeks and then a further 4 weeks wearing a harness before letting him free
I now have an indoor cat I adopted 3 years ago at the age of 6 but she had never been out at all so did not try as it saves me the worry of wondering where she is

I believe some cats simply need to go out...why wouldn’t they. Our cat was a rescue cat and was climbing the walls after two weeks of staying in and at night, was becoming destructive, trying so hard to get the cat flap open!When we let him out, he was so happy looking, it brought tears to my eyes. He came back fine after about half an hour (and was hungry). After a few years, he was run over one night and was found on the road dead ?. I still miss him..,he was such a gorgeous cat and so gentle....but he wouldn’t have been happy indoors all the time. You have to make your own decision about your own cat, I think. It’s all a balance....we can focus too much on our owns needs without considering theirs though, sometimes...

One off my cats chasers her tail she goes out and has toys et so not sure its boredom
As for lettinng it can be scary but I have alwYs found initially they dont go very far I usually open a window until they get faniliar with outside surroundings.If the cat has been sotting loking out wi dows she will have some idea of bearings

Sashabel our 2 have wet food around 7.30am and 6pm but there is a bowl of dried good available all the time. Neither of them eat much of it at a time, and neither are obese.

Incidentally, for their evening meal I have "bong" trained them! The radio is tuned to Radio 4, and they don't get fed until the chimes of Big Ben are played.

Two weeks is ok when you're moving house with your own cat, but then the cat has already got a relationship with you, it might take longer with a recently adopted one. When you do decide it's time, first just leave the back door open and let her go in and out in her own time without encouraging her or carrying her any further down the garden than she decides to go of her own accord. This familiarises them with the act of recognising their own garden and back door and makes it less likely they will panic and get lost later.