Many people who have cat's often keep their babies locked up indoors for fear of them getting lost, hurt, outside when roaming alone. Cat's are indeed solitary animals and need time to be alone. For this reason, I realised that even with my detatched house, my family of cats needed more room and a change of scenery and pace from their home roaming habits.
Some of the concerns people have with letting cat's outside are :
- Traffic Accidents. Lots of cats never come home, because they are hit by traffic or are hurt so badly that they don't make it home. Hit and runs are more common than you think and motorists are often not responsible enough to do anything about accidents and just drive away.
Deal with this by giving your cats supervision. They must understand the dangers with enough investigation. Believe it or not, cats are extremely good at learning their surroundings and the dynamics. This includes crossing roads. I'm sure you've seen videos of cats waiting for the green to cross pedestrian crossings. If you haven't I recommend you have a search and watch it!
- Getting Lost. There is sometimes the tendency for cats to wander very far. This is part of the scouting and scoping nature of defining their territory. Sometimes they can lose their way and find it difficult to make it back. Sometimes they might get stuck inside a shed, or locked in someone else's house. These are all reasons why cat's may not come home for several days.
Use a microchip and make sure that you have given your cat proper socialising training to recognise your voice. I call for my cats which are completely out of sight and usually they return home within minutes. In the even that they do get lost, the microchipped can be scanned which will allow any vet to give you a call to say they've found your cat.
- Diseases and physical harm. Cat's especially the boys, like to roam and seek out their mates. Sexually transmitted diseases exist within cats and their tendency to be promiscuous exacerbates this issue further. You can end up with further problems like urinary tract disease, kidney disease etc. Neutering the cat reduces the tendency for them to seek mates, as well as get into territorial conflicts. The cat fights can often be a spread of disease and must not be underestimated as something which causes seriously lifelong harm.
Neutering is usually the best way to deal with diseases and physical harm. Of course, regular trips to the vet will help identify any issues early so you can treat them without any extensive damage.
Understanding these points, and how to act on them is the first step to being informed about how to let your cat become gradually an outdoors cat. Naturally, cat's are survivors and will mostly be fine with little intervention. As a concerned carer, you should however be aware of all of these points as this is how you take responsibility for your cats safety and well being.
Your stories about your cats are just amazing and I have had many cats in the past but all are gone now. Really sad when they go. My cats were indoor and outdoor cats most of their lives.
Nice photo
Unfortunately this cat lives in a very high human population density area and won't have the joys of exploring the outdoors anytime soon. Cats are happier outdoors when the weather is nice.