Hi :)
Our cat, Chowder (yes, he was named after the cartoon), keeps running outside anytime the front door opens. It was funny at first because we would always be able to scare him back into the house. Now, he is getting pretty brave - running to the backyard is the newest thing. I am thinking we will need to get him a collar with his name and update his microchip (that has slipped my mind until recently). Question: Should we let him roam outside? We live in the woods (Panhandle), so we have all kinds of wildlife. Will he want to come back home? We never had a more determined cat. He gets a few feet away from the door and watches us. Then once it's open, he darts out like crazy. We leave curtains open for him to watch the birds or other things, but I think it drives him nuts and he wants to go out there to get them - making him very determined.
He is fixed, not declawed, takes that flea/tick medicine, and is a bit aggressive.
Please share your thoughts on our crazy cat, Chowder.
I really appreciate everyone's response. He is less than one year old, but full grown. He is a bit aggressive, but I have been told that is because he is a boy cat. My cat before was 14 years old and she always wanted to stay inside. Anyway, my sister offered to get a quick release collar with a tag. I will be updating his microchip. However, we will not let him go outside willingly (LOL!)... this is more of protective measures if he runs and we cannot get him inside. We do live in the woods and have raccoons, possums, foxes, and bears (How do bears live in FL??? Amazing!)... so it kinda scares me, especially with the kids grown close to Chowder. I've never had an outside cat, so all the responses really did help me think about what we should do.
Thanks Again! Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!
My last cat was an indoor/outdoor cat and would get mad and jump me if I happen to walk by the front door and didnt let him out, but I didnt let him at night. After many years of this one day he didnt come home. We found him dead by the side of the road, got hit by a car. So whatever you decide its their happiness/need to be outside vs a risk of them not coming back home.
I have had cats all my life and we always let them go outside. They were very pampered, don't get me wrong, but where I grew up we just always let them go out, and I still do. They always know how to get home.
I had 2 cats who lived this way (in various environments) and they lived to be 18 - 20 years old. We only had one scare where one of them (Bob) didn't come back for two weeks. But then he re-appeared (thankfully). One was a fighter (Bob) and he would escape no matter what we tried to do to keep him in. He was an incredible cat - he just could not be held back - fences meant nothing to him but a challenge.
We have 2 cats now and they are just too lazy to go far, so they go into the back yard (fenced in) and hang there. Now that they are getting older I find they go outside less. But we have a new kitten, and I don't think I'll let her outside unless we're with her, if at all. She hasn't tried to escape yet, but I think it's coming.
Anyway keep Chowder's shots up to date. I'm not sure there is much you can do if Chowder wants his freedom. I heard someone say once that a dog will risk his neck by sticking his head out the car window just to experience the sheer joy of the ride. Maybe Chowder thinks the joy he finds outside is worth the risk.
Could be something is missing in his food and he is on the way to grab something to fix that!
My opinion is to keep him in, but just an opinion.
Best, k
My biggest concern would be diseases such as feline leukemia/feline HIV. Or even getting rabies. So before you let him out I would make sure he has gotten the works when it comes to vaccines. My cat was an outdoor/indoor cat and contracted feline leukemia he eventually went blind and we kept him in the house after that but some people working on the house let him out one day and he got hit by a car. I hear that getting hit by a car was a better death than dying from the leukemia but that didn't make me feel any better about it - I cried for months of course I was a teenager at the time :) I also had another of my outdoor/indoor cats die in a somewhat confusing way - I don't care what the doctor said - it was unexpected and after that I decided not to let another cat out. On a side note, I have a neighbor who has a cat that it completely outside (not allowed in) and it has been thriving for years as far as I know (we just moved here). Hope this helps.
Sounds like he's just trying to be a cat.
Sounds a lot like my Buddy. I have two cats. One has no desire to go near the outdoors but Buddy is persistant. He gets outside and I just let Noel (our lab) go and bring him back in. If I don't send her out to get him he will run around until he drops in a panting panic. I think he is just curious and not sure what to do when he gets out there. He does like to eat grass. These are the first indoor cats I have ever had. I always let my others out. They either got killed by cars, stray dogs, or dissapeared. My neighbor has been having problems with Hawks killing her cats lately. Yes there are dangers out there. Hope this information helps. Oh, one more thing. You can grow cat grass for him and that might help. My cats love the cat grass. But don't give it to him full time. About every other month.
I have a cat too and at first we kept her inside and then one day she got out. Eversince then she wants outside . She comes home to eat or just be home. No neat for a litter box . I live in a wooded area ,she stays near by not too far. I also don't cut her claws for her protection.
Be sure that he/she is up to date on vaccines. I know there are a couple that our vet always skips because our cat has always been an indoor cat. With all the wildlife, I think I would be scared if this is a cat that you have grown close to vs. a new cat that you are bringing home and this is the way you guys started from the beginning. My cat has never been outside and I don't think she would be able to handle it...but then again she is 17.
This sounds just like our cat, Tiki. We wound up purchasing a Scat Mat and it has deterred out cat from escaping out the front door (not that he doesn't get out the back door occasionally still). The Scat Mat is either battery charged or electric & it's literally a mat that gives a small electric charge to anything that touches it. For the first few days we left it on all the time so the cat would know it was on. Now we only turn it on when we need to go out the front door....that way my kids don't get accidentally shocked.
It doesn't hurt the cat, just gives enough of a jolt that it makes them think twice about escape. PetSmart carries them & so do bunches of online stores. Take a peek. http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752972
You didn't mention how long he has been a house cat, if he's really old, I would probably keep him in, but it sounds like he's younger and a bit of a scrapper :) And in that case, let him out! it's his animal instinct to want to be out experiencing nature. It sounds like you take good care of him, he will always come back. He just wants the best of both worlds, inside and out! I have always had cats that enjoyed the outdoors. They always came in every night very happily. The night time is when you would have to worry more about wild animals being able to hurt him. Although with his claws and being a bit aggressive, I'm sure he would be able to protect himself. I have lost a cat to a car, which was awful, and I have to admit, my last cat I kept inside because of it. But If I lived where it was more wooded than paved, I most definitely would let them out. If he's out most of the day, he will want to come in and be with the family at night. :)
We let out cats roam outside. I wouldn't worry too much about a collar. If you do go that route get a quick release one and don't spend too much money b/c it breaks free when they snag it on something and it gets lost. I would just make sure he has his rabies shots and let him go, a little each time. You feed him so he will come back to your house.
We lost our cat of 11 years when he got out one night:(. We think an animal got him. We adopted a stray a few months later and she always wanted to go out, she ate something out one day and came in and choked to death. Some plant. We won't let any of our cats out now.
Please don't buy a mat that shocks your cat! Either be very diligent in making sure he is put up before you open the door or let him out. Talk to your vet first to get his opinion. As long as he is updated on shots and any other animals in the home are as well, he should be fine to play outside during the day.
Just know that one day he may not come home. It's sad, scarry, but the laws of nature. He wants to prowl and hunt, it's an instinct, as natural to him as food and water to us. Other things too prowl and hunt, one day he may not get away in time.
Some cats live a long time this way, others not so long. You can try to keep him in, but he will start acting out and could become very destructive.
I would try heard to keep him an indoor cat. His life span will be longer and he will not be eating wildlife. Cats are not native and have a detrimental impact on our native wildlife... particularly birds. We keep our 4 cats indoors. 2-3 of them try to escape quite regularly but i just catch them as quick as i can and put them back inside. Have plenty of cat toys and cat furniture to enrich his indoor life. Good luck with whatever you decide :-)
