What Age/Size Is It Okay To Let Kittens Out?

[LittlePenBigHeart]

So our two kittens are now just over 8 months old. At their last weigh-in (around 6 weeks ago) they were around 2.6kg and 2.3kg.

They've had their leukemia jabs and I feel fairly certain our oldest cat was the same age/size when she went out for the first time but it just seems too soon! We hit a compromise in letting them out for the first time today under supervision. We let them play and roam for about 10 minutes, then I called them, gave them treats and let them run off again. After another 10-15 minutes they kind of ran in of their own accord and we gave them lunch, so I feel like we're doing what we can...but ARE they too small!? I asked our vet when we last took them in and she said we could let them out but should watch them. They're not that much smaller than our oldest cat but still...they seem so little!!

There's a teeny, tin, miniscule chance that I'm being an overprotective mummy here, lol!

[Marla]

They sound a bit small for 8 months old. Are they both neutered?

[OHWS]

.

[Crewella]

As has been said, once they have been neutered (and now they have had their jabs) then you can start letting them out under supervision, as you have been. If they've not been neutered, absolutely not!!

[alanc]

Seems like they are about the same size as my first cat, Sally. She was very small and only weighed about 2.5kg full grown. (Although when she got less active at 6yrs, she put on a bit of middle age spread and got to 3kg!) I let her out (after spaying and inoculations, of course) when she was about 7 months old. She never had any trouble with her small size and was quite capable of sticking up for herself with the other local cats, destroyed a large part of the local mouse population and caught a few rabbits into the bargain! (The rabbits were bigger than she was, how she managed to drag them from the field opposite I don't know.)

[LittlePenBigHeart]

Sorry everyone, I should have said that they were neutered and spayed shortly after we adopted them in May so everything is good on that front (they're brother and sister and we really didn't want any more kittens running around!!).

When we let our oldest cat out for the first time, it was nerve-wracking but actually, it was absolutely fine so I don't know why I'm so nervous about letting these two out. Maybe it is just because I view them as more vulnerable than Gizzy, due to their size. The boy looks like he could actually grow to be quite big but the girl has these short, stumpy little legs and because she's not all there, I worry about her safety as well.

[Crewella]

If it helps, like alanc I used to have a teeny, dinky little cat who was more than capable of holding her own and was actually the one of my gang to finally put the local Burmese bully cat in his place! Her mum, aunts and uncle, who were all much bigger, wouldn't go near him including uncle Rottie - a big supposedly roughty toughty ginger mog!

[LittlePenBigHeart]

That's amazing!!!!

One of our neighbour's cats was on the wall between our gardens earlier, watching the kittens play. Not sure if the kittens even noticed him!