Should I let him out?

[Annedoy]

Hi just after some advice please. I have a 6 year old rescue cat, I've had him for a year. I was told that he was an indoor cat however he seems desperate to be out, and did once escape for 3 days.
I'm in two minds whether to let him out, on the one hand i think he wants to be out but on the other he's quite a nervous cat and I worry he would be easily spooked and also if he's never been out he won't have any road sense. Also worry with all the posts on face book re. Missing cats, run over and poisoned etc. I have a garden but can't make it secure due to layout. He has lots of toys and plenty of space within the house to try to alleviate boredom.
Whats peoples thoughts, am I being over cautious ?

[Mollycat]

I'm not a fan of the whole indoor cat thing, even though I have one due to no outdoor access, but she was already an indoor only cat by choice when I adopted her and that's why I accepted her. Obviously there are situations where the choice is indoor cat or no cat, and for the cat, indoor cat or euthanasia (if they have certain transmissible diseases for instance) so nothing is ever black and white.

But I am a big fan of matching the home to the cat, so if the cat is a roamer then a busy main road isn't the ideal home. So a lot of your decision should be, the cat's character and your home. If he's that nervous maybe he will stay in your garden and away from roads, dogs etc. There is no such thing as 100% safe (even indoor cats can have terrible accidents and are more prone to certain diseases, not just boredom)

When taking on kittens a lot can be done to help them be safe outdoors, you're obviously way past kitten but it could be worth a try if your cat is very well bonded to you. Go out WITH him at first, not just for a few times but for the first weeks. Praise and reward if you must the behaviour you want, ie staying in the garden and having fun there, and discourage what you don't want, ie up on the wall and away. Before going out, teach him to come to his name if he doesn't already.

To be honest making a bid for freedom and staying out for 3 days has to tell you something about what he thinks on it all and I'd be inclined to try and listen and accommodate him if at all possible. But it does involve you accepting a certain level of risk so don't let anyone talk you into it against your better judgement. If anything should happen and you knew you shouldn't have let him out, that would be very hard to handle.

[Felix19+]

hi - could you may be in a morning give him his food outside in the garden and stay with him - will he walk around the garden with you to confirm that is his territory? Or may be better to take him out with you before he is fed when he is hungry and then tempt him back in with food after a while.

Just a thought.

[Mayday21]

Hi mine are inside & cope well albeit had my Pergola enclosed with cat netting to give them some ‘outside’ time. Think Felix19’s advice is sensible. Bear in mind cats & cars don’t mix. I know some folks let their cats out but always have them inside by 4 (we don’t get dark until 5:30pm in winter) for dinner.

[Lauriexx]

Hey! Our kitten is 7 months now and he absolutely loves it outside. He was raised on a farm up until the age of 4 months so he was accustomed to having free reign about the breeder’s land with his mum and litter. As we got him quite late on, he’d already established a lot of his own habits and personality so we always knew he’d be an outdoor cat - it just felt a bit cruel taking that freedom away from him. We waited until he was 6 months to be neutered and after the correct healing time, we started to introduce him to the outside In very small time increments. I should note that he was absolutely dying to get outside again as soon as we brought him home! We are lucky enough to have our own front and back garden and no main roads are close enough for him to venture out into but I don’t think he’d go anywhere near them anyway because of the noise. Anyway, he started off with a few minutes a day outside a few weeks ago to being out for up to 4 hours. He loves exploring and always comes back when he’s called so we know he’s not too far at any given moment. I think if your cat is showing signs of outdoor curiosity then it’s only fair to accommodate those, even if it’s only for 15 minutes a day. Plus it really helps with their excess of energy - ours just sleeps as soon as he’s back inside which is great for the Christmas tree! He’s a very affectionate little boy and we love him so much.