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For some people letting their cat out is not an option - here are some further alternatives including fencing in your garden.or making a cat friendly home.If this is your choice you must make a conserted effort for the health and wellbeing of your cat. Many indoor cats end up leading a life of just eating, sleeping, looking out the window with little or no stimulation over the next 25 years of its life. No wonder that food becomes their only pleasure and so many end up being over weight. There are some cats that need to be kept indoors for their own safety for example FIV/FeLV+ cats, blind or disabled cats, or a very nervous cat whereby outdoor life would be too stressful.
In my opinion no amount of toys can make up for the stimulation and excitement of the great outdoors. Cats have instincts and these cannot be ignored. A cats main sensory organ is that of smell - everyday our gardens are changing as different cats and animals walk through day and night leaving their scents around the garden for our beloved pets to find the next day. Sometimes some ‘topping up’ may be required as your cat will go around spraying various areas and marking them as ‘his’. Whether neutered or not, male or female, all cats have the ability and will to spray. Most of the time this is done outdoors and is not a problem for us humans but is an essential part of the cats daily routine.
How much time you allow your cat out of doors and when is up to you. I would recommend that no kitten is allowed out until it has been neutered (for males) or spayed (for females). This is usually performed at around 5 months of age but your vet will advise you accordingly. In the ideal world our cats could come and go as they please but unfortunately it is no longer safe for them to do so with such perils as traffic, feral cats with possible FIV/FeLV infections, and humans! If your cat has limited access outdoors I would suggest to let him out while you are in, and keep him in while you are out.
In my opinion no amount of toys can make up for the stimulation and excitement of the great outdoors. Cats have instincts and these cannot be ignored. A cats main sensory organ is that of smell - everyday our gardens are changing as different cats and animals walk through day and night leaving their scents around the garden for our beloved pets to find the next day. Sometimes some ‘topping up’ may be required as your cat will go around spraying various areas and marking them as ‘his’. Whether neutered or not, male or female, all cats have the ability and will to spray. Most of the time this is done outdoors and is not a problem for us humans but is an essential part of the cats daily routine.
How much time you allow your cat out of doors and when is up to you. I would recommend that no kitten is allowed out until it has been neutered (for males) or spayed (for females). This is usually performed at around 5 months of age but your vet will advise you accordingly. In the ideal world our cats could come and go as they please but unfortunately it is no longer safe for them to do so with such perils as traffic, feral cats with possible FIV/FeLV infections, and humans! If your cat has limited access outdoors I would suggest to let him out while you are in, and keep him in while you are out.
By far the easiest way is to insert a cat flap - however these too are not without their problems. If your cat can come in and out as he pleases, so can the other neighbourhood cats, and this may add further to your cats anxiety when he has an un-neutered tom entering his core territory and spraying. Your cat will certainly be unsettled by this. There are magnetic cat flaps but again I have known it whereby the cat has got through the flap, only to be closely followed by an imposter before the flap has had a chance to close, and then of course both cats are shut in, as the imposter is unable to let himself out again! Keep your cats closed in at night. You would not leave your front door open all night and then go to bed and feel safe! Lock your cats in so that they too are safe and don't have to spend the night 'on guard' for any intruders.
Pet Porte make the ideal solution - the cat flap reads your cats microchip, so there is no need to fit a collar and because the flap is light sensitive, once it gets dark your cat is kept safely indoors. Can be programmed for up to 12 animals.
Pet Porte make the ideal solution - the cat flap reads your cats microchip, so there is no need to fit a collar and because the flap is light sensitive, once it gets dark your cat is kept safely indoors. Can be programmed for up to 12 animals.
Caring For Your Kitten
Introducing A New Cat
Soiling And Spraying
Litter And Trays
Eating And Drinking
Bonding With Your Cat
Timid Cats
Keep Your Cat Safe
In Or Out
Playtime
Multicat Households
Aggression
Old Age
Costs to Consider
Introducing A New Cat
Soiling And Spraying
Litter And Trays
Eating And Drinking
Bonding With Your Cat
Timid Cats
Keep Your Cat Safe
In Or Out
Playtime
Multicat Households
Aggression
Old Age
Costs to Consider
Tours of inspection need to be made at frequent intervals, but the cat does not want to stay outside for long unless there has been some special and unexpected change. Repeated checking of the outside world is important because of the time-clock message system of the scent marks. Each time a cat rubs or sprays, the scent starts to lose is power immediately. The repeated visits by a cat to inspect its territory are motivated by the need to reacitvate its fading scent signals. Once this has been done comfort and security beckons again and the anxious feline face appears at our back door once again!
The following information is the opinion of the writer and is not a substitute for veterinary/professional advice.
Cat Behaviour
In or Out?
Keeps out unwanted cats by using your cat's existing
microchip number without the need for a collar.
Automatically detects light levels and can keep your cat in at night.
microchip number without the need for a collar.
Automatically detects light levels and can keep your cat in at night.
The Microchip Cat Flap - No Collar Needed
Keeps out unwanted cats by using your cat's existing
microchip number without the need for a collar.
Automatically detects light levels and can keep your cat in at night.
microchip number without the need for a collar.
Automatically detects light levels and can keep your cat in at night.
The Microchip Cat Flap - No Collar Needed