How to get a cat use to being out

[funkiechicken]

i think its less imposing to neighbours and practically invisible - and like i say, if you get the free standing you can take it with you, also make it the full size of your garden or only part of it  not cheap, but neither are decent sized enclosures and in the grand scheme of cat owner ship i'm sure it would more than be a good investment long term 

[Beth82]

That fencing is pretty nifty!  I will look into that, thank you

[funkiechicken]

As you have 7ft fence, can you not add the Cat fencing to the top? of purchase the free standing ones so you could take it with you at any point?
http://www.purrfectfence.co.uk/
You seem to have many pedigrees in your area!!  I would not want a pedigree having free range here for risk of it being stolen  I even worry about my little un, who (in my eyes lol) is stiking & pretty. She never left the garden either.....at first. This, will change and when you least expect it  Honeys reluctance to jump at the moment, could see her either in a sticky situation or even trapped. Evie is not yet an expert and is wobbley, she couldnt clear a 6ft fence if it wasnt the side that has the horizontal slats half way - she is practising lol but until then, she hasnt got as free a range as she thinks she has 

Domestic cats can have upto a 3mile radius of your home.  Although i do not think mine travel 3 miles (possibley a good distance in one direction due to it being rural/woodland etc) but I do know my older boys travel a lot further than i think they do 
They may sleep alot.....but they have secret lives 

[Hippykitty]

There's always some territorial punch-ups when a new cat enters an area, but it doesn't usually go on for long. It's much less serious for females and neutered males; entire toms can have a real bashing. I've never personally been a slave to an entire tom, but there have been a few in the area.

Provided she's spayed, I'd give her limited access to outdoors. Maybe an hour each day at the same time. This way she'll know when it's time to come home for tea.

[Beth82]

I'm not fully happy to let her go on her own, she is a skittish cat and i think she would avoid a main road.

Once Rori is spayed, i'll take them both out together for walks on their harnesses.  I did try taking rori out the other day but we were stalked by 2 males who ended up scrapping on my drive way for a good 30 mins afterwards 

[Sue P (Paddysmum)]

Alison has a bengal girlie who visits her regularly at her allotment and seems to come and go quite happily.  If it was me though, I'd be very wary of her being taken, or getting out onto the road when she has little experience of traffic, so I don't think I'd have the courage to let her out.  As for her not going far, one thing I've found about cats over the years is that they always have the capacity to surprise us - sometimes it's a pleasant surprise - others times it isn't.   They can go a lot further than we ever imagine likely. 

Really, it's a Judgment call based on what you know of Honey - there are very sound arguments for and against keeping any cat as indoors only/indoors-outdoors etc.  Each of the points of view has valid reasoning, but I guess any of us who let our cats go out (and I'm one of them) has to live with the knowledge and the risk that one day they won't come home, we may never find out why and it will almost certainly break our hearts.   

[Beth82]

Not sure people are too bothered tbh.  There are 3 Siamese roaming about and 2 burmese, which are known to be bullies.  Maybe an xQueen coming in might sort this lot out 


(joke)

[Dawn F]

that is another thing with them unfortunately, they can be bullies which might make her unpopular with other cat owners 

[Beth82]

A proper main road is about 2 roads away but I doubt she'd go that far but I maybe silly to assume that 

For a bengal, her agility isn't too grand and I think this is mainly due to her being closed up in rooms for the whole of her life.  She climbs very well though!  My neighbors either side have said i'm more than welcome to let myself into their gardens if i needed to get in.

It's annoying cus my heart says let her go, she'll be ok but my head says no.  Esp after today, she got out and got into a scrap with a local big tom.  She didn't back down, infact she kicked his arse but she stood there in shock after and didn't return home, which worried me.  So I think I'll give it a few more days then maybe let her out again, hungry this time.

[Hippykitty]

I think it depends upon your proximity to the roads. If your garden is fairly safe and it wouldn't be easy for her to get to the road, just leave the door open.

I'm not an expert with pedigrees but could she pass as a slim tabby domestic (moggie)? If so, this is what most people will assume she is, so the risk of her being stolen would be low.

As long as she's bonded to your home - has been kept in for about a week - go into the garden with her a few times. There should be a time when she doesn't follow you back into the house. Leave the back door open so that she doesn't panic when she sees it closed.

I don't expect your landlord will allow you to put a cat flap in the door, so perhaps just give her an hour's 'out' time when you get back from work but BEFORE you feed her. ALWAYS let her out hungry, then she'll come home for food.

The peeps who've recommended keeping her as an indoor know more about the breed than I do, so balance her personality against any desire to allow her to be free-roaming.

[Dawn F]

I would risk it to be honest, bengals can get into all sorts of trouble no least that they look quite nice and someone might try pick her up, which they often don't like and might lash out - also because they are so nosey they are prime for getting into cars, vans, sheds etc

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I wouldnt risk it and would keep her indoors and safe and only out in a harness cos being a bengal she will jump that fence eventually.

I dont know how big the garden is but is there room to have an enclosure in the middle pf the garden that could just be taken down when you leave?

[caledonia]

Maybe she is just happy as things are? I mean she is following you back into the house - so maybe after a while leave the garden door open and see if she tries to venture out herself.

My cats have all been indoor but I have friends with cats that are given the option to go out and 90% of the time don't bother. Your giving her the choice but she might surprise you and not be that fussed :-)

[Beth82]

Bit of a dilemma here, I'd love to give honey the free roaming right but worried that the past 6-7 years she has always been an indoor cat.  I take her out on her harness and she loves the garden, even to the point that she lays down to sleep in a certain spot 

As my place isn't owned by me, I'm not allowed to erect an outside enclosure.  I know, sounds silly but the landlord has said no and I would sneakily do it, if his sister inlaw didn't live 3 doors down.

Anyway, I've taken her own twice now without a harness and she's stayed in the garden.  As soon as she hears Rori desperately crying or I walk back into the house, she follows.  She's not tried jumping up the 7ft fence and tbh for a bengal she is weird that she rarely jumps up.  She won't jump the baby stair gates I have up, not sure why but Rori leaps over them with no issue.

Honey can jump, don't get me wrong but it's like she's used to being penned in(?).  I'm not saying she won't jump the fencing, pretty sure given time she would.  But do I  just carry on the way we are (me going out with her) and then say after a month, simply trust her to go out on her own and leave the door open?