Is it bad to let my cat outside?

Question

I finally convinced my mom to get me a kitten, is it bad to let him outside? I'll be right there with him, of course. But I was wondering if it was okay to play with him outside, in a fenced area. My mom said it would be bad and once he gets a breath of fresh air he'll always try to escape when the door opens. Is she right?

Answer 1

if its a pure bred cat don't because he will get stolen. your cat will jump over the fence so don't let him out unless you are prepared for him to go wondering. so long as your cat is treated for fleas ticks and other parasites like worms he should be ok. make sure he has had his injections up to date  and has been chipped  

Answer 2

sometimes thats true .... my sister has a cat that goes both ways in and out

Answer 3

It depends on the cat.  Speaking from personal experience: My father brought home a stray kitten (whom we fell in love with and kept).  I would carry him around outside underneath my coat with his head poking out and looking around while I walked the dog (big yard in the country but she was disobedient with the pee pee times).  He now loves to get out, and we have to watch him whenever we open the door.  He did run away twice and returned a few hours later with burrs from the forest plants in his long hair.  Not good though.  In order to appease him, we put him on a 10 foot leash right outside our door for about 15 minutes at a time.  (Do not use a break-away collar.  Test the leash inside, and if he can pop the collar over his head, use a harness.  Of course, with a kitten, he'll be too small for leashes and too small to be left alone.)

If you are worried about him being hurt, just don't take him outside.  Opening up the windows to air out the home (watch him near the screens) can still allow him to get the fresh air he needs.  (There have been studies that have shown often the air inside the home is more polluted than the air outside the home.  That's why letting your home "air out" once in a while is a good idea, for your sake and the kitten's.

Answer 4

of course a cat would love to be outside, its better that they dont know what they are missing and not let them out at all. If you do like i have in the past you take the chance of your cat getting hurt. I have had two cats hit by cars, and it wasnt even a busy street. There are so many things that could happen, I have also seen cats horribly disfigured from cat fights. I have two cats now for 9 years and they stay inside and are very happy. :)

Answer 5

It really all depends on what is outside your garden.  If there is a busy road then I would not let him out.  As one of the others said, cats can climb and jump quite high.  Mine regularly climbs over the fence into neighboring gardens - but gardens are all she can access.  If there was a road she could get on, then I wouldn't let her out.  If your kitten likes the outside then you will have a job to keep him in when he is older.  Get him neutered too as tom cats like to roam long distances.

Answer 6

The problem is that he can climb over the fence, even when he's small.

One thing to do is to build a cat fence - maybe something like this one: http://www.catfencein.com/  to keep him from climbing over.  You'll also have to be very careful that there are no areas where he can slip out or climb a tree and jump out.  It can be pretty easy to make one and you don't need a whole lot of money or have a lot of experience with building things.  Anything that is diagonal or horizontal at or near the top of the existing fence should keep them from climbing up and over.  

My mother and I built a cat fence together that allowed my parents' cats safe access to the outside.  But supervision is still a good idea because other animals can sometimes get into the fence.  

A leash is another option but you'll need a good harness.  If you start training the kitten young they can learn to accept being on a leash - I wouldn't expect to walk him like a dog but you can let him wander around.

It is not cruel to keep them inside.  Yes, if they were wild they'd be outside but they aren't wild.  Cars, dogs, cruel people, traps and poisons left out for pest control.... it's just not a natural environment out there.  If you can safely confine your kitty to your own yard then I think it's great for cats to able to enjoy a little patch of the outside but otherwise it's safer to leave them in.

As far as always wanting back outside - yes, probably.  Cats, people...  once they get something they like they keep wanting more.  I don't know that the kitty necessarily try to run out the door, but he'd keep wanting to get back out there.  

Answer 7

YES!  

Before you make the decision to let your cat outside please read the following list of dangers that face it every time you let it outdoors. Remember we do NOT live in a perfect world.

** Cars kill countless outdoor cats every day. Not only do cars kill them, but many have lost their lives to antifreeze. The taste of antifreeze is irresistible to cats, as well as dogs. It doesn't take much for them to ingest to be a fatal dose.

** Diseases like Feline Leukemia and Feline Immunodefiency Syndrome (FIV) are two diseases that cats spread to one another. Unaltered male cats are at particular risk because they tend to fight, and both diseases are spread by contact through the saliva. Female cats can sometimes contract these disease through mating, passing it on to her babies. If male cats are lucky enough to fight and not contract these diseases, they still can get injuries that cause infections and abscesses.

** Parasites like ticks, fleas, mites and worms are just waiting for your cat to come along. Trying to rid a house of flea infestation is not only time consuming, but costly.

** There are malicious people that intentionally poison, torture and/or kill cats, as well as other animals.

** Cats themselves can become prey to larger predators, like dogs, coyotes, raccoons, etc. They can get caught in traps set up for other animals. They can eat poison meant for other animals.

** Laws: If caught in someone's yard, your cat could be taken to an animal shelter. Without identification, the shelter may put the cat to sleep after a period of time. Some shelters can consider a cat feral and euthanize it immediately.

** Consider our wildlife. Most areas are not overrun with creatures like birds, rabbits, squirrels, etc, so cats are not performing a necessary service by killing them.

I can go on and on listing reasons NOT to let your cat outdoors, but you get my drift. My cats are totally happy with their scratching posts, window shelves, toys, love and attention.

Answer 8

Your Mom is right. Once they taste that outside air they will make every attempt to repeat the experience on their own. And a cat can clear a six foot fence with no problem.

As much as I hate to admit it the city is no place for an outside cat.

Country cats, on the other hand, rarely spend any time indoors. Mine only comes in at night and that's only if the dog goes and gets her.

Answer 9

Your mom is pretty smart.  :)

It's better to keep cats inside, so they don't get hurt.  And however hard you try to keep him with you, he might squeeze through the fence or climb it.  And you don't ever want him to get hurt.

Congratulations on the new kitten!

Answer 10

As long as he's/she's not declawed, they'll be fine.  They know their way home, and they know who loves them..  Seems to me it's pretty cruel to keep a cat indoors; goes against their nature, unless, like I said, they were cruelly declawed, then that's a different matter entirely.

Answer 11

everyones going to say keep him inside, and ill probably ger 100 thumbs down but i dont think its bad, in fact i think its cruel for cats to never go outside.. alot of people disagree with me but i just cant imagine keeping my boys inside 24/7.. they love it outside..

Answer 12

I can't speak for the escaping part, but I don't think there's any reason to take your cat outside to play. There are many dangers out there for your cat, even if you are watching him play. There may be chemicals, insects like ants and fleas, spiders, or other animals' excrement where your kitty is playing. If a cat never goes outside, he is really at no loss. My mother's cat has never been outside, and has never tried to escape. He is going to live twice as long as an outdoor cat, too.

Answer 13

If you are allowed to go outside then so should your cat.

Just make sure he comes in at night by not feeding him before he goes outside. If you treat him right he won't try to escape when he gets a breath of fresh air. I won't say anything disrespectful about you mother but perhaps she would like to think about being stuck inside forever.

Answer 14

Cats can be trained to walk on a leash. They are smart. However, Mom's pretty much right. Best to keep it indoor. I suggest feeding it Iam's hairball and indoor formula's (mixed together). It's coat will look silk and you won't have nearly any health problems. I've been using Iams for years. It's like they say, better food better life.