New kitten....questions & advice (merged)

A question about : New kitten....questions & advice (merged)

'ello

Our kittens are now 7 months old ...the girl is fairly big and very sensible and worldly wise ... and the boy ... well he's still teeny tiny and not the brightest spark really ... relies on his sis a lot!

We know it's time to let them out but we're petrified - but its not fair to keep them as indoor cats! They're chipped and have collars and are spayed and neutered

Just wondering what others did when they let their kitties out for the first time - did u go with them into the garden to begin with? take them out for 15 minutes and then bring them back in doing this regularly throughout the day? starve them before hand?

Our backgarden is not accessible unless u walk down our drive (sounds strange I know!) so it makes sense for us to take them out to front garden really ... we live in a fairly quiet close (cul-de-sac) which is a few mins away from a fairly busy road ... but they'd have a vbit of a trek to get to it!

Any advice or experiences appreciated!

sugar x

Best answers:

• yes definitely supervise the first few outings
  keep them hungry too
  info here:
  https://ezinearticles.com/?Letting-Yo...Time&id=700370
• we taught ours to come to the rattle of biscuits in a pot....
  They picked it up within a couple of hours,and never once failed to come in when we rattled the tin and called them.
  Its very nerve-wracking letting them out in the big wide world, but they have a great time!!
  Good luck
  x
• You can try them on a harness at first, here is my kitten getting to know the garden, although he will always be an indoor cat, having the garden to have a run in supervised.
• they should be ok they have been with u a while my kitten was 3months old let it out after two week and came back in the evening
  Our kittens are now 7 months old ...the girl is fairly big and very sensible and worldly wise ... and the boy ... well he's still teeny tiny and not the brightest spark really ... relies on his sis a lot!
  We know it's time to let them out but we're petrified - but its not fair to keep them as indoor cats! They're chipped and have collars and are spayed and neutered
  Just wondering what others did when they let their kitties out for the first time - did u go with them into the garden to begin with? take them out for 15 minutes and then bring them back in doing this regularly throughout the day? starve them before hand?
  Our backgarden is not accessible unless u walk down our drive (sounds strange I know!) so it makes sense for us to take them out to front garden really ... we live in a fairly quiet close (cul-de-sac) which is a few mins away from a fairly busy road ... but they'd have a vbit of a trek to get to it!
  Any advice or experiences appreciated!
  sugar x[/quote]
• You literally just need to let them out, perhaps open the front door to start with and let them go outside but sit in the doorway and read a paper or something so they know that they can return if they need to. Then call them to see if they either react to you or come back. Leave them out for perhaps half an hour and then offer some treats or catnip to get them back inside.
  Rinse, lather and repeat the next day until they're going out for longer periods. Experiment with closing the door and then observing through the window to check they're not nervous or wanting to come back when you're not obviously there. 9/10 you could almost just boot cats out for the day and they're fine
• Get them used to the sound of biscuits (go cat sort) box being shook and the reward of the biscuits.
  Once they come to this sound in the house (probably only a day or two) let them in the back garden, leave the door open and after a few minutes shake the box so that the come back in, reward them.
  Repeat a few times, extending the time they are out and the distance they go before returning.
  It is scarey for you the first time they go out of sight but they will come home (probably with a mouse as a pressie for you).
• Why would it be unfair to keep them as indoor cats? Especially if your really worried about one of them.
  I live near a main road so that dictates my two being indoor cats but even if I didnt, one of my girls would go to anyone and the other runs in the other direction as soon as someone looks at her so goodness knows if she ran out in front of a car or something.
  Hope all goes well tho xx
• My cat is an indoor cat because I live in a flat so he couldn't get in and out by himself and I wouldn't know when he wanted to come inside. I know he'd love to be able to go outside and explore though, do you think I could get him one of those harnesses to take him out? I didn't know they existed.
• Drea, ebay sell them and also if you have a local pets at home, theyre about 4.99
• My Kitty's are about 12 weeks old and have been going out in the back garden for a while.
  It is enclosed, they could get out by jumping the fence but haven't bothered yet.
  The first few times I took them out and held them. It was funny as they didn't like grass! But after that they started to come and go a couple of times per day.
  They love it out there, especially on a day like today. They've been sunbathing!
• An update on this harness
  Got it today from Pets At Home (Ј5.99) and popped it on my cat, he didn't like it much at first but once he was outside it didn't bother him at all. He was a little scared to start with and was meowing with the tail huge but after 2 minutes that was him off around the garden exploring with me trailing behind
  So glad I got him it
• I have 2 12 year old cats We have agreed to take two kittens, I am worried that the two sets of cats won't mix how can I assure that the cats all get on has anyone got any tips
• You will need to plan for a slow introduction of your new kitten. PLEASE keep your new kittens away from all of your other pets for at least a week. This gives the kitten a chance to be eating well and become confident with you. It also allows your other pets to begin to get used to the smell of the new kitten. Your other pets will sniff around the door of the room housing your new kitten and you will have its scent on your clothes.
  Another option is to buy a foldaway carrier which you can use to seperate the kitten from your other pet but still let them interact with each other, you can take it in turns to put the kitten or other pet in the carrier so the kitten can get to know the new environment as well as the other pet.
  DO NOT force the animals together. Do your best to monitor their interactions. If things get too rough, separate the kitten back into its room. Do not leave your new kitten alone with other pets until you are absolutely sure that they will get along. Don't leave a small kitten alone with even the sweetest big dog. Accidents can and will happen. When you leave the house, put the kitten back in its room.
• i found the advice on the following link absolutely brilliant and thorough.
  https://www.wvcats.com/integrating_cats.htm
  i followed this advice and recently introduced an old 14yo siamese to a 13yo siamese - two old Geezer cats who are stuck in their ways - like old men i kept them totally separate for about 4 days initially and then followed the steps in the article. within two weeks i was happy to leave them alone together.
  now, two months since they first met they are now quite happy in each others company and hang out together, eat out of the same bowl and play chase. they are not close or cuddly, but occasionally they will sleep next to each other and have even groomed each other on about 3 occasions.
  good luck!
• Make sure your older cats are up to date with their injections if the kittens haven't yet been vaccinated.
  Slow introduction, seperate living areas to begin with. Good luck
• Thanks guys so fantastic advice I will check out that weblink later We have the front room ready to be the new kittens home, the door can be shut too, so we can keep them in there when we are not around. We will follow the suggestions above also.
  I am worried my old tom will start marking his territory around the house in the only way cats do it is this likely to happen?
• I am getting two new kittens what jabs do they require before they can go outside etc Also when can they get spade?
• if your old tom has been 'done' then it is highly unlikely he will suddenly start spraying at his age. i had the same fears as you....introducing a 14yo tom siamese to a 13yo tom siamese...TWO potential sprayers in my mind...but was reassured that it would be unlikely. i'm two months into the adoption and as yet no spraying *fingers crossed*
• Actually, there's a chance the tom will start spraying. My mums cat used to always be allowed in the house, then randomly started spraying absolutely everywhere. There was no apparent trigger and he was neutered some years before it started. They had to redecorate and now he lives in the conservatory. Keep an eye out for 'new' behaviour.