kittens outside the home

Sadly, many young cats are lost through straying or being involved in road traffic accidents. Even so, allowing your cat outside access will provide them with enrichment and opportunities to express their natural behaviour. It is sensibleto take adequate precautions before first letting your kitten outside. Don’t risk letting your kitten outside until they have.

•  adjusted to their new indoor environment and considers it home. The time this takes will depend on the individual kitten, but will usually be a few weeks at least. Your kitten should be showing confidence around you and others in the home and they will have built up a scent profile enabling them to find their way back.

• been fully vaccinated to protect them against some infectious diseases they may encounter outside.

• been neutered. Cats reach sexual maturity from four months of age, and sadly many young cats are lost or injured in road traffic accidents while exploring their new environments and searching for suitable mates. Neutering may reduce this risk. At least ensure only supervised access outside before neutering and ensure your kitten is booked in for neutering promptly.

• been microchipped. It is important that you can be traced quickly in case your kitten becomes lost and is found by someone else.

 When you do let them out:

• do it when it is quiet and just before a mealtime when they are hungry so you can call them back with their favourite food.

• open the door and step outside, encouraging your cat to go with you.

• don’t pick them up. Let them make the decision to go outside themselves.

• leave the door open so they can run back into the house if they feel insecure.

• only let they out for short periods at first. You can gradually build up the time they are out until you are confident they can come and go as they please. Always keep them in at night, to protect them from injury and reduce hunting of wildlife.

• make sure the immediate environment does not contain hazards .

Cat flap training

 Kittens usually learn how to use a cat flap quite quickly. Start training them by holding the door open and luring them near the cat flap with small, palatable treats – perhaps part of their daily food ration. Give them the treats to reward their progress little and often while training. Hold the treat the other side of the cat flap and call them to encourage them to walk through the cat flap. Repeat this process until they will happily walk through the cat flap in both directions. The next step is to gradually lower the cat flap, so that it is only partially open. They will soon need to push against it slightly in order to go through. Continue to provide encouragement, praise and treats until you can eventually shut the cat flap and they will pass through happily.

Cat proofing your garden

Some people may just want to consider securing their garden like you would if you wanted a large aviary. This option should be done if you are too worried about your cat being free roaming, but would like them not to be exclusively indoors. It’s a simple solution that can easily be done using wire mesh, garden poles and some advice from a landscape gardener or handy man friend. 

One company that has come up with a rather unique idea is based in the UK and is called Katzecure. They have invented a simple wooden roller that fixes to any garden fence. The roller does not allow the cat to get a stable footing on it and therefore keeps the cat safe in the garden. Their designs blend well into a garden landscape and I personally think the idea is brilliant, although more expensive than chicken wire.