Is my cat safe outside?

You know I think I'll try the leash bit. I'm not sure how well the cat will take to the leash. Hope she doesn't hang herself with it! She will do anything for the wet cat food which has always been a treat for her. Maybe if I fed her that more often, she would associate it with being indoors and then choose to stay inside again.

If you decide to go the leash route, I've heard that a harness is recommended instead of a regular collar. The harness goes around the neck, but it also goes around the stomach. The cat doesn't get hung up in it that way.

Eight years is young for an indoor only cat. She could get in a fight with another cat and this could cause serious problems. Cat fights can be very bad. Cats are persistent creatures. They know if they persevere they'll get what they want eventually. If she cries to go out you have to ignore it. I have listened to the wailing and meowing and yowling of a cat to go out for hours, off and on. And days. The only thing for it is to ignore it, play with the cat, distract it as much as you can. Ignoring it works well because you can't, most likely play with it for hours on end. As to it running out when you leave the house you have options. If you can close the door to the room you're leaving from (provided it has a door), that is, close it off from the rest of the house. I trained my mother's cat this way. She had a small entry hall with the front door and a door that opened on the living room. I would close the living room door with the cat on the other side in the living room. Then I could safely open the front door to leave. Another house I had to close 2 doors that kept the living room and dining room closed off from the rest of the house. The cat then had 4 other rooms to stay in until the owners arrived home. He was not able to get to the living and dining rooms. The front door they used was in the living room. I would not want to keep the cat in one room until you came home. It takes persistence and some ingenuity. You need to outsmart the cat at the same time being humane. I hope this has helped you. I will look for articles to see if I can find more. Hopefully, the room you leave the house by can be closed to the rest of the house and that will solve your problem.

I live in a very small house and there is only one door in and out. There is no door between the kitchen and living area and that leaves the two bedrooms or the bathroom that she would have to remain locked in, if that were the option I picked. I want her to have more room than that. But, I know that she only sleeps when I am gone, so I don't know that she would be greatly harmed by staying in one of the small rooms. I fear that she would claw at the door and then become upset. I know that I want her back inside and I guess I will try the harness and leash suggestion and if all else fails, I will just listen to her antics. Surely she will forget before I go totally over the cliff?

She is about eight years old. That is one of the reasons I think I should find a way to make her stay inside again. But she goes to the door and begs to be let out. If she is not let out, then she runs out when we go and come from the house. Short of locking her in a cage, I don't know how to keep her indoors now. There aren't any dogs that have chased her that I have seen. I think police are rather strict bout the leash laws for the dogs. Maybe the pound doesn't pick up the cats. That is one of my biggest fears is that she will be impounded and be put down.

Oh wow. Tanuki is already about eight years old. I would sure hate to lose her this soon. She has always been such a special cat with all her little personality traits. I think I'll see if my daughter can help me keep her indoors by holding her and placing her back inside after we go outdoors so that she can't run when the door is opened. Maybe she will forget aobut the exploring outside and be content to stay in again.

I think she has found somewhere to shelter because she doesn't seem all that cold or distraught when she comes to beg for her food each day! I don't want to traumatize her by saying no that she can't go outside anymore, but I don't want to harm her either. I think I will try the harness and leash that another responder noted and see if she will learn to stay only indoors again.

Funny how attached we get to our little furry friends! I know that she was created to live outdoors and that I have a domesticated animal that I have choosen to care for indoors! The handyman let her out and she has choosen to stay outside every since. I just don't want her to die from exposure, but I suppose that G-d did create her with enough sense to seek shelter.

Oh, I never thought of trying to pen her up outside. That may be a solution. If the cage were large enough, that may be satisfactory. Maybe she would come inside on occasion that way and just go outdoors when the weather is nicer. I worry a great deal about her now because the snow has come and the weather has not been above freezing until today. Then the forecast is for more snow. I hope she'll come in from the storm. She will usually come when I call her, but she won't stay inside for too long.

Depending on how much you want to spend, they have some really nice ones. I'm hoping to get one this year for my cats. I've seen ones that attach to a window or sliding door so there is always access. Not sure how that works exactly. I've seen ones with tunnels. I've seen ones with perches. They are really nice. And aside from being in a cage, and as far as I'm concerned safer, it's just like being outside. There's plenty room to explore and run in some and sprawl or whatever. I've seen one that you can add onto. This is what I'd like to get. Kind of like a modular thing. You can add tunnels, large rooms, curves, you name it, they probably have it.

when i was a child,i had a cat that black-while color.my family and friends called clouds-snow

My cat was raised as an indoor cat but she still has claws and a way to defend herself. If she had no claws, I would have to insist that she stay indoors and not let her out no matter how much she begs. She never desired to go outside until when the handyman let her out. I guess all the racket he made drove her outdoors! She doesn't look like she has been in any fights, though.