New Cat - Advice please

[danielle13]

Hi,
As mentioned in my other post, we adopted a putty-tat on Sunday from a shelter.
The lady at the shelter recommended keeping her inside for a month so she doesn't roam, but I'm thinking, is this a little excessive?

I'd like to hear from others who have adopted/bought an adult cat, about how long they "quarantined" them before letting them out?
I plan to keep her inside for a little while longer, but as our house has no screens and the owners won't put any up, the house is getting a bit stuffy, as we have to shut off each part of the house that we "air"..

Or, any advice about how to keep her from wandering would be appreciated, too.

Thanks!

[Gribel]

HI

they do recommend the cat to saty inside for a while, mostly so that she/he can get used to you and the surroundings and familiarize themselves when looking outside.

Especially with the ones you adopt from a shelter, they tend to run away more cause they are already "scared" from being in the shelter and then moving to a new place.

I know how hard it is with the non exisiting fly screen, are you in a unit or house?
There are nets that you can buy from Bunnings and attach them to the balcony/side of the house so the cat has some sort of freedom without escaping.

My 2 cats are inside cats at the moment, only beacuse i am next to a busy road, but we have flyscreens and every door is open at the moment. However I do have an outside area for them which is barried off if they want to go out....

[smidgebump]

Hiya!

First good on ya for adopting your new puss. Such a big decision between that and a kitten... My big fella has been gorgeous. And i felt great as so many adult cats don't get homes...

I kept him inside for a couple of weeks and then he was fine. And same each time we move house (he's lived in something like 8 different houses with me!!! :eek: ) Just gets them familiar with the house. Then when i DO start letting him out, I make sure i supervise for the first week or so in case he gets lost or chased by another cat or dog etc.

Know what you mean re house getting stuffy - what we do is make him a "house" in the laundry with his blanket/bed, food and cat tray, scratchy pole etc and that way he has his own area and feels comfy in there and we can open the house up while he's in there.

Hope it helps and enjoy your new family member!

[mum23girls]

I would recommend keeping it inside more..and if it goes outside to erect some sort of enclosure (which doesn't have to be costly). Not only for the safty of the cat, but also wildlife.......

cat-world.com.au is a great site that can give you heaps of information.

[LilShenanigans]

Each move we did (with cats over 4years old, one being 16years old at the first move), we kept them in for about 2-3 weeks.

I say if your cat feels comfortable in it's surroundings, there shouldn't be much need to worry about it. It's so it knows it's home, especially if it gets into trouble it'll come straight back...

At one move we actually bought cat leashes - the youngest had a harness. And we'd take them for walks to sniff out the area, make their mark and so forth... They were a lot more relaxed by the time we took them for their 'supervised' outings.

[Mikeswifey]

We just moved house with our 1yo cat.

We let him out after a week, despite me wanting him inside for at least 2 weeks but he started to become very stressed and pee everywhere - and cat pee is impossible to get the full smell out.

He also started shedding massive amounts of hair.

So we were not going to have him stink out our house and when we let him out he came back 5 mins later to the door.

We had put him on a leash 3 times a day everyday that week, walked the perimiters and the street so he would know where he's home is and it worked.

[lovinmybub]

When I've moved with my cat I've kept him inside for at least two weeks. If he had been stressed after the move (hiding etc) I usually keep him in longer than if he's relaxed, comfortable in the house, and driving me crazy meowing at windows and doors!

Last time I moved a bought I lead and just took him out into the yard after the first week in on his collar and the lead. After about a week of this he was comfortable outside, rolling around and scratching up trees, then I let him off. I watched him closely at first and everytime he came back home for at least a month or came when I called I gave him a 'treat' (food reward!).

I hope that helps, it worked for me but we were lucky enough to have screens, I really feel for you without them!

[Ryan&RileysMum]

as to adopting cats im a bit luckier in that area i had mine while she was a kitten but had to give her back to my friend (who had the shelter) as all our other cats were dissapearing one by one we got her back now 7 months later but she know me
i still wouldnt let any truly adopted cat out before the 1 month period you need to remember there is a reason they ended up in the shelter as a kid my parents were foster carers for the rspca
and unless you can absolutely help it letting a new cat that doesnt know you out after a week or two could be a recipe for disaster
as it hasnt learnt to trust you and if it got spooked it could run the wrong way instead of running home you could lose it
even im not going to let my cat out bfore 3 weeks and she already knows me