i need some advice please

hey im new so hey to every1!!
i have a kitten called ollie i am worred about letting him out as there are some cats that live next door and i went outside yesterday olllie was by the door and the cat really hissed at him they are all older and hes so little what should i do? i have a small patot i was goning to let him out there and then buy a lead and walk him wot do ppl think?
thanks

 

it your kitten up to date on vaccines? Spayed or neutered? Keep in mind once you start to let your kitten outside he'll probably want to be outside all the time - so why start, especially if the area can be dangerous to a kitten.
Cats do fine being inside cats - no harm and they are safe from other cats (who might not be vaccinated), safe from cars, safe from predators, and safe from people who might harm them.

 

Welcome to the Board.

If I got a new kitten, I wouldn't let her outside. I think they do fine indoors if they are used to it.

My two eight year old kitties go outside but I regret not keeping them in when they were kittens. They are so used to it now, I think it would be too hard to change their habits.

We live in the suburbs and our houses are spread out and we are back away from the street. My kitties like the back of the house more than the front. So it is a little safer here for them from being exposed to traffic.

Best of luck with your new kitty. Would like to see pictures.

 

As other people have mentioned, there's lots of reasons to keep your kitten inside. Some that weren't mentioned were protecting the wildlife, indoor cats tend to live longer on average, reduced exposure to possible parasites like fleas, you can keep an eye on them inside the house much better than you can if they are roaming around outside where they can eat something toxic and several other reasons already posted, plus any that i'm not thinking of at the moment. My kitty loves to lay in the sun and look out the window, but i consider her an indoor cat becuase she rarely ever goes outside and when she does, its either in a carrier or on a leash and HARNESS. Don't try to walk your cat like a dog. He's a baby and doesn't need all that pulling on his neck. They will resist at first either way until they are used to it. If he's wearing a safety cat collar then it will break off if he pulls anyway and then you have a loose kitty. When he first tries on a harness, let him wear it for a little while and get used to it before you try to walk him. Then slowly walk a few steps and see if he follows you. It helps to have a few treats on hand when he does a good job. Also practice walking around the house several times before venturing outside. You may have to make adjustments on the harness so he doesn't slip out.

 

As incentive to keeping your cat as an inside only cat, I read recently that outdoor cats live an average of 5 years and indoor cats- 16 years. I hate leting my cat outside, but she will sometimes jump out of our 2nd story windows to get out, buit she stays in my yard. She got out once before at my old house before the window screens were put in and a window slid down while I was at work and she got out and got ran over. Feline leukemia isn't a good thing to get either, neither are a bunch of new kitties, so make sure yours ollie is UTD on shots and desexed! Happy kittening!

 

Hmm, I seem to be the only one here that prefers to have an outdoor cat... 8-[
I should probably mention that i've never had an indoor cat, so i don't know wich is better. And offcourse it depends on your neighborhood, is it kitty safe? I live far from any main road, there are a few neighbor cats, but not too many, and there is alot of "tumblig space" for my cat. So i don't have any doubts about letting Kyrre outside, aslong as he is up to date on his shots...
He hasn't been neutered yet, but he will be in a months time
I think he would drive me crazy if he were inside all the time, he can be a naughty boy :love_y_t_much: And it is also very rewarding for me to see how much he enjoys to play outside.

How old is your kitten? If you decide to let him outside, i would at least wait until he is 4months. And you should also get your vet to chip-tag him.
I haven't had any problems with my outdoor cat (besides from all the dirt he drags in :lol: ) but like i mentioned, it has alot to do with your neighborhood.

And if you have pics, we would love to see :m7:

 

thanks everyone for the the advice ppl!!
he is 4months now so ill let him in my little yard bit for now, then wen he is older ill keep that door open and he can go out but at the moment he dont seem like he want to go out we open the back door he dont run to it he only will want to go jus to follow me to be near me and know wot im doin!!! and can some one tell me how do i put a pic on i got sum but i cant work it out!!!
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First you need to go to photobucket.com (or any similar website) and register. It's free.
Then you upload your pictures from your computer to your photobucket account.

To post the picture here, you press Alt+p, then you copy the URL to your pic and paste it in here, and then you press Alt+p again.

That should show up like this:

Good luck :y_the_best:

 

thanks!! i worked it out thanks 4 the help though!! :m33: hope you all like the pic (minus the green eyes!lol!!)

 

Welcome to the forum!
I agree with some of the other posters on just keeping him safely inside. If you really want to let him out but feel that it is'nt safe I think getting him a harness and leash is a great idea. I take one of mine out on a harness and he does'nt seem to mind it at all. The other 6 are perfectly happy staying inside and have no desire to go outdoors.

sunset: If I ever saw Socks outside I'd be tempted to steal her. :wink:

Bente: I think it depends on where you live. In some countries it seems that a majority of cat owners allow their cats outside. One girl (from the U.K. I think?) a while back, in a conversation similar to this one, stated that where she lives it is actually considered "cruel" to keep a cat indoors. She even said that the vets there recommended allowing cats to roam. I assume the circumstance are just different, maybe safer in some areas.

 

What a cutie!

It sounds like the neighborhood cats are just excersizing their 'this is my turf' thing. As I'm sure you know, cats are very terrortorial and they will hiss and spit at a new commer to show/claim their Alpha status. I don't think you have anything to worry about if you just let her out for a little each day until she learns her place in the neighborhood hierachy(sp?). The Alpha hiss/spit usually at most comes down to a slap here and there in my experience.

I used to only have outdoor kitties untill it seemed to become too dangerous for them with population, sick strays, crazy people and nutso drivers. It's a scairy world out there fot the litle ones and if you have an outdoor pet, about all you can do to protect them is to make sure they're up to date on their shots. And of course the dangers are dependant on where you live.

I personally wouldn't have an outdoor cat now-a-days, but I have to admit that I feel guilty about it. Every creature deserves sunshine and fresh air and open space to explore.

I'm planning on having our front porch enclosed with screen so that I can let Booger out on it next spring.

And another downside I've noticed from having an indoor-only kitty is that she is very shy of strangers and skitish.

 

:y_the_best: thanks to everyone for your advise iv made my mind up and i will keep him indoors and get a harness also i want to know i want to get some cat grass if im goin to keep him in coz i no its good 4them but how do i give it to him or do i live it out and he goes to it?sorry to ask so many questions this is the first time iv had a cat so im a bit unsure

 

:m23: and welcome! If you have your own cat grass from pet stores, or even home grown perrenial grass, let your cat chomp a little at a time and put the plant away. Or else you will end up with a cat that does "cat scoop" on the derrier. If your baby injests too much grass, there's a good chance of vomit too. Chomping grass is fun for them but they don't necessarily need it. Pics of Ollie please!

 

Maybe it's just me, but i can't see the picture... :?

 

Me either.

 

iv ryed that one that some suggested b4 but i could register for the free option so where does ne 1 else post their pics to get them on here? :?:

 

I can see the picture ok but I hosted it on my photobucket for you so hopefully others can see it too.

He is absolutely gorgeous!! Oh Those eyes!!!

 

I live in an apartment and I live upstairs. I have a walk way that I share with my neighbor that is exclusively our and has only one way out. I just moved here in February and she has 3 cats.

When I first moved here my cat loved going over to her house and hanging out with the 3 cats, but soon one of the cats decided that she hated my cat and started attacking my fur-baby. Now my cat has to be seperated from my neighbors cats and everytime my Stewart sees my neighbors cat, one in particular he hisses and runs away. My cat gets along with her 2 other cats and even likes them, even though the mother of the mean one looks exactly like her except she is skinny and he sometimes cant tell the difference. If your cat doesnt like the other kitties it may not be possible to make them friends. The one cat that is really territorial is this little girl cat named Elvis... she's a tiny fat little round ball of a cat that her only pleasure in life is to get my cat...

Any interaction your cat has with the locals definatly should be supervised. Good luck and welcome!

:qm3:

 

thanks for doing that for me i tryed to register with them but it wont let me do the free 1 that i want so i can do pics like i say at the mo we open the back door and he has no intrestin in goin out only if we (me n my boyf) go out as he wants to know EVERYTHIN we do bless him