My baby is growing up...

Hi,

I've been hand rearing from a week old, and my little baby Horatio will be 7 weeks old at the weekend. He's just off the bottle - how that broke my heart!!!!

It's SO hot here, and SO hard to not have the windows open wide! I'm a bit concerned as to what I'm going to do as he gets bigger as I have another cat who goes outside. Horatio has the run of the downstairs when I'm home, or working (as I work from home), but he's not figured the cat door out yet. I want him to have some freedom, but don't want to risk him escaping either.

Any ideas? He's going to be in for some weeks yet!

 

Awww, thats great to hear your hand rearing went well.

I've been in your same position before. I reared a kitten once, my other cat went outside when he pleased, and I DID NOT want my kitten to go outside. What if she gets hurt? Or taken away by someone else? Or forgets her way back? But I was told, if a cat loves it's home, it has no reason to run away. None of mine ever did.
Well...Usually when the older cats go outside and now how the use the door and all that, they tend to learn from them. I doubt you could do it, but if you keep your other kitty indoors, you might be able to keep the little one in. But like someone said before, once they get a taste of outside, its hard to keep them in. Does your older kitty stay within safe range of home?

 

Hi,

My older cat basically only goes as far as the end of the garden, she has never wandered. I wouldn't like to keep her in, as it took me 9 years to get her to stop using the litter tray!! I wouldn't mind her using one but she never got it in it .. even with the hooded tray it still leaked out - her aim was amazing!

What I may do, if it becomes too difficult is move kitty's cage up to my room and let him have the run of that room all day and just close him in at night...would make life a bit harder for me, but at least I know he's safe. Only problem there is my room's the hottest room in the house as it's in the roof!! But he'd never get out of the windows even if they were wide open!

I'd rather have him downstairs, again it's the litter tray that's the problem. I have to keep it in his cage so the older cat doesn't use it - the one time she did she peed everywhere - this HUGE yellow puddle!

Anyway, thanks for your reply.