Hi…another newbie here!

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  • 25 April, 2011 at 10:48 am #44546
    GillArkley
    Participant

    Hi, new to this site. My name is Gill & I’ve been a dog lover for most of my life, however we got given a couple of kittens last September & I have totally fallen in love with them. They are about 9 months old now & we still haven’t let them out (full time) yet (too nervous that they will never return!) 🙁 However, we do plan to start letting them out soon (just through the day time) – so any advice or tips on how to get them to come back home would be greatly appreciated. Primarily, they will still be indoor cats…but we want them to have a little freedom to come & go when the weather is nice outdoors. I have heard that it’s best not to feed them before letting them out – so it will encourage them to return once they start to get hungry! Would be great to hear from people who have been through this dilemma! – Cheers, Gill x

    25 April, 2011 at 11:04 am #656118
    Moonshadow_NZ
    Moderator

    Welcome to TDK Gill, the advice about not feeding the cats before letting them outside sounds good. First, is the area you’re thinking of letting the cats into safe, no traffic, dogs or any predatory animals and is there somewhere safe for the cats to run to for safety.

    I’m from New Zealand and we’re very spoiled here as we don’t have any predatory animals and our cats roam at will indoors and outdoors. I have trained my cats over the years to come to a whistle, just like you would for a dog. When I want my cat to return inside I just whistle her and she comes running, then I praise her for returning. I hope that helps you.

    25 April, 2011 at 6:19 pm #656119
    Jeankit
    Participant

    Warm welcome to TDK Gillarkley from my kits Dot & Crockey, we are from WI! Being free to roam outdoors poses a few concerns about safety. Also attracting fleas is another. I take my kits outside on a longer leash w/harness. It gives me time to enjoy fresh air along w/my kits. I planted a catmint plant in the garden too which is a nice place for them to enjoy while I sit on my lawn chair! You can also click on the pink tags on the upper right for more info & chats on subjects.

    25 April, 2011 at 6:26 pm #656120
    WillowandWindismom
    Participant

    Welcome to TDK, Gill! Falling in love with kittens – yep, we’ve all been there!

    My girls are indoor kitties only, but we do have a screened in patio that they love. They can watch “kitty television” (the birds) but still be safe. We live in the desert and there are just too many predators here to ever think of letting them be outdoor kitties.

    We’d love to see pictures!

    26 April, 2011 at 12:29 pm #656121
    GillArkley
    Participant

    Thanks ladies….we are from Liverpool (England, UK) and live on a fairly quiet road with a garden at the rear. We have let them out in the garden (supervised) a few times now, but we realise that one day, they will want to jump over the fence into the surrounding gardens. I am pretty sure that they will return to us when they are hungry…but we just hope they are able to find their way back. One of our immediate neighbours do have a large great dane though, but he is only let out the back once in a while & as soon as our kitties realise that there is a dog there, then I’m sure they will avoid that side! I have put a picture of them (when they were quite small) on my “gravatar” pic but for some strange reason it doesn’t appear to be showing up. Anyway, thanks for the warm welcome. Nice to speak to fellow kitten owners for a change! 🙂

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