Letting cats out to backyard

All,

I got a couple of young cats from a rescue.
They live indoor. But I want to let them out on backyard for a short periods of time. Both cats are fixed. Both have colars and chips. Still I saw one scaling 5′ fence like there is nothing. She did it when she saw a stray cat running through.
So the question is: how to ensure that the cats do not run away? Is there any devices or methods to keep them confined to backyard?

bobjohn

in Exteriors 2 years and 10 months ago

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Guest User | 2 years and 9 months ago

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Check out the stuff you should know podcast from a cat lover about cats being let outside. As crazy as it sounds, cats are an invasive species that are causing other species to go extinct – much to do with their desire to kill for thrill beyond merely for appetite

colonialrevival | 2 years and 9 months ago

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There are so many ways your cats can get away from you in this city. There are enough suffering cats in New York, there is no need to tempt fate. Cats belong indoors.

BKALLDAY | 2 years and 10 months ago

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Why don’t you buy a large dog cage and put a moderate sized cat tower in it and put them there on good days. No one wants to see your cats prowling about because no one knows they are fixed. Also why did you get rescues if now you want them to be outdoors? Train them to be indoor pets. Not only will they prowl about, they will defecate and urinate in the same places time after time and that stench builds up. You’ve done a good thing taking them in. They should not become transitory guests of the neighborhood. Good luck.

annep | 2 years and 10 months ago

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Letting cats outside is definitely not safe and depending on which rescue you adopted them from it may not be allowed (the rescue I volunteer for stipulates cats are not allowed outside in the adoption contract). If you feel strongly about letting them outside without running any of the risks people have mentioned (escaping, getting into fights with other animals — which includes potentially contracting FIV which your cat are rarely vaccinated against, contracting leptospirosis, getting a parasite, etc etc.) a catio, or outdoor run is a great option.

Jasperrose11 | 2 years and 10 months ago

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There are catios and outdoor runs – which keep the cats safe while allowing them to gaze on the great outdoors.

anotherposter | 2 years and 10 months ago

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There are outdoor pet pens you can use. A neighbor kept letting their cats out and they could easily climb the fence on their side (chainlink) but then would get into my yard where my high prey drive dog had full access via a dog door and they barely managed to scramble out of his reach a few times before they were more careful. Point being, you don’t know what’s on the other side of the fence, so cat owners, please don’t let them roam.

andriywww1990 | 2 years and 10 months ago

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Bobbjohn: if we were there size, they would be lions. It wouldn’t be good.

bobjohn | 2 years and 10 months ago

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>> There’s a gizmo – you string a wire around the top of the fence, and hook it up to power. www.amazon.com/…/B00099FAK2
Does this work for cats? I afraid that my cats will plot to kill me after I install this,

RobertGMarvin

in Exteriors 2 years and 10 months ago

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It depends on the cat. I had one who NEVER left our backyard and would always come when called. I keep my present cat, and his predecessor, on a leash when he’s in the back yard and never let him out unobserved. Of course some cats won’t tolerate a leash.

andriywww1990 | 2 years and 10 months ago

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On farms they call them electric fences.

Arkady | 2 years and 10 months ago

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There’s a gizmo – you string a wire around the top of the fence, hook it up to power. https://www.amazon.com/Zareba-K9KIT-Pet-Garden-Kit/dp/B00099FAK2

andriywww1990 | 2 years and 10 months ago

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The cats will always wander especially if they find something of interest down the road. I think it is encoded in them as that was how they hunted. Dogs, they get sort of content with us feeding them.

We have fences on either side of us and our cat could not scale the 6′ one unless i had left a table there.

This is what we did to stop her from going out our drive behind the house: i got a sprinkler and set it on a motion detector (amazon) and directed it across the driveway. It worked. She hated it.