Friend's new cat

Hi All, my friend asked me earlier how long she should keep her newly fostered cat in but her dad wants the cat to go outside to 'do his business'. Friend is worried about letting cat out too soon as she's only had him 2 days and she wants to make sure he settles in from moving from his old home and family before she starts letting him out. Please can you advise? Thanks

Hi Ali.

I think two weeks minimum of *house arrest* is recommended before giving them total freedom, tho' a lot will depend on the cat. A confident one will likely want to wander/explore while a shy/nervous one will probably want to stay nearby. Some form of ID is a must in this situation imo, just in case.

If there's someone at home all day with your friends cat, the ideal solution would be for them to take him outside the moment he starts looking for a toilet area inside and stay with/nearby him till he's finished.

All that said, I've never taken on a adult stranger so I may be way out, barring the 36 hours Pablo was here with me while I decided if he'd fit in with my lot. He escaped inside 24 hours but found his way back into the house while I was out looking for him, and this was in a completely new area to him.

Ian

We were always told 3 weeks Ali, but as Ian said it does depend on the cat, but 2 days is not nearly long enough, the cat has to find his way arouind the inside of the house and feel settled so expecting him to go out do the toilet and then come back is maybe a tad too much.

When we got Malo, we were told by the vets that we would need to keep him in 2 or 3 weeks and in that time we had him 'done'. He had been feral and I suppose that would have had a bearing too. It might be different if the cat you are talking about has already been neutered but I am sure a couple of days is too soon.

Joanne

Thanks all, I told my friend to keep him in for 2-3 weeks but then she told me her dad let the cat out!! The cat came back tho and was OK but she's going to keep him in to get him used to the house and his surroundings whether her dad likes it or not!

Lucky he didn't wander far Ali, tho' hopefully that's a sign that he won't even when he gets his freedom.

Ian