Making an Indoor Cat an Outdoor Cat?

Incredulous Joe | 9 July 2011 | Incredulous Joe

[incredulous joe]

I have two cats; one, Guinness, is a four year old female, the other, Finnegan, is a two year old male. They have always lived indoors.

We also have an outdoor cat, Thatcher, who lives in our barn and has a pretty good life. She walked onto our farm 3 years ago and seemed to have been dumped. She smelled of powders and domestication when she came onto the scene. We gave her some space in our barn and she seems to enjoy herself.

We have a small house. In my opinion, as the guy who cleans out the litter box, our indoor cats have become too big for our home. They are both pretty large; Guinness is overweight and Finnegan is simply a big "no-neck" pounder, who is also the biggest sissy the world has known. He thinks that he is a lap dog.

Guinness has made numerous attempts at escaping our house and even made good on her efforts on a few occasions ~ never traveling farther than a few feet. Finnegan does not seem to have an interest in living outside. We live in central Maryland and it gets pretty chilly in the winters, but we provide and care for our outdoor critters as may be needed when the weather is extreme.

I'd like to see how our cat will do outside, but once they go out and live out there, it is my opinion that they should stay.

Any FRiends with experience, positive or negative in turning an indoor cat into an outdoor.

Thanks for any feedback that you may have.

[pbmaltzman]

Okay, thanks again, Fawn! Yeah, the cats and I all want one of these. Maybe with the next paycheck I’ll spring for one of the bigger ones. They already supervise me when I work.

[couchy]

I would tend to disagree on the lifespan argument. I had an outside cat for 18 years. He was tough, but also he was raised as a kitten to go outdoors. Maybe that makes all the difference.

[Focault's Pendulum]

We have an indoor/outdoor cat, but she’s harness trained.

One of mine can escape from a harness in about five seconds. It's pretty amazing to watch.

[knittnmom]

She’s escaped a few times. Dangling a feather in front of her or using a laser pointer brings her close enough to reclaim. We’ve since bought a ‘cat gazebo’ - a small mesh zippered ‘tent’. She seems to like that. Though, once, my husband went to bring her back in and she zipped away from him, across the yard, caught and killed a mouse, and ran back into the gazebo to enjoy her catch!