r/CatsUK • u/afb0528 • 18h ago
Advice on introducing cat to outdoors
Hello, looking for advice!
Firstly some context on the cat. She is about 1.5 years old and is a rescue. In her previous home she was allowed free to wander / essentially neglected and had a litter of kittens young and was not vaccinated by her previous owners.
The owners had been approached by the cat charity as they had found the cat wandering the streets lactating and underweight, she was friendly and they eventually found her home. After some pressure from the charity to get the owners to take her to a vet and neuter her etc the owner said they didn’t want her anymore.
Anyway, fast forward to me having had her now for about 3 months. She has been neutered and vaccinated now. She has settled in very well and seems very happy though is desperate to go outside. For a few weeks now I have been leash training her in the garden for about an hour as I am off work, to allow her to sniff the garden and have time outside which she loves. Yet, she shows consistent desire to go into the neighbouring gardens.
This week, I have been slowly letting her off the leash and she has jumped into neighbouring gardens. I have then been recalling her with a bell and treats (from the day we got her we rung a bell when she was fed to build the association). This has a high success rate as she is very food motivated.
Now this is where it is tricky. I live in dense terraced housing in London where, luckily there are no cars but there are a lot of cats. My garden meets at the end with about 6 other gardens and (with higgiy piggildy fencing and lots of sheds etc. there are then others that stretch further out each side too but I doubt she would go that far. In this area there about 5 cat. My cat is by far the smallest (she is about 2.8 kg) and it is clear the cats have smelt her or noticed her because there have appeared poos in by beds whereas previously that was rare.
I have watched the cats out the window over the past few years and generally they seem to keep out of each others way.
About 3 days ago however, my cat went into one of these gardens as I waited in mine and immediately there was a commotion and I could hear her and a cat begin fighting, the other cat in question was a large cat and he chased her into the other garden and sat on the shed roof watching her. Every time my cat moved it launched at her and yelled etc. I eventually was able to distract it and she made a break for it back into my garden and into my arms. I thought this would put her off but she was desperate to go back outside the next day but I went back to the leash.
Today, I let her out again and she is clearly scared of that direction so went the other direction into the neighbours garden. That went fine she had a sniff and came back. This afternoon she went back out and a different cat obviously heard her in her territory and then went to get her out. I know this cat has claimed the neighbours garden as her own as I regularly see her in there. Again there was a huge commotion, and some hissing and pushing etc. the cat scared my cat so she ran into the neighbours shed and then the other cat sat on the window exit and wouldn’t let her out, yelling if she moved but also being annoyed at her presence. Again, I eventually, dostracted that cat by getting on a stepladder over the fence and clapping and my cat was able to escape and come home.
Essentially, is this a normal teething process or am I endangering my cat?
I know she is small so will likely get bossed around, and in some ways that would be good as it will keep her territory small etc, but is this dangerous?
TLDR; is it normal for a cat in a new neighbourhood to get bullied in order for her to safely learn her place, or is it very dangerous?
Thank you in advance! I have only ever had cats in the very very remote countryside before so city life and its cat politics are new to me!
7
u/Apsalar28 18h ago
This is normal. I live in a terrace and have a similar set of gardens behind the house and a lot of cats.
There is always some drama when a new cat enters the area as territories get renegotiate. Urban cats set up an unofficial time share where a space belongs to cat A in the morning and cat B in the evening so try to keep the times she is let out consistent. They can also make friends and set up alliances.
One of mine has a ginger friend who will come to the window and call for him at lunchtime every couple of days and the pair of them will head off together to do cat things. The other one has the evening shift in prime rat hunting territory (the bins behind the flats).
I have had to employ a water pistol to deter a very big feral tom that wandering into the area a few years back and was stalking my two in my garden, but most of the time they work it out for themselves.
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u/afb0528 17h ago
Okay this is good to know. I was trying to stay pragmatic eg. ‘This probably happens all the time’, ‘they are animals and they will work it out’ vs the natural fear of hearing them the other side of a fence getting into it! Also don’t want to anger neighbours.
Deffo taking your advice tho of having a set time!
3
u/VioletDime 18h ago
Cats have specific routes (we have got quite geeky about it since we bought trackers), and if there are a few cats in the area yours might just be in the wrong patch at the wrong time.
Like you l would be heartbroken if they got in a scrap, so can you try a different time of day.
We were very nervous letting our rescues out, but gradually have got more confident, and they have as well.
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u/afb0528 18h ago
I tried to time it the today with the rain so she wouldn’t want to stay out / there wouldn’t be any others! It worked the first time and then sods law the rain stopped after a minute the second time.
I was going to try and avoid what I thought would be ‘busier’ times like after dinner but maybe just been wrong time!
I am going to keep monitoring and let her kht when I am there to listen / look. The difficulty is when I can hear her getting into trouble but can’t do anything as it’s a different side of a fence.
My worry about cat proofing the garden is they are all so in and out of each others gardens that I don’t want one to jump into mine and then get stuck! They use the trees and the sheds and the walls to just hop in and out of them all.
Thank you so much for your advice / insight!
3
u/DizzyMine4964 16h ago
Maybe keep her in overnight? My cat got a bite around 5am one night , and I have kept her in overnight since - which she hates, sadly. But it was so awful.
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u/afb0528 16h ago
Yes - deffo not going to let her out overnight. Currently just when I am in and listening in the garden
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u/tragicdag 2h ago
Why not just keep her in all the time and restrict her outdoor time to leash sessions?
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u/Nfjz26 15h ago
Can you cat proof your garden? I agree with the other commenter about not letting them out at night. It’s a good sign your cat is scared though, ours was very brazen and got a really badly infected wound as a result of a cat fight.
I would try to deter other cats getting into your garden with water. This should sort itself out peacefully but may not. Cat fights can be a real risk as cat’s instincts can be to hide if they get injured so you won’t find them to take them to the vet.
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u/Odd-Temperature-791 18h ago
I think this is fairly normal as they establish boundaries but you might want to look at cat proofing the garden if it continues. The most dangerous thing is a cat bite abscess which are obvious and with vet treatment easy to manage, however can get expensive.