Hi all,

I have two cats (Pepper - 5, and Clover - 3) who love being outside. When they were young we trained them to be on leashes since technically it is a law in my parts (although never enforced). We also recently put a fence in to keep them well and protected when they are out back.

The problem I have (and it is my fault) is that i've created a couple of whiney cats. All they do is want to go outside and unfortunately for the past few years I have generally caved and allowed it to happen. Before work we'll go out for a walk and sit outside, when I get home from work, after dinner and before bed. In some cases they are outside for a good few hours and this does not include weekends. Everyone kept telling me how much I was spoiling them and how I shouldn't to this extreme. I brushed off this advice but wish I hadn't.

Everything is working out fine right now, but eventually it would have to stop. I am eventually wanting to have children and will obviously not be able to cater to cats all the time like I have. But trying to stop is proving to be difficult. I am not sure what to do? Many have suggested letting them whine it out and that they will eventually calm down. But for whatever reason I feel like I am letting them down. I hate seeing them bored and uninterested but unfortunately they don't play many games and with toys as they are so used to outside.

Anyways probably a long shot, but wanted to see if anyone has experienced anything similar to me. I love making them happy but know I can't keep this pace up and enjoy my own life.

Thanks all, and sorry for the dumb thread .

I have no advice for you I'm afraid but you may have helped me. I've been considering taking my cats out on a lead but am worried that what's happened to you might happen to me! I think I shall learn from your experience!

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how bout an outdoor cat enclosure to put them in sometimes

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What is so dumb about wanting the best for your cats

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Black with white around his private area



Black Tortoiseshell




R.I.P Patch my well behaved boy dog
R.I.P. Abby and Rebel my beautifull litter sister cats

Oh of course there is nothing wrong with me wanting the best for them . I honestly wouldn't mind taking them out all the time, but unfortunately that isn't realistic.

The trouble I am having is balancing my own life and being able to do my own thing sometimes, with keeping the cats happy and safe at the same time. The other factor we have not working for us is that someone up the street lets their dog out all the time without a leash. Even after asking nicely when it came over, it still hasn't stopped. Combining this with the fact that I would never be able to keep this pace up in the next couple of years makes things a bit stressful around the house.

Listening to these guys cry to go out and seeing the sad looks when they are bored makes me really sad too .

Do you have plenty of things indoors to keep them happy and entertained, such as cat trees, scratching posts, toys both independent play and interactive ones, maybe try spending the time you would walking them playing with them and making them run, jump and pounce and see if you can get them to enjoy being in more.

Oh yes of course, everything from scratch posts, lasers, bird toys, tinfoil balls, etc.

I'm not sure if they are just so used to being outside that they've grown to like it more than anything but trying to play with them inside when its nice out is very tough!

The above sounds like a solution to me!!! You could attach one to the house, have a cat flap and then they could come and go as they please without you having to worry about them! You could then lock the cat flap when you don't feel happy about them going out!

I have certainly thought about the enclosure thing, but i'm not sure how well that would work in our situation. Our back yard can only be accessed by the back door. I'm not sure how we'd ever install a flap with an enclosure and still be able to go outside like normal. The other problem is Pepper loves to walk and I know how much she hates being enclosed. For whatever reason she just loves going onto the street, smelling and walking around the block. The other one could care less .

I don't know how to describe what we are going through. We want to let them outside but we also want to get a bit more free time for ourselves as well without having to leave the house. When I am inside, it's pretty much a constant chorus of meowing and crying to get out. Eventually when we have a baby, this is going to be rough!

Do you have the spare funds to find a cat walker?! Dog walkers exist, maybe cat walkers do too!

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