hi!
we are getting a birman kitten named leo soon and he will be fully indoors(exept when we take him for walks).
mum wants his litter tray outside, so we are making him a cat run around the side.
we are putting a catflap in the laundry wall and then a plastic roof on about half the side (which is long and slightly skinny), and the rest chicken wire.
he will have had his first waccinations- so when/what age should i open the flap and tell him its ok to go out?
also, are covered or open trays better in your opinion? i have made MANY threads on this kind of stuff and i want to have as many answers as possible!
also, how do you train a cat to walk on a lead? the furthest i would take him is just down the street to the park......
thanks!

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Well Ingrid you can first take him out about 3 months after his vaccination. And I'd say a covered litter tray so they can get more privacy and it dosen't stink so much and if it's going to be outside and if it rains he can be dry when he does his buisness. And you train your cat on a lead by when he/she pulls to hard you yank him/her back. That's what I'd say.

I admit that I don't have any personal experience of walking a cat on a leash....but firstly I would be very wary of taking him to a public park as lots of strange human and dogs running around may well spook him and be very upsetting.
I believe that cat harnesses are available which are comfortable and (relatively) secure for a cat....it cannot be walked with just a collar and leash like a dog.
Secondly I would not recommend any kind of 'yanking' as training!

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Nellie Paddy Mitzy Milo Peggy Murphy

Millie and Monty, the White Devils!

no zoe, not nesaceraly 6 months, because he wont be in contact with any other cats.
and i will never do ANY yanking zoe!

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I totally agree it must be a harness and if you are being taken for a walk by your cat ( they take you not other way round.) you have to go where they want.
as long as it has had its vaccines it can go outside under supervision or in cat run.
be aware I have 2 indoor cats and I tried alowing both out in the garden / run for summer I got them both harnesses. my siamese didnt like being out at all she just sat down and refused to move. My Bengal however loved it so much that she tried to escape at every chance you couldnt answer the door or take the rubbish out without her running out. after a few weeks i decided to stop the outside activity and she has returned to being a happy indoor cat.

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Who said cat training was a slow process?..... mine had me trained within hours

with Indy for walks on harness I trined him like a puppy - first of all in the house on his harness with lots of treats and praise - then in garden -then the driveway - working up to longer walks.

However since we lost our dog he doesn't enjoy the longer walks any more so we stick to the garden

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of course,
harnesses are best, especially because cats can slip out of the easily!

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If he is going to be an indoor cat why does your mum want his litter tray to be outside? If your house is big you will probably need more than one litter tray anyway

He is a kitten so you can't be expecting him to find his litter tray, outside, at that age! Also, it's getting so cold lately!

I'm just really struggling to understand why you would want your indoor cat's litter tray to be outside.

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it's probably an odour thing?

baby-cat will need indoor tray until older at least and will still need at least one indoor tray

am hoping to drop one of my indoor trays next spring/summer when we have the large pen fully sorted as we are putting a sandpit in for cats and puppy to use - will be roofed to stop rain just making it solid every 3 seconds

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I thought that but surely if you can't put up with the odour then you shouldn't get a cat? There is very rarely odour in my house, the only time there is is if I've been at work all day and the trays need cleaned.

I thought it was part and parcel of having a cat, or 2 or 3 If the litter tray is cleaned properly then there should be no issues with smell.

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