Hi everyone,

We've recently got a kitten, Lexie who is 4 months old and I was wondering when would be the right time to let her out of the house?

I asked the vet last week and he advised that once she is neutered at 5-6 months then she can be let out for 10/15 minutes each day supervised.
If I'm honest, I'm really nervous about letting her outside as she's still only small and I'm terrified that something may happen to her.

We live in a fairly quiet area but at the back of the house we do have a main road and just thinking about her anywhere near there makes me nervous!
Our neighbours also have cats which I hear at night fighting with eachother - our garden is safe and fenced off but she's a curious madam and there's nothing stopping her from running off.

She's had all of her immunisations and has been wormed but not neutered yet as the vet said we should wait until she is at least 5 months.

I called the vets yesterday and asked for some advice and they said that we could get a kitten harness and let her outside for 15 minutes each day so she gets used to being outside.
If I had it my way I wouldn't let her out at all but I can see she wants to explore as she sits by the back door waiting to be let out and given half the chance, she'd jump out of a window or something if it was open wide enough!

She seems perfectly happy inside and she is a little superstar, curious as anything and loves to explore but sometimes when she sits by the window or back door I feel so bad.
She has plenty of company as my brothers are constantly playing with her - to be honest they don't leave her alone.


She sat by the back door for ages today so I held her and took her outside and walked around the garden with her in my arms for half an hour and she LOVED it bless her.

I'm just looking for some advice really from cat/kitten owners as she's our first kitten and I was wondering how you introduce a kitten outside? Do they need to go out at all?

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.

My Skye is very small for her age too and even now at 8 months is still much smaller than Spencer. I'm not planning on letting them out at all but if I was it wouldn't be until they are a year old and a bit more mature mentally.

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Whatever you do dont let her out untill she is neutered, though you dont have to let her out at all if you dont want to, i have 12 cats in my house and only 7 of them go out, the rest are house cats. If you do want to let her out get a harness and a little dog extended lead and take her out with you when you peg the washing out or do the garden but deffo not untill she is neutered. My 5 house cats are perfectly happy being house cats.

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She sounds as if she is in a very loving home.

IMO I would wait until the end of the spring months if you do want her to go outdoors....... then I would start with a harness, do it very slowly and only to the bounderies of your garden, don't feed her before you go out wait until the walk is over and call her back into the house while still on a harness and then feed her, she will get used to your call and know there is food at the end of it, and biuld up from there.

My cat Loulou who is 4 yrs old is still only allowed out for mornings only and never fed before as I know when I call her in, she knows it's lunch time and comes running, she has excepted this very well and never goes far.
My kitten Libby is 23 weeks old, she is a quieter cat and at the moment I can not see me letting her out at all............. time will tell, but I will do the same procedure if I do change my mind.. take it very slowly.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I wouldn't have taken her on in the first place knowing there is a main road at the back of your house. The most common death in cats is caused by being hit by a car, that is even higher than feline leukaemia!

I think your only option is to make the garden cat proof so that is the limit of her exploring, as a roam free advocate I don't say that lightly but I think it's in the best interest of your cat.

If you provide lots of indoor stimulation - plenty of toys and a good scratching tree for climbing on - then you do not have to let her outdoors at all if you would prefer not to.

2 of my cats - the younger ones - are strictly indoors and are both very content.

Cats do not HAVE to go outdoors despite what some people will tell you.

Is there any way of cat-proofing your garden so that she can only stay where you can see her?

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Totally agree

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Hi and welcome to the forum.Your question is one which can only be answered with an opinion,as I dont think there is any right or wrong answer.I personally am an indoor fan.All my cats have been indoor cats and none have suffered from not experiencing the outdoors.My reasons are quite simple,it is no longer safe to allow cats to free roam.Traffic,morons using them for target practice,accidental/deliberate poisoning,fighting with other cats the list is endless.If your kitten has never been outside he has no idea what it is so he cant possibly miss it.The looking out of windows/sitting behind the door waiting to run out is not a desire to "go outside" it would be the same if it was a window or door into another room in the house,cats are naturally curious.If you do decide to allow your cat outdoor access ,after being neutered,you could catproof your garden or build a cat run where he can go out but be safe,if not then I wouldnt recommend allowing her out until she is at least 10/12 months old.Kittens younger than this are to busy "being kittens" to make sensible desicions or be able to defend themselves against other cats.Good luck with your decision .

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Thanks for the advice guys.

I didn't intend on letting her out of the house at all but the vet did ask me whether I had decided to keep her inside and I said I would think about it. The more I do the more I think I will be keeping her inside after all.

Just to add, the main road isn't directly at the back of the house, we have a lot more houses behind our house (it's around half a mile or so) but as I said, she is particularly curious so I was just extra worried.

If it is possible, a little chum to play with would be good. 2 kittens together keep each other occupied and she is less likely to get bored.

They are also lots of fun for us slaves - very entertaining with their antics!!!

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