Indoor/Outdoor

Question
Hello, I would be grateful if you could give me some advice and instruction on training a cat to roam the outdoors in as safe a manner as possible. I am thinking of adopting a cat. My previous cat friend passed away a few years ago and he was an indoor cat.

My views have changed drastically on this issue and I now believe it is ideal for the cat to be able to roam in freedom as he pleases.

The area where I live is a generally safe. There are no predators and no busy roads within at least a 200-400 meter radius of my abode.

How would I ensure that he establishes a safe territory ideally around my house (in case that he needs medical attention, shelter and food)?

Apart from him wondering near busy roads, the only other glaring problem is that my neighbor has a colony of his own outdoor cats that are already familiar with each other that roam the general area around my house.

If I release a cat of my own outside, will my cat face deadly conflict with the colony? Will they actively work to oust him? Can he integrate into their territory around my house without having to fight them and risk heavy injuries?

Answer
Hi Michael,

I'm not one who approves of keeping a cat outdoors. First off there are predators around. You just haven't seen them. And a road doesn't have to be busy for a cat to get killed on it. My road gets about 10 cars a day and yet two cats have been killed on it last year. If there is a feral colony around be prepared for your cat to come home with some nasty cuts and bite marks. Not to mention some cat diseases, parasites and a possible personality change. And if he is very timid they could just chase him away. If you want him to have an outdoor experience then make him an outdoor shelter. This will give him his outdoor life but also will keep him safe. Here's a good link that can give you some ideas on what you can do.

http://www.catsofaustralia.com/cat-enclosures.htm

Or you can use this.

http://www.purrfectfence.com/outdoor_cat_enclosures.asp

This way you can keep him safe and he have the use of the outdoors. Good luck and take care.

Ciao, Karen