Cat is staying out

Question
My 2 1/2 year old cat has been staying out for 8-9hrs over the last few days even in wind and rain.We got a kitten about 3 months ago and it has been quite difficult trying to get a bond there but we thought things were improving until now. Kitten is still in the house all the time. When we let our older cat out she will come back in 3-4 times in the morning-early afternoon and then disappears until late. We have had to go out looking for her around 10pm. She seems to be around but will not come in until may 2-3 in the morning. I wonder if we should keep her in for a week or would this be cruel.

Answer
Hi
I'm afraid keeping her in will make no difference apart from making your cat unhappy and more likely to stay out longer when she is able to go out again.

There is a method for helping cats get used to each other. It is a little time consuming but does help the cats in the long run. More information on this technique is described on this page

/introducing-cats.html

Cats will change their routines from time to time. i have been through several with my own two. with one having a period of weeks where he was out all night and we just couldn't find him. Now he stays in most of the time. At the end of the day our cats are free animals and have instincts which govern their actions. we simply have to be there for them and we have to except that we cannot control their behavior as we can other animals.

best wishes Kate