The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Pets & Working Animals => Cats => Topic started by: Rosemary on March 09, 2015, 11:47:33 am
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How long do we have to keep Diesel in? We got him last Tuesday and intended to keep him in for two weeks but he's a young cat and getting stir crazy. Obviously I don't want him to run away or get lost (although Bertie might buy him a bus ticket :) )
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I'm no expert but we have only ever kept ours in for a week and in the case of one of them it was only 2 days as she escaped. Luckily she did find her way back to us.
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I thought that people used to say 3 weeks but we let our girl out after approaching 2 weeks because she was finding it hard going ..... spent most of her life living outdoors and wandering off for weeks at a time so being locked indoors was new to her. She knew this place as 'home' though so a bit different.
I'd be 'cruel to be kind' and keep him in for as long as you and him can stand.
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I'd be 'cruel to be kind' and keep him in for as long as you and him can stand.
This. Well, up to a couple of weeks, anyway. And when you do let him out, make sure he knows there's bacon (or whatever he can't resist) and that he's hungry, and don't leave him out for too long before calling him in for the yummy treat.
Do you have a call for them that means, "Yummy treats, kitties come running!"? Mine were always so greedy, "Kiiiitttttiiiiieeeeessss" would get them to come home at 100mph no matter what they were busy with! :D
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When we moved here from Guernsey, we bought cat harnesses and walked the cats outside every day for the first 2 weeks before we let them out (we had intended on keeping them in for a month, but the constant stir crazy behaviour drive us to letting them out earlier!) I don't know if the walks had helped them but they all found their way home easily enough. It might be worth atry so he can get the smell of the place without being frightened and running off.
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I've moved with cats many many times and always aimed for 2 weeks indoors, and it's always been fine. Once we moved right across the street and I was puzzling over whether I should keep them in so they wouldn't be confused, but they watched us carry all our stuff over and seemed to understand perfectly well that if the stuff and the people were now over there, that must now be home!
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Also, your pics of Diesel always remind me of Marvin the Martian ;D
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He reminds me of Mittens the cat in the animated film, "Bolt"
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Ive found that 1 week isn't enough, so I always aim for 2 weeks. Ive just let our 2 new ferals out after 2 weeks ( I did wonder abut keeping them in longer) and they are fine.
In October though I kept a feral in for 3 weeks and the day I opened the door for him he vanished....only to be spotted here again on the yard a week ago!