Can an indoor cat become an outdoor cat later in life?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I have a 4 year old cat (tabby, if it’s relevant) who’s been an indoor cat all her life. About two years ago after I moved to Vegas, she’s become more and more listless and passive. Back home she spent a lot of time looking out the windows, but here she rarely bothers - there’s not really much to see. There’s rocks, dirt, and another building close by. She just seems extremely bored all the time.

I’ve tried to start taking her outside to add some excitement to her life. I bought a leash, but she doesn’t respond well to it. She’s a very small cat and even a light leash burdens her. She’s very scared and passive outside with it on, and usually just wants to come in. But if she goes out without a leash she’s adventurous.

She got lost (accidentally locked out) a while back. After 4 days of roaming, she managed to find her way home. Since then she’s managed to get out a few times - shooting through doors unnoticed, opening an unlatched screen door, etc. Each time she’s managed to find her way home in less than a day.

I started taking her out without the leash during the daytime when I could keep track of her. She’s extremely quick and it’s very difficult to grab her when she doesn’t want to be. But after 10-20 minutes of being outside, something would spook her - a neighbor, a dog, and she’d run back in. But after a few times trying that, she got much braver, staying out even after being spooked by something, venturing farther away from home - it became very difficult to get her to come back in, and I had to stop taking her out unleashed.

I feel bad keeping her cooped up in here where she’s often unhappy, but I don’t know if a cat who’s spent her life indoors could properly make the adjustment. She’s very smart, and she’s always managed to find her way home the few times she’s gotten out, but I don’t know if she always would. I live in a desert, so if she became lost I’m not sure she’d be able to survive naturally - there’s just not much water around. And I worry about people being cruel to her for no reason. She’s most likely too fast for anyone to catch her, but it unfortunately it wouldn’t surprise me to see sociopathic kids throw rocks at her and such.

Does anyone have any advice as far as what to do?

2

My cats stay inside all the time. Why do you feel she needs to be out? The odds aren’t good for outdoor cats, as I’m sure you know. I suggest getting her another cat buddy to keep her entertained.

3

I second the cat buddy route. That is what I would suggest. If she has a buddy to play with it might take her mind of the outdoors.

I have six indoor/outdoor cats but they have been that way since they were around a year old. I also have three strictly indoor cats.

Two of the indoor cats are happy because they have each other to play with and they play and chase each other all the time. They also play with the the other cats when they are indoors.

My third indoor cat is a loner so she does not want to play with the other cats but she does entertain herself with toys and we give her lots of attention.

4

I do free-range cats. My old cat was two when I moved from an apartment to a house, and he was a bit skittish when he first started going out, but came to love it.

The current kittens are about 4 or 5 months old and I let them out when I’m with them, but they can’t become free range till a) they’ve gotten all their shots, and b) are a bit better about learning to recognize when I call them. We’re working on that at mealtime – thanks, Comrade Pavlov!

ETA: I’m not clear what your living situation is – are you in a house? an apt.? Is there a yard?

5

We have a cat that used to belong to a neighbor. They kept him inside for 4 years so when we got him we thought he would stay inside. Nope. He was desperate to get outside all the time, maybe because he saw our other cat go out.

He does quite well and even catches mice but I don’t think I would have felt safe letting him out alone at first. Also our yard is connected to farm land and a semi woodsy area so they stay close by.

They go in and out multiple times each day. If, like your cat, they stayed away for a whole day I would try to keep them in, especially in a desert climate where they couldn’t survive on their own.

6

I wouldn’t worry about her getting lost. She is smart enough to know where the free food will always be.

If you are going to make your cat an outdoor cat, then I wouldn’t count on watching her all the time. You would just have to let her do her own thing outside and hope she doesn’t get hurt. If you can’t do that then get another cat and keep them indoors.

7

She’s bored here and obviously likes to go outside… I don’t want to be a jailkeeper.

Is it really common for outdoor cats to get lost/die/etc?

I did, actually… I didn’t mention it because I didn’t think it was relevant. They used to fight all the time and don’t get along swimmingly, although they’ve become less hostile towards each other. They do chase each other sometimes. It’s made my older cat less playful in general, though, I think - most of the times when I play with her, the younger cat wants in on the action, and whenever she comes rushing in to play the older cat takes a more defensive stance and stops playing.

I live in an apartment complex that’s fairly large, and walled off from the outside. There are however gates and such that a cat could go through if they wanted. Everything looks pretty much the same so I’m somewhat impressed she so easily figures out which of the apartments is hers.

8

I can’t have cats anymore because my dogs find them too tasty, but I have had maybe ten outdoor cats in my life. None of them died of old age. In fact, all but one just went out one day and never came home.

9

My old cat (the one who became a free-range cat at age 2) lived to be 19, and died peacefully in the vet’s office when it was time to let him go.

10

Snickers was an inside cat for years, until about a week after we installed the doggy door. That was in '98 or so and she’s doing fine. Didn’t take her long to start bringing in semi-dead critters.
We’re trying to keep the new one inside, but she’s gotten past us a couple times and always comes back.

11

I lost cats to cars and who knows what else (one just disappeared w/o a trace) when they were allowed outdoors. I get very attached and it was very emotional for me, hence I keep them inside now.

Some advantages to indoor-only cats:

No fleas/worms/other parasites (less vet bills)

No injuries from fighting/cars/mean people (also less vet bills since I can keep vaccinations to a minimum for indoor cats)

They don’t kill the birds that I (or my neighbors) am trying to attract with feeders

They don’t bring dead things home

I don’t have to find their cold dead bodies along the road.

I know many people who have outdoor/indoor cats, but I tried it and couldn’t deal with losing them in that way. Actually it was the one that disappeared that really got me, and not knowing what happened to her part. Was she trapped somewhere? Did someone take her for animal research? Did she find a new, happy home?

12

According to the Humane Society, the average lifespan of an outdoor cat is less than 3 years, compared to 15 to 18 for an indoor cat. Yes, some live long lives, but many don’t.

Here is an article from the Humane Society with lots of tips on keeping an indoor cat happy:

This is posted in memory of a friend’s cats, both of whom were eaten by coyotes in the past month. :frowning: She lives in suburban Nashville. I never would have believed there are coyotes there, but that is what the shelter told her probably happened.

13

Yes,they can.My current cat was given to me by a friend in the city (rural here) at about two years of age.He wouldn’t stop harassing his other cats,older females.When he came here he was shooting blanks,had shots,etc.
I let him out from the get go,he likes it a lot.There are a number of feral cats he scraps with.Once in a while he gets a dinged ear. The other day he brought a live rabbit in the house.What fun.
I’m not too far from a road,never had a cat killed by a car,though the wild ones get hit sometimes,mostly the youngsters.BTW,there’s a feral mother who must be at least 15 years old,so I’d say theydo OK for themselves.

14

Stories about cats who lived long lives outdoors are kinda like stories about smokers who lived long lives–fun, but not as informative as statistics.

15

I wonder if the desert thing would help or hurt. On one hand, if she became lost, she probably couldn’t survive long term outside primarily because of the lack of water. But for the same reason, there aren’t many if any predators around here. No coyotes/wolves/dogs/other cats to harm her, as far as I know.

16

What about cars?

17

But Brynda,I think stories are informative,and statistics are fun!
If I take all the cats I’ve owned (who all went outdoors ) and average their mortality,I get about ten years,which is clearly at odds with your quote.

18

Your particular cat’s quality of life is improved when you let her outside. So let her outside. Unless you’d rather she stay inside and be safe and unhappy for many years.

I know my outdoor cat faces a lot of dangers. But she’s miserable indoors, so I let her out. I wouldn’t want to be trapped indoors, either.