Letting Kitten out for the first time

Hey, I've got a 5 month old kitten. We've been living in our flat for about 2 months and we think it's about time we started letting her outside but we're really worried about her getting lost and not being able to find her way back.
We got a collar and wrote my cell phone number on it, but it's fallen off before and I'm worried it could fall off again so I dont fully trust it as a way to make sure she's safe.

Does anyone have any tips or anything that will ease our minds?

 

I'm not sure I understand... why does she need to be let out? It would seem to me that she would be safer inside the home.
love,
mom

 

is she spayed? if you let her out now before she is done, she will come home pregnant.
i let mine out when they figure out the cat flap. but my back garden is kitty escape proof (or at least it was when they were young uns) and 2 dogs detered any toms from visiting when the girlys were out. i got them spayed at 6 months.
BUT i live in the countryside away from busy roads.

 

She's started hanging round the door and meowing so we figure she wants to go exploring. Our road isn't very busy but we don't have a yard or anything so we're worried she'll get lost

 

I agree with insuring that she is spayed prior to letting her roam about your yard regardless of whether it is fenced. I live on a road less traveled too, but even so, for the first time they wander outside, my dogs and I are close by to watch out for them and to insure they remain safe and come back inside with us too when it starts to get dark...

I believe every cat should be allowed outside to enjoy all that the sunshine and birds singing in the trees has to offer, yet I worry too about their safety and insist they come in the house with my dogs and I after dark, absolutely, whether it is 7pm or Midnight...

 

Oh and we're not planning on getting her spayed. Not until later in her life, maybe after shes had a litter.

 

with that behaviour i bet you a pound to a penny she is calling for the 1st time, the cat equivalent to a dog's season.
are you sure you want to let her have kittens? really sure?
do you have homes lined up already, if not can you guarantee that none of her kittens will end up in rescue, or any of their kittens?
if she isnt bred she wont shed eggs, and that can lead to cysts. cats dont release eggs until they have been mated, unlike dogs or us, so their ripe eggs cannot go anywhere.
if you let her out now, she will be in kitten in days. at 5 months she isnt done growing yet. she will cycle and call roughly every 3 weeks from here on in. if she has kittens and you let her out again she will be mated agian long before she has finished weaning the 1st litter, pregnant again before she has finished weaning the second litter ad infinitum.
if you really are not going to spay her, you have to keep her in till you are ready to i'm afraid. and cats calling tend to be loud! and in your face after attention ALL THE TIME!
its up to you at the end of the day, but unless you can be 100% sure none of your kittens will end up euthanised because they were dumped in a shelter, i would get you lil'un spayed and if you want another cat, save one from euthanasia by adopting from a shelter

 

My flat mates and I have discussed it and we're quite sure we don't want her fixed yet. We have plenty of friends who would be happy with kittens, otherwise we could advertise in the newspaper, or even keep the kittens. I'm sure we'd have trouble giving them up anyway.

 

It is not my intention to offend, but I hope you realize there are already far too many kittens being born in this world who have nothing more to look forward to than a euthanasia needle. If you do allow your cat to breed, her kittens will simply supplant those homeless animals already on earth and in your local shelter who could use good homes too. I hope you give this idea further consideration before you proceed...

 

^ i agree with Toby Stanley

if you've ever been to an animal shelter, you know how many animals have to spend the last 90 or so days of their life locked in a cage until they are euthanised because nobody wants them because there are already too many cats in the world. in 5 years, a single unspayed cat can become something like 420,000 cats. the reason the world is already overpopulated with homeles/feral animals is because of irresponsible humans not controlling the pet population through spay/neutering and just letting your cat out will only contribute to this problem because she WILL get pregnant eventually.

letting your cat out is a bad idea if you don't have your own fenced yard and human supervision. there are a lot of dangers in the modern world that cats just don't understand, like automobiles, animal control, sewers, etc. that i wouldn't want my kitty to encounter.

 

Well, despite anyone actually giving me ANY advice on what I originally posted about, she's started going outside and so far there have been no dramas.
And yes I have thought about the cats in shelters but I don't think I want to deny my cat of motherhood, and the people who would take the kittens aren't going to get any from shelters anyway so no kittens miss out. We got our kitten from a friend whos cat had babies - I was at the birth and saw our kitten getting born, an amazing experience.
I have made my decision about this subject and seeing as no one has given me the type of advice I wanted and there's nothing else to discuss on this subject I feel no need to continue posting on this thread.
Thank you everyone for your contribution. There were some very interesting points raised.

 

well i am sorry you felt no advice was given, though perhaps it was that we didnt tell you that it would all be fine and just go ahead and let her out.
my advice now however is to stock up on a good quality cat food, lots of good quality kitten food. find a suitablesturdy box and line it with newspapers and vet bed.
start asking friends now if they want a kitten, and make sure you have the number of a really good vet on hand, cos in about 63 to 64 days time you're going to be a mother. now if a 5 month old kitten can look after a litter is a gamble so i would also be getting prepared with some cimicat or other good quality cat milk replacer, and some nursing bottles and lots of teats of the appropriate size. you will also need some good sterilising fluid (ask your vet what to use).
you will need cotton wool balls, clean towels a heat mat, some scales, possible sterilised scissors etc (though i would leave cutting cords to the vet if momma cat cant do it). book a few days of before and after the expected birth. and ask your vet if you need to be giving your kitty anything extra.
i dont mean to sound harsh, but if she is 5 months of age, and is mewing loudly at the door she is 95% likely to be calling. so there is a 95% chance your KITTEN is already expecting.
you also need to ask the vet about when and how you should be worming her, and the kittens when they arrive.
good luck, she's going to need it.

 

I in no way expected or WANTED anyone to tell me 'that it would all be fine and to just let her out.' I wanted tips on how to make sure she wouldn't get lost. I thought that was very clear from my first post.

 

well, all you should do with cats is watch them the first few times, but they usually won't go too far. Cats like to explore and familiarize themselves with an entire area before moving on to the next so they're usually close to home for a while.

Just be sure that you're ready to let them in whenever they come to the door. That way they know that they can always come home.

PS)This is from limited experience fostering a couple kittens, but cats are really pretty good at taking care of themselves.

 

She should be fine if you let it out, i know its scary letting your cat out for the first time i remember when i did it. Your cats probably going to be a bit scared too, so it wont go far, mine just stayed in the garden the first few times and we went out with her. Each day she went a bit further but always found her way back just keep an eye out make sure its ok. The only problem we had is she liked climbing trees but was too scared climbing down them that happened a couple of times. Just keep an eye on her or go out with the first week, i wouldnt let her out when your not there for the first few weeks outside.

 

i made the mistake of letting my cat have a litter of kittens before having her spayed,it was not only stressful and upsetting having to let the kittens go,never mind the stressing about what if they are not going to caring people,but it changed my cat(bubbles)personalitie,she became anxious and nervous,she is now 12years old and is still the same.i would advice you re-think about letting her have kittens.but i do think she should go outside once she been spayed.dont worry about her getting lost,she wont,at first she wont wonder far,she will familar herself with her surrounding and where she lives,and when she desides to go further away from home,her cat instincts will bring her home,even if it been a few hours.

 

Cats belong to whoever feeds them

When I got my kitty two and a half years ago, he would cautiously move around the yard on high alert. But he now owns his part of the jungle around here. Alpha cat. Even as a eunich. Big Turkish Angora. About 12 pounds so far. 3 pounds of that is his winter coat. Looks like a little black eskimo.

When he was adjusting to going out at first, he would run inside, use the catbox, and then run back out. Took him a while to learn it was okay to go outside. Ha ha.


x

 

f

 

My kitten got out when my ex bf had gone out for a smoke.Needless to sat it took 1 fight for my 6 month old kitten to contract something. A few days after (we found him a few hrs after he gotten out), he was looking really bad. Took him to the vet and sure enough , lil oliver had cat luekemia. his red blood and white blood cells were so low they were surprised he was still alive. I had to make a choice that i thought i never had to make . Raise a vegetable or put him down. Chance the surgery or have him die on the operating table, Fly him to detroit 7 K or get a blood tranfusion. 4 thousand. Bill came to 1000 dollars . BE PREPARED. "oh my cats will be fine" don't wory . I just wanted advice on how to not let him get lost . KEEP the damn thing in side dipshit. SPAY her so theres not so many other dying. Use your brain. Go to the shelter and have them show you the dead animals they put down hourly maybe that will be a wake up call to you. Sure have 100 cats would that be enough for you, than what? Have the humane society take them away because you have to many , than thwy all get put down anyways. THINK

 

i would not let my cats out

i love them too much

the world outside is full of big cats and bigger dogs and stupid children and stupider drivers

[i would never go out myself if i did not have to]