How can you make sure your outdoor cats won’t run away?
I always supply my cats with food, I pet them, I get them fixed, and I make sure they live in a safe environment, yet they seem to run away every time. Is this just bad luck or am I missing a detail that is crucial?
I’m guessing that you live in the city/suburbs. When my grandma lived in the suburbs, she could never keep a cat, either, but now that she lives in a more rural area, they hang around no matter what. In fact, they bring friends, and she can’t get them to leave. She even tried not feeding them for a week.
We have three cats right now, and they’re always wandering around in the woods, fields, neighbors yards, but they always come back.
My guess is that it’s just where you’re living. Maybe they get out of the yard, get lost, get hit by a car, or someone finds them and keeps them. My best suggestion is to make sure they have collars with ID tags. That way, if they get lost and someone finds them, they’ll usually try to contact you to let you know where your lost pet is.
Usually getting males fixed curbs their wanderlust signifigantly, and someone suggested getting them de-clawed, but I wouldn’t do that. An inside cat, sure, but I would never de-claw an outside cat, because their claws are their major line of defense against other animals that may try to harm them.
March 31st, 2013 at 7:13 am
Maybe someone is taking them or there getting hit by cars. They might not be running away.
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March 31st, 2013 at 7:24 am
you cant really help them running away,
but i suggest you get them a tag with you number
and get them microchipped!
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March 31st, 2013 at 7:46 am
Perhaps your cats just enjoy their freedom. Microchipping your cats won’t ensure that they don’t run away from home again, but it will help you to locate them if they do.
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March 31st, 2013 at 7:53 am
I hate to sound mean but I had my cats declawed and that took care of them running away.
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March 31st, 2013 at 8:11 am
Yours will run away? Why won’t mine run away? They hang around and bring over friends! LOLOLOL Want some of mine?
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March 31st, 2013 at 8:53 am
cats like a nite time . which is the worst time for a cat. eg. getting run over, attacked by other animals etc.try keeping the cat in at nite. cats like warmth and security.a place to sleep where they are totally safe.
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March 31st, 2013 at 9:41 am
You can’t. Outdoor cats always have the chance of running away or getting hit by a car or getting mauled by predators…outdoor cats, particularly those in the urban areas, don’t survive as long as indoor cats do. That’s just a fact.
If you live in the country, that’s a different story; normally barn cats and farm cats tend to stay because they have enough stimulation and no incentive to run away. But that’s for hardcore country folk, or people who live out in the middle of nowhere towns/small towns. For suburban people, outdoor cats can and will run away if they’re not getting enough stimulation at home.
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March 31st, 2013 at 10:07 am
I’m guessing that you live in the city/suburbs. When my grandma lived in the suburbs, she could never keep a cat, either, but now that she lives in a more rural area, they hang around no matter what. In fact, they bring friends, and she can’t get them to leave. She even tried not feeding them for a week.
We have three cats right now, and they’re always wandering around in the woods, fields, neighbors yards, but they always come back.
My guess is that it’s just where you’re living. Maybe they get out of the yard, get lost, get hit by a car, or someone finds them and keeps them. My best suggestion is to make sure they have collars with ID tags. That way, if they get lost and someone finds them, they’ll usually try to contact you to let you know where your lost pet is.
Usually getting males fixed curbs their wanderlust signifigantly, and someone suggested getting them de-clawed, but I wouldn’t do that. An inside cat, sure, but I would never de-claw an outside cat, because their claws are their major line of defense against other animals that may try to harm them.
References :