Should Cats Be Allowed To Stay Out All Night ?

We are getting a new cat and I have been reading Ilikecats to find out more about them, since it is years since we had one.

One thing I cant decide about, is whether it is best to keep cats in the house at night, or whether it is kinder to let them out to roam about as they wish?

I would appreciate hearing what others on this Forum think about this.

We have a cat door but it is one of those which can be locked from the inside.

Thanks everyone.


Lizzie

Hi Lizzie

Well this is a simple one. No cat should EVER be allowed to stay out all night long. That is when accidents happen, particularly road traffic accidents.

There is also a growing trend in certain parts of the UK for 'cat catchers' to roam the streets at night, gathering up and kidnapping as many cats as they can. Cat skins are big business and are used to make up all kinds of trendy clothes, which you will see labelled as rabbit or 'real fur'. It could well be from a kidnapped cat.

There is one part of the UK which has been dubbed the 'Bermuda Triangle' for cats. Hundreds have disappeared over the last year or so.

So be advised - get your cat onto a routine. Let them out for a late night time to 'do their business' then call them in. Don't give them their final feed of the night until AFTER they have been outside and returned. After three days or so of the same routine, they will do it automatically.

It goes without saying that you will need to provide a litter tray (at least one) for them, so that they can use it during the night if they need to.

Having said that, every cat we have ever had soon settles down into a routine of going outside, coming in and eating, and then maybe using the litter box, and then settling down somewhere cosy (usually my bed) for the night.

If everyone in the UK did this, then the criminals who hurt cats for the value of their fur would soon go out of business.

Regards

I am the organiser for the local Cats Protection League here in Scotland, and we ALWAYS tell people who adopt cats from us NEVER to let their cats out at night.

That is the time when your cat is at most risk of being cat-napped or of having a terrible road accident.

You can easily keep them in by establishing a firm routine. The trick is not to feed them the last meal of the night, until you know they are safely inside and they cant get out again until the morning.

Make sure you remember to provide them with at least one tray of cat litter which they understand they can use. With very young kittens, we teach them to use newspaper on the floor in a corner somewhere which is easy to clean, and then when they are big enough to climb into the cat litter box, we put a litter box on top of a layer of newspapers. In that way the association is made in the cats mind from newspapers on the floor to the litter tray.

There are plenty of free information leaflets available from the CPL (Cats Protection League) which will tell you all kinds of things about cats.

But for online information, it is hard to beat this site. I am a regular 'lurker' here and always happy to answer questions.

Sincerely


Marge Glasgow

We lost our cat at night. She just disappeared. We put notices up all over the neighbourhood trying to find her, offering rewards and in the local newspapers, but nothing.

Then about a month later, there was a big headline in the local paper saying that cats had been disappearing for about six months, from our area. The police had caught them and they were prosecuted, but were out very quickly.

The moral of this story is ALWAYS keep your cat in the house at night.

It breaks my heart to think of what our poor puss went through all because we did not bring her into the safety of our house at night.


Dierdra

Oh Dierdra - I feel for you. We too lost our beloved cat at night, she disappeared. My dad went out after we realised she was not home in the morning, expecting to find her dead on the road.

But he never found her at all. We put up signs in shops, on lamposts and in doing so discovered that ten other cats within three streets, had also gone missing around the same time.

KEEP YOUR CATS IN AT NIGHT

If you love then and want them to stay safe, no question, keep them in. I wish we had.


Nicky

If you love your cat, you will keep him or her in the house at night. That is the time when they get hurt, mostly by road traffic accidents, but also by fighting and being kidnapped for their fur.

This kidnapping 'business' is fast expanding, and you really should take it seriously. It is very easy to keep them in at night, especially if you have one of the cat flaps which can be set to stop them using it to get out from the inside.

It is kinder to your cat, and you will be saving yourself untold heartache when he or she goes missing, never to return.

Any representative of the RSPCA or CPL will tell you the same thing. They have free leaflets at their offices for anyone who needs to see it in writing.

Keep your feline friend safe. You wouldn't fail to have a male cat (or a female cat) neutered for their own safety, so why would you let them out into the night with all its dangerous aspects?

best wishes


Dotty

Nothing much to add to this thread, just that it is WRONG to let your cats out at night to roam the streets.

If you want them safe, keep them indoors at night. You will have to get into a routine, dont feed them before they go out at night and then about ten mins later, we call ours in.

She comes because she knows she will be fed then. Then lock the cat flap and keep her it.

It is safe for her, and gives you peace of mind.

Regards


Betty

Hi,

First time on here and I understand everyone's views. The cat-napping for fur issue is something I'd never heard of and is quite awful.

My cat, keith, is a shelter cat that we've had for 6 months now. During the winter he would go outside for a couple of hours each evening but always return before bed. We never feed him before letting him out and this has always seemed to do the trick.

With the weather being better over the past week or so he has now started to stay out later and later. I've stayed up until 3am a couple of times waiting for him to come home but this is obviosuly unsustainable in the long term.

The problem seems to be worse when we've see him playing / fighting with a local cat (male) in the area. I've tried calling him in, but he just ignores me and doesn't allow me anywhere near him when this other cat is present.

For the first time last night we had to leave him out all night. When i got up in the morning he was curled up under my car looking a little worse for wear and very happy to be let back into the warm to get some breakfast.

Not letting him out at all isn't an option as he is very much an indoor / outdoor cat and would be very depressed if we were to keep him in all of the time. I would dearly love for him to come in when i want him to before i go to bed but I can't see how this can be achieved if he simply doesn't listen.

Has anyone got any ideas on how i can make it seem more attractive to come to bed, particulalrly when his pal / foe the local cat is around???

Many Thanks,

Stu

Ps. Which area of the country is this 'Bermuda Triangle' of cat-napping??? I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

We let our cat to out even all night. You know cats - they are so independant :)

Joe - if you love your family pet and dont want to lose him or her, you should NEVER let your cat out at night.

The vast majority of road accidents happen at night - in the dark.

Cat-knapping (to use the skins of those poor creatures caught) is on the increase and also usually happens at night.

Keep reading this site and inform yourself of the dangers to your furry friend.
It is the most informative site there is for everything cat related.


Jillie

Cat owners need to be educated about the dangers of the night for cats.

Almost ALL accidents occur at night. Whether it is a road trafffic accident involving a car or cat-kidnapping which is on the increase in the UK.

ALWAYS KEEP YOUR CAT IN THE HOME AT NIGHT IF YOU LOVE THEM.

We lost two cats to cat kidnapping in the last year.

Jess

There is one simple rule which should be tatooed on cat owners foreheads.

NEVER LET YOUR CAT OUT AT NIGHT

End of story.



Nita

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER

let your pet cat out at night. That is when most road traffic accidents happen, AND when the cat stealers (who want your cat for their fur) are around.

Call in to your police station and ask if there have been any areas where cats have gone missing en masse - you will likely get a shock how widespread this is..........

They export them to China for making into fashion clothing.


DISGUSTING

I have a problem with my cat as she will now not come in at night. I think no harm will come to her as she just sits on a patch of grass under a tree in my garden. I would rather she came in though but just can not catch her.

I googled the question about whether I should let my cat out at night and this site came up. I am so pleased it did as the message is loud and clear and I know I am doing the right thing! My cat came to me from NAWT 4 weeks ago and settled in beautifully. She seemed keen to go out quite early (I live indented property with no cat flap options) but I followed guidelines and kept her in for 3 weeks then let her out hungry for short intervals. At first she roamed along fences and into other gardens and even on my garage roof! But now she just does a circuit of the garden then wants back in. I was never keen to let her out at night but since she doesn't go out much during the day and sleeps most if the time, I worry that I am denying her her hunting time. Do you still think I am right to keep her in? should I be more tough during the day and leave her out there for a couple of hours? She has a cat carrier under a bush invade it rains. thanks for you help, sorry for the essay!!!!!
Lauren x :)

Sorry also for terrible typos, getting used to new iPhone!!!