How do I introduce my cat to being outside?

[nazchik]

I have a cat that is just over a year old. We found him emaciated, wounded, and living (if you can call it that) on his own outside when he was about 3 months old. For the last year, he's been living on our screen porch and coming inside on occasion. He was fine inside, we just wanted the litter box to stay on the porch. We never let him outside because of the alpha cats that live in our neighborhood.

I just moved in with one of my friends. It's 28 acres of horse farm. My cat has been staying in my room because my roommate's cat would try to kill him. I do have a door to outside, and lately my cat has been asking to go out. I'm concerned about letting him because of my roommate's other cat. My cat's growth has been stunted because he was so emaciated, and he's very timid around other cats. I'm concerned the other cat would severely injure him, run him off, or both.

Should I go the safe route and just keep him in my room, or should I start to take him outside after a few weeks?

 

[Brian J]

Keep him in your room for now, and instead of letting him go outside (if the other cat is indoor/outdoor, you are asking for trouble), try introducing him to your roommate's cat, because keeping your cat in just one room isn't good for him. There is a process you can follow in a way that is likely to end in success and not in a fight. You've already done step one, which is to keep your cat in a room by itself with its food, water, litter, etc..., for a few days to a few weeks so it gets adjusted. Cats have an amazing sense of smell, so your kitty already knows the other cat is around and vice versa.

Step two is the smell step. There are two things you can do - take a pair of clean socks and use one sock to rub all over your cat's body, especially his head and cheek area, and use the other sock to do the same thing to your roommate's cat. Then let your cat smell the roommate cat's sock and vice versa. Do this two or three more times - but always use a clean sock (don't use the same ones you just used unless you have washed them). The other thing you can do is to switch them for five-ten minutes or so - put your roommate's cat in your room and let your cat roam the rest of the house. Do this three-four more times - each time, they are getting more used to the other's scent.

Step three is a face-to-face supervised meeting. You hold your cat, your roommate holds its cat, and you both go to the same room, but stay about six-eight feet away from each other. Do this two-three more times over the next couple of days. If there is some hissing that happens at one of the meetings, keep doing the meetings until you have at least three in a row with no hissing, growling, etc....

Assuming everything has been good so far, step four is to let them meet in person, including touching. This needs to be supervised, but you shouldn't hold either cat - just be in the same room with them in case anything happens. A little hissing might be ok at this stage, but if it escalates, you might have to go back to the supervised meetings.

Good luck.

 

[Wicked]

sounds like fun!