Cat in the garden, useful tips and information on how to manage a cat outdoors or how to get it out of the house. Tips to get a cat used to life in the open air.
Unlike the dog, the cat does not like the leash so it is more difficult to allow him the outdoors and some going out of the house! Let’s see how to get the cat used to living in the garden without running away or doing damage around the city!
Do cats look better indoors or flowers at home?
Let’s start with this question: are cats better off inside or outside the home? You are right to ask yourself about your cat’s needs, it means that you are really a good owner.
Cats are well suited to both outdoor and apartment living but if there is a chance to let the cat out in the garden you should! Outdoors the cat is happier, certainly runs some more risks but lives better.
Up until 50 years ago, even indoor cats spent a lot of time outside the home. Today, the lifestyle of man has changed and so the cat tends to always be confined indoors.
It is easy to get used to a cat who has always been indoors to live outdoors. It is more difficult to do the opposite, that is to confine a cat that has always been used to living in the garden in an apartment.
How not to let the cat escape from the garden
A dog in the garden is easier to manage than a cat, why? Cats are capable of jumping high off the ground and running away.
The running cat is an eventuality you need to consider. Not all cats run away from their garden, however, if you notice that this phenomenon happens quite often you have to act. To avoid this problem, it will be necessary to set up a mesh fence at least 2 meters high with a canopy facing the inside of the garden of at least 50 cm. Yes… it looks like you are designing Alcatraz fences but, the cat jumps and can climb trees too, so consider them while designing your net.
Cat in the garden, advice
The cat in the garden must be safe, so:
avoid growing toxic plants and flowers that the cat could chew (oleander, lily of the valley …).
Cultivate an area with dense vegetation, the cat loves bushes to hide in.
Prepare a suspended area where the cat can perch and monitor the area.
Domestic cat outside the house
If the cat has just arrived, if you have moved home, if it is a small cat or if the cat in question has always been used to living indoors, you will have to proceed gradually.
Spend a few hours a day outside the home. If he is particularly restless, put him on a leash that will make him walk the way back home several times.
It is true that the cat does not like the leash or the harness and can be frightened… but you will have to find a way to let him explore the territory! Maybe convince him with some treats to give him on his return home, so that he can associate returning to your territory as something positive. This solution can also be used in the case of a cat that runs away from the garden.
Avoid letting it go out at night and above all better to be constant but continue in small doses. That is… let him spend little time away from home but every day.
Cat in the garden hunting lizards, mice and birds
The cat hunts and catches lizards, mice and birds just for fun and instinct, if well fed it will never do so out of hunger. It is not uncommon for the cat in the garden to return to the house with a lizard in its jaws or a mouse. He only does it because he wants to bring a gift to the owner… so don’t yell at it! It won’t be pleasant but the cat experiences it as a gift he is giving you.
Among the animals that the cat can capture in the garden point out: grasshoppers, hornets, birds, frogs, mice and lizards.
