Afraid to let my cat go outside.?

Keep the cat inside where it belongs. Cats who are allowed to raom rarely coem back.

They are ran over

Poisoned

Killed by wild animals

Killed by dogs

Shot

Trapped by rightfully annoyed neighbors and taken to AC

Get into fights with ferals and suffer infections

Contract the many fatal feline deiases

You are not being selfish. Its a cat, not a wild aniaml. Cats are domesticated animals that belong indoors

Please do not let your cat outside. There are many dangers, including neighborhood boys that seek to do cats harm, I had this happen to one of my cats and never let another outside after that. He was killed very brutally. I now have 3 cats and all stay indoors and all have full and happy lives. There are many things you can do to enrich your cat's indoor surroundings.

Cats like to perch up high (they feel safest this way), and they love to look outdoors. Cat trees are a great thing to invest in, but the back of a couch overlooking a window works great. For a bed, there are many on the market, and they're washable.

The environment that a cat is provided greatly influences their behavior and overall well-being, and most veterinary professionals will attest to the fact that indoor cats live longer and have healthier lives.

It's quite possible to create a stimulating environment for your cats, first by ensuring that six basic needs are met: personal space, water and food bowls, a bed, scratching and climbing posts, litter box and enrichment toys.

Don’t let your cat out if you’re not comfortable with the idea.

Your fear is about your cat’s personality and the outside environment.

Some people cannot or do not let their cat out because they live in apartments with no access to a backyard or they have expensive cats with breed (those would get stolen) or they live in bad neighborhoods…

Indoor cats can be perfectly happy.

I always had indoor/outdoor cats as I always had access to a backyard and lived in ok neighborhoods BUT my current cat is an indoor one (so far).

My previous cat would go out to “check out the perimeter”, make a daily claim on her territory, and control rodents, rabbits and bugs population.

She was afraid of cars so I was not afraid of her being run over by one.

When she died at 18.5yo, neighbors’ cats claimed her outside territory so now they’re the ones controlling rodents, rabbits and bugs population in my backyard and frontyard.

Now my current cat is fearless. If there’s a lightning storm or fireworks, she does not hide in my bed; she wants me to open the window!

She never expressed any wish to go out; she just loves to look out the windows or through the glass doors.

She’s hyper energetic, running up and down the stairs and I’m afraid she would get run over by a car.

Sometimes, I’m glad I have walls in my house to stop her from running like a lunatic…they’re no walls outside, but streets with cars.

If she ever expresses the wish to go outside, I will use caution, like get a comfortable cat harness (cats are not dogs and have fragile neck so they need a chest restraint) and go with her, in the middle of the night when they’re no traffic to see if I can control her a little and show her the “lay of the land”.

She’s 13 months old, not yet at her adult size and I’m waiting for her to be big enough if she needs to regain my previous cat’s territory (my backyard and frontyard) from the other cats in the neighborhood.

Dont let her outside. Indoor cats are known to live longer. If you feel she wants to go outside, i suggest purchasing a harness and leash and taking her out for short little 'walks' around your yard, that way you dont have to worry about he leaving and never coming back, cause you have the leash, and you'll also be able to prevent her from getting into fights with other cats or other possible things that could happen.

How are you "selfish" to want to keep your PET safe? Free roaming cats and especially young kittens get run over by cars, eaten by coyotes, killed by loose dogs, poisoned, etc. Have you even bothered to neuter her yet? Kittens can reach sexual maturity as young as four months and can be safely spayed as young as eight weeks.

I was scared when i had to let mine outside as well when my brothers cat got ran over but my others are fine but it is best to keep them inside with a litterbox my kittens ran away and havent come back so KEEP THEM INSIDE PLEASE

There are many harmful things

Cats shouldn't be allowed to go outside to roam alone. They poop in people's garden, kill endangered bird species, can get hit by cars, fall in pools, poisoned, attacked by another animal ect. If you wish for her to go outside, get a leash and a harness and sit outside with her. In some places in the world, people are allowed to shoot cats with pellet guns (Cruel, but people still do it.) I know it's illegal in Canada and most parts of the US, however, some people will do it anyways. Save yourself the heart ache, Keep your cats indoors.

You are right to be afraid, keep your cat indoors, otherwise, the chances of her dying early is very high.

Keep you cat inside .... life expectance for those who go outside:

18 months

for cats that live just indoors: 18 years

good luck with your companion ~