Help me cat experts!

[holymonk]

I have inherited two cats, they have been house cats since birth. Although one seems to get very bored at home and whiny.

I am looking at moving into a house share (currently living in a 2 bed flat on own) in order to save for a deposit.

It would be somewhere like this

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=wh...=uk&ei=pBAKUqfAHciWhQfyhoCIDQ&ved=0CC0Q8gEwAA

But I am concerned that I wont be able to let the cats out as they will end up dead in the nearby busy dual carriageway.

Am i being overly concerned? I don't really know cat habits, and the last thing I want is to be scraping them off the road...

 

[arknor]

some people have indoor cats that never go outside and they don't seem to care as long as you don't have just the one indoors on it's own lonely all day

I'd imagine cats would stay away from dual carriage ways anyway unless a dog is chasing them and they panic

 

[holymonk]

1 off them is a proper 'house cat' all it does it eat, sleep, play at night and want strokes.

the other, since I have been single will sit on the floor next to me (I work from home) or when im gaming at night and cry and cry and paw me from the floor to get my attention.

I do try to play with him for 5-10 mins at a time but he still whines...

 

[elmarko]

I have inherited two cats, they have been house cats since birth. Although one seems to get very bored at home and whiny.

I am looking at moving into a house share (currently living in a 2 bed flat on own) in order to save for a deposit.

It would be somewhere like this

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=wh...=uk&ei=pBAKUqfAHciWhQfyhoCIDQ&ved=0CC0Q8gEwAA

But I am concerned that I wont be able to let the cats out as they will end up dead in the nearby busy dual carriageway.

Am i being overly concerned? I don't really know cat habits, and the last thing I want is to be scraping them off the road...

I'd be concerned that whoever you house share with would end up accidently letting them out.

 

[holymonk]

I'm not concerned about letting them out, thats fine, my concern is will letting a cat who has never experienced the outside where there is a busy road 300 metres away likely to meet its end? Or am I overreacting?

 

[covenantuk]

I wouldn't let house cats out, especially in an urban area, especially if they're older cats as they won;t have the experience to avoid danger.
When I was young we moved from a town to the country with a large garden and let our house cats out, they rarely left the garden and never liked being out at night. One did manage to get locked in a neighbour's shed for 2 days, another got broke her leg, either by falling or possibly hit by a car but luckily not too badly. This was in a VERY quiet village. I really don't think they'd have coped with a busy town environment.

The one that's attention-seeking is just taking more time to adjust to a new owner. We got our cat at 2 yrs old and she took about 6 months to really settle down. Just let her get used to your routine, maybe sit the cat on your lap while at the computer?

 

[holymonk]

The one that's attention-seeking is just taking more time to adjust to a new owner. We got our cat at 2 yrs old and she took about 6 months to really settle down. Just let her get used to your routine, maybe sit the cat on your lap while at the computer?

Its not a new owner, I split with the ex and got lumbered with them, so its more of a 1 owner now..

 

[Rids]

300 meters away? Its very unlikely they will wander that far on their own.

We used to live less than 30 metres away from a busy A-road, and I never had issues with any of my mums cats wandering that far... and we had a lot of cats.

Edit: I should say when you move into your new place, make sure you keep them housebound for a week or so at least, so they get used to their new place and its "smell"

 

[BuffetSlayer]

I'm not an expert on indoor cats as I have only ever kept outdoors ones, but I would imagine it may not be a good idea to let cats out into a new and unfamiliar environment if they have matured and spent their lives indoors. As a rule we have always kept ours indoors for at least 2 weeks when we have moved into a new place to let them settle.

Cats are very good at adapting, but if you are alluding to the A338 from the point you referenced in your map, it is a lot closer than 300m. More like 100.

Cats get killed on dual carriageways all of the time, and cats do wander a fair bit further than you may think - particularly if they get scared and bolt. They don't know the area and so may become lost / disorientated.

As a responsible owner, though, I would take advice from other indoor cat owners, perhaps Google some forums, or wait for indoor cat people to reply here before letting them loose. Perhaps seek advice from your vet, or local cats protection.

I don't really know what else to say. It is hard to let them out. After one of mine went missing for a week last year I never wanted to let him out of the house again. But he is an outdoor cat and loves to be out as much as he can. So I let him out and hope he comes home each night. I know he may not live as long because of it, but he will be doing what he wants to do. He is a very unhappy cat when he is locked in, yet in his element outside His brother on the other hand only ventures out when he needs a dump! (lol lazy get)

 

[neil_g]

the wessex way can get pretty busy, but isnt the duel carriageway there raised up on pillars?

edit - no im thinking further towards bournemouth. personally i wouldnt let my cats near that road.

 

[arknor]

Cats get killed on dual carriageways all of the time, and cats do wander a fair bit further than you may think - particularly if they get scared and bolt. They don't know the area and so may become lost / disorientated.

bbc did a docu and gps some cats this is how they each of them went and it's not very far at all
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22567526

Most of them only had a territory at the most a few streets away and that was in the countryside in a city I doubt they would go as far

 

[BuffetSlayer]

bbc did a docu and gps some cats this is how they each of them went and it's not very far at all
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22567526

Most of them only had a territory at the most a few streets away and that was in the countryside in a city I doubt they would go as far

Yes I remember watching it. I was a little disappointed to be honest as I was expecting it to show them going into gambling dens and smoking cigars and stuff

However, if you look at the scale rule at the bottom of the picture you linked to, you will see a lot of the colours are showing 'wander' patterns of over 200m. I live on a housing estate and I know my one cat wanders 200-300 metres from home regularly (I have seen him). The other one maybe only 100m or so.

So if a busy dual carriageway is only 100-150m away, as the previously linked map suggests, it stands to reason that a cat will end up finding it at some point in its life. Hopefully it has the good sense to stay well clear - but as they saying goes, lack of curiosity is not a cats strong point

 

[ran_out]

I think that male cats will tend to wander more and go further from home as they are more territorial.

I would say to not let them out if they are used to being indoor cats - as they will be more unhappy if you change your mind later and will constantly bug the hell out of you to be let out. I may be biased though as we lost our cat on a nearby road last year and couldn't really consider getting another unless it was to be an indoor cat.

 

[pitchfork]

Cats never stray more than 50m from your house (and even that is pushing it), I live by a busy dual carriageway (at the end of my street) but have never known the cats to stray from the end of the road, 3 cats I've had here.

They generally stick to neighbours gardens/ garage/ shed roofs/ trees.

Almost all of my neighbours have at least 1 cat and never have any of them have a problem either.

 

[bitslice]

Mine never go more than 100m, they used to follow me when walking the dog but stopped at this point so I assume that was their comfort zone.

One cat used to sleep in the middle of the road but somehow never got run over.

 

[dirtychinchilla]

Dude, don't worry. Cats are very cautious and intelligent. I've seen both my cats leg it across the road loads of times, but they will wait until there are no cars (and look both ways ) before crossing. They don't like loud noise, fast movements, unpredictability etc. so I think they'd certainly stay away from the dual carriageway.

Also, as bitslice says, they are very territorial and won't really venture out of their comfort zones unless pushed. In fact, if you tried to carry a cat out of its territory, it'll probably go nuts to get away from you.

 

[Orch]

Dude, don't worry. Cats are very cautious and intelligent. I've seen both my cats leg it across the road loads of times, but they will wait until there are no cars (and look both ways ) before crossing. They don't like loud noise, fast movements, unpredictability etc. so I think they'd certainly stay away from the dual carriageway.

The trouble is, if they make it one side of a busy road and have a bad time getting there, they might not be able to/want to come back again.