When you have recently purchased a kitten, one of the first things you must think about is what to do when you are thinking about letting it outside for the first time. Kittens, when they go outside, can explore their new environment, practice their hunting skills, and can become mentally and physically stimulated.
It is only natural to be worried about letting your kitten outside for the first time, and what you should do to prepare for this event because our cats are very dear to us and we do not want any harm to come to them.
You should only think about letting your kitten go outside when a week has passed since it has finished having its complete first vaccinations, which will probably be when it has reached the age of 13 to 14 weeks, and when it has been neutered at the age of approximately four months.
There are many other things you must bear in mind, however, which will be discussed in detail in this article.
Your kitten should be vaccinated
Vaccinations are very important because they can help to ensure the health of your kitten and to ensure that it is unable to pass on any viruses to other animals. When your kitten is taken to a vet for its initial vaccinations, the vet will also perform a thorough health check to ensure that your kitten is healthy.
The vaccinations normally begin when your kitten reaches the age of approximately eight weeks and include vaccinations for cat flu, enteritis, and the feline leukemia virus. These vaccinations should be carried out by a vet, but please bear in mind that they will make a charge for offering this service.
When your kitten reaches the age of approximately three months, it will require a second round of vaccinations to bolster its immune system. Your kitten should not be allowed to go outside until a week after both rounds of these vaccinations has been completed.
If you choose to adopt a cat or kitten, and a fee is charged, they may already be vaccinated, but it is always best to ensure that this is the case before taking it home. Please bear in mind that booster vaccinations are also required, which are carried out yearly. A record of your cat’s vaccinations will be provided to you and is filled in by your vet every year.
If you ever have to take your cat to a cattery, the cattery will insist that all vaccinations are up to date before they allow you to leave your cat with them because of the risk that an unvaccinated cat could pass on any disease to the other animals.
Your kitten should be neutered
Your kitten should be neutered before you let it outside for the first time. A female cat can become pregnant at approximately five months, so it is prudent to ensure that neutering is completed before it reaches this age. Female cats can become pregnant three times a year, and have approximately six kittens from each litter.
Neutering normally takes place when your kitten reaches the age of approximately four months. After your kitten has had the operation, which is a relatively simple procedure, you will normally be able to collect it the same day.
If you have a male cat, this process is known as castration, where both of his testicles are removed so he can no longer produce testosterone. A female cat undergoes a procedure called spaying, which involves having its ovaries and uterus removed so that she has no way of becoming pregnant.
Other advantages to having your female cat neutered include that being pregnant can put an enormous strain on her. Having so many kittens each time may mean that complications could arise with the births, possibly putting her life at risk.
The advantages to having a male cat neutered include that the chances of him contracting a disease such as FIV are reduced. FIV can be contracted when one cat bites another because saliva is spread from one cat to another, and is similar to HIV in humans. Another advantage is that a male cat is less likely to want to roam, so the chances of it going missing are reduced.
It is best to wait until the stitches from the operation have healed before letting a kitten go outside because the wound could easily become infected.
Does your kitten want to go outside?
Two ways a kitten tells you that it yearns to go outside is by sitting by a door or window, watching the outside world, or attempting to escape the house through an open door or window. Under these circumstances, you should keep watching it in order to ensure it does not go outside until it has become old enough and less vulnerable.
What to do when you first let your kitten outside
If your kitten has shown that it yearns to go outside, there are certain preparations you should make. Before you let your kitten go outside, you should ensure that the garden is made secure by removing any hazards such as ponds or mending holes in the fence. Ensuring that ponds are removed is prudent because your kitten could fall into the pond and may drown. Any other items which could injure your kitten should also be removed.
If you have a hole in your fence, you should really fix it before allowing your kitten into the garden because no matter how small you think the hole is, your kitten may be able to leave your garden, easily becoming lost. Kittens have a tendency to want to investigate everything, but can easily become scared or can injure themselves.
It is also important that you teach the kitten to respond when its name is called – you can teach your kitten to respond when its name is called by calling it whenever you are going to give it some food so that it can associate the two actions.
Another action you could take is to call the kitten’s name during the day, and when it comes, you could reward it with a treat so that it begins to associate good things happening with its name being called. If you follow this procedure, your kitten is more likely to come if you call its name whilst it is outside, which will save you having to hunt for it in the garden.
The last thing you want is for it to lead you a merry dance around the garden and refuse to come in. Believe me, that happened to me on numerous occasions when I first obtained a cat, and I have learned from those experiences!!
One of the ways that I taught a cat to come to me when I called it was to offer it a treat – this would make it keener to come, and eventually, when it learned to come when I called it, I no longer offered it the treat.
You should go with your kitten when you originally let it outside, whilst ensuring that it is able to explore its new surroundings. It is prudent to leave the door open, however, so that your kitten knows it can easily come back into the house at any time.
I have no doubt that your kitten may easily become overwhelmed by the new sights and smells it will experience. You should stay with your kitten until it has demonstrated the ability to be able to go inside and outside without finding it too difficult.
You do not want to find that your kitten is trapped outside, with no way of obtaining access back into your house. You should not really leave your kitten alone in the garden until it has reached approximately 6 months old because it can still be vulnerable.
It is best to allow your cat to explore the surrounding area without you eventually because it will not be able to explore sufficiently if you have it under constant surveillance. Cats have an amazing sense of direction and should be able to find their way home quite easily. Even if you are unable to see your cat, if you call it, it should come back to you within a few seconds of you calling it.
Should my kitten be microchipped?
When your kitten shows signs of wanting to go outside more often, you should think about having it microchipped. Your kitten will not be at risk once the microchip has been inserted because it does not mean that anyone will be able to track its location because it does not act as a global positioning system (GPS).
The microchip is a Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) and would require your kitten to be scanned by a vet or person at an animal shelter who has an RFID scanner so that the chip’s identification number can be determined, which is unique to every cat.
This identification number can be used for identification purposes when it is checked by the vet or animal shelter against a database containing the contact details you gave when your cat was initially microchipped. If your cat has gone missing and is involved in an accident, having been taken to a vet who needs to perform surgery, they would have to contact you as the owner to obtain your consent for the procedure before going ahead.
If your kitten is a pedigree, it is crucial to have it microchipped before you let it outside because pedigree cats and kittens, unfortunately, can be a target for thieves, so a kitten that has been microchipped can more easily be traced to its owner, making it more difficult for the thief to pass on.
To take advantage of this system, however, you must ensure that the contact details on the database are kept up to date. A fee may be charged each time your contact information is updated, but it is well worth paying the fee so that you can be safe in the knowledge that if your kitten was to ever go missing, the chances of it being reunited with you are that much higher.
If you sell your kitten to another person, these details should be updated to reflect the change of ownership.
The microchip will not pose any risk to your kitten because it is implanted just inside its skin, so should not interfere with any of its vital organs. Your kitten will not need to be sedated before the procedure is undertaken.
Your kitten should only be microchipped when it has reached the age of approximately five weeks, however, because kittens are still very vulnerable before they reach this age.
If the kitten is still very fragile, even after reaching the age of five weeks, you should consider holding off having it microchipped until it has become stronger. This procedure should be undertaken by a vet, who will be able to advise you of the best time to have your kitten microchipped.
Some problems that may occur with the microchip is that it could well begin to move in your cat’s body. The microchip is normally implanted between your kitten’s shoulder blades, but could end up in its leg, and whilst it will not cause the kitten to be in any pain, it may not be picked up by the scanners.
A microchip can sometimes fail, thus rendering it impossible to locate. A microchipped kitten is not always found, however, because it has to be taken to a vet or animal shelter so that the microchip can be scanned, which, unfortunately, does not always occur. People do not always realise the kitten is actually lost, and just assume it belongs to one of the houses in their neighbourhood.
Should my kitten have a collar?
It is prudent to ensure that your kitten has a collar before letting it outside for the first time. The collar signifies that the kitten belongs to someone and is not a stray. If you have placed missing posters around the local streets, your kitten having a collar could mean that if someone finds it, they can check its identity and contact you directly.
The best collars to purchase are those that contain a tag so that you are able to enter your telephone number so that people can contact you should your kitten ever become lost.
The collar should have a ‘quick release clip’, so that your kitten can free itself from its collar should it ever become trapped. You should not place a collar on your kitten until the kitten becomes heavy enough to be able to release this clip should the need arise. For further information regarding the safety of your kitten’s collar, please read my article: is a cat collar really safe?
I hope that this article will help you to prepare for the first time your kitten ventures outside, and assists it to enjoy the outside world and all it has to offer.