My cat loves going outdoors but he wanders a lot?

[colleenfrances]

My kitty is a neutered male who is just about a year old and he absolutely loves going outside. If he can't go outside he'll wander around the house for hours moaning and crying.

He wanders far away from our house and doesn't come back for long periods of time, and won't show up if we call him. Sometimes we find him hanging in the middle of the road and far away from home or stuck in trees.

Nobody in our family has time to watch him while he's outdoors. My cousin had a cat similar to him and when she kept him indoors and never let him out he became very hostile towards people.

It's really frustrating and we don't know what to do. Any ideas?

 

[mist1]

I'm sorry I don't have any nicer ideas, but you could get a shock collar?

 

[MercyMercyMrePercy]

KEEP HIM INDOORS! Stop letting him out! He's going to end up hit by a car or eaten by a coyote. You really want that to happen???

 

[Anya]

Well if your cat continues to go outside, he'll either stay lucky, or sooner or later he'll get into trouble. Chances are he will get injured at some point. Anything can happen; fight with another cat and he could get seriously injured, being in the road where someone might not see him and hit him, other animals who could bite and/or injure him, and he could get lost or hungry.

You have to make the choice to either spend some time with him outside, or, keep him inside. Many people don't want to keep their cats inside because they complain and whine, but he would get used to it, believe it or not. I have a neighbor who lets his cats go out for extended periods of time and then worried when he hasn't seen them for a while. He calls me to see if I have seen them, and I don't always see them and I tell him there is no way I can say if the cats are safe or not. I have stressed so many times that he should keep the cats in except for times when he can spend time in their backyard with them. Because otherwise anything can happen to them. It's tough to make that choice but indoor cats are usually healthier because of much lower risk of getting bitten and / or getting a disease. Good luck.

 

[LyndaB]

I don't have anything either. But if you love him & want him safe, keep him indoors. Maybe another cat for a friend. I have 5 indoor cats & they're all doing just fine. Ages from 1 to 18 & all rescues.
good luck I really don't know what else to do.

 

[realitytest]

Work on training him to come when you call him. Call him with a smelly treat like sardines and tap the can with a knife and he will learn to come to you quite often. (Once he is trained just give to him intermittently, and don't make him come inside every time he comes to you.)

Call him back to your yard every 30 min to an hour and he won't wander as far because he is starting from his home base again.