Hi everyone,

Ok, just a bit of background info. the wife and I have 2 cats one is around 5 and has always been small (vet said shes perfectly healthy) and the other is about 3 . both have been spayed and had their jabs and are fit and healthy ( the youngest is getting a bit chubby mind)

We used to live in a flat and we moved into a house about 6 months ago, we have read online about letting the cats out when weather is wet and a little cold as they wont travel too far and i plan on fitting a cat flap this weekend.

I was wondering if they are too old to go out for the first time. also do you guys have any tips on letting them out ( and training them to use the cat flap, to say the youngest is a bit thick is an understatement!)

In addition, and this is my main concern.. We have both recently just taken on new jobs and have to go away for training next month. throughout the month there will be about 12 days where no one will be home ( my sister will come and feed them for us) if we let them out and 2 weeks later just disappear are they going to think we have abandoned them and just run away? is it worth waiting till we get back to normal routine in May to let them out?

Thanks for taking the time to read this

cats are never to old to learn

catflap training is pretty easy but you do need to be home to supervise - if that makes sense - just to get the cat used to going in and out of the catflap at first, the best thing to do is to prop it open and leave it propped open so the cats can go in and out in their own time, once they get used to going through it with it propped open then next stage is to encourage them to push it open by themselves and go through - dont ever shove a cat through a closed flap, it scares them! I trained my sisters cat to go through the closed flap as she wasnt having any luck with him - treats are helpful and lots and lots of encouragement - it doesnt take them too long to get the hang of it

as for going away - you could always just lock the catflap and dont give them access to the outside when you are away OR leave all the training until you have finished your work training - I would be tempted to say leave it until you have done your training

When we moved house we didn't let our cat out for a bit.
Then we started taking her out to the yard on a harness.
The neighbour's cat would run up and say hello to her, after making sure she'd familiarised herself with the area a bit, then we let her out on her own.

There's an old wives tale that letting a cat out for the first time to put some butter on their feet. They'll sit there and lick it off, taking in their surroundings, so that they'll remember where to come back to.

Just my opinion, ignore me if you think I am talking crap, but my advise would be;

I would wait to you are at home 'full time' for a period before letting them out. I would suggest starting at a weekend when you can be about 24/7

Treat them as young cats/kittens; be with them initially when they venture out, and keep a slightly distant, watchful brief as they discover their world. If they know you 'have their back' they will feel a bit more confident.

Tape the flap open initially so they can get used to going through a 'hole' before getting them used to pushing the flap.

Be prepared for a bit of cat dopeyness, The Beast went to the wrong house during the times when first let loose and was delivered back , got himself over our fence and couldn't get back and had to be retrieved. If you are at home during this stage, to cuddle them if it happens, I think it helps their confidence in that they know they are looked after.

Apro po of nothing, after getting used to the flap and when the Beast had sussed out which house was his and was capable of finding his way home, I would still call for him. (I still do now, from time to time, even though he his a 12 year old, seen it all, done it all git) and he would squeak in the distance, I would call some more and he would appear, get a cuddle, get bored and piss off again.

After my usual waffle on this forum, my overall advise would be; to be about when the are first let loose, hold open the flap initially, watch them a bit, and enjoy the first time they batter unaided through the flap, probably wanting praise and food

I don't have much to add to the excellent advice already given, but I will say that one of my cats never did adjust to the great outdoors when I moved to a house where he was able to go outside. He would have been about two years old at the time and rarely went further than about six feet of the back door. He was far happier in the house and really only enjoyed "outside" if I was sitting out there and he'd come and sit by my chair.

Make sure you have name tags with contact details and get them chipped.

Keep them in the house for a week or so and introduce them to your garden a little bit at a time, take it slow.

I wouldn't let them out at all if you live on a busy main road.

thank you for all your help everyone.

I think we are going to wait till we are around and our routine is back to normal.