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Cat Training and Behavior (Domestic and Feral)/allowing my indoor cat to explore outside
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Question
Is it bad or confusing to a cat to allow it to go outside from time to time? AT first I would supervise her on the front lawn and she would never go beyond 10 yards or so. Now I am allowing her 20 minutes outside while I am in my apartment and she still stays close by. The other night she was out for an hour and when she came back she hissed at her sister cat, they have lived together since birth. Is this a natural reaction? She snapped out of it after 10 minutes or so but now I dont want to let her go back out fearing a personality change. She has always been so sweet with her sister and it broke my heart to see her act aggressively toward her sister. They are almost a year old.
Thanks!
~Greg
Greg,
It is good to let the cat outside to explore. They love it and it helps round them out mentally, especially if they are hunter type cats.
She may have hissed at her sister because for some reason she smelled different. Cats go by smell recognition and not by sight. She may have thought she was a different cat. It's possible that she was jumpy outside and the other inside cat startled her.
Are the cats spayed? If a tomcat bothered her, or bred her, that would cause that reaction too.
Tabbi
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Answers by Expert:
Dear Tabbi
Expertise
My expertise is in helping people understand their cat (or cats) and their behavior. Questions are welcome even if you don't have a cat....just a question about them. Hopefully my experience, suggestions, and comments will be of help to you...and your cat (or cats). Looking through my past responses to questions will give you additional information and/or answers too. Domestic Cats = cats (no matter what breed) who are tame or not wild, or abandoned cats who were pets that became wild, but can be tamed again. Ferals = cats who are born with one or more parents who were wild stray cats. They usually have had no interactions with people. They have an inbred distrust of humans and are difficult to socialize. They are skittish, hide, and are afraid of people. They take a lot of time and patience to work with them. A lot of kittens from shelters had a feral parent.
Experience
Since I was a child, over 45 years, I have been owned by a LOT of cats and kittens of almost every temperament, behavior, and personality. I have had experience with neurotic, disabled (including blind), stray, and 'problem child' cats and kittens. (A few normal cats too!) Plus all the things a lifetime of owning cats and research has taught me. I also have experience in feral cat behavior (which is different from domestic cats), and some experience with feral colonies that includes colony feeding and feral cat TNR (trap/neuter/release).
Education/Credentials
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Awards and Honors
* One of the top 50 Experts Of 2008 *
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