> Hi, we have a 3 yr. old cat.  For the first 2 1/2 yrs. of his life, he has
> never been outside... we lived in an apartment, and the closest he could
> get was on the second floor porch, with no route to outside.
>
> Now we own a house with about 1.5 acre or so, a portion of it wooded and
> brush.  Question is, should we let the cat outside now?
>
> Well, we have been letting him outside for a couple of months (since the
> spring, when we bought the house).  He LOVES going outside and prowling
> around.  If we don't let him outside, he raises a ruckus by meowing and
> pawing at the door, etc.  In general, he is much better behaved and
> happier if he is let outside at least a few hours per day.
>
> But we have some concerns with letting him outside.  Since he wants to
> spend hours per day outside, we can't supervise him.  At first, he would
> just rove around the backyard and into the woods a little bit.  Now, he
> has gotten bolder and I suspect is straying into neighbor's lots and
> perhaps even across the road.  All of which is dangerous to the cat and
> not fair to the neighbors.  We like to let him in before we go to bed, but
> who knows where he is; he comes prowling back in when he is good and
> ready.
>
> About two weeks ago, he did not come back in until early the next morning,
> which is quite unusual; he is usually back by nightfall.  He was also
> injured - he either fell from a height and landed the wrong way, or
> someone / something hit him.
>
> While recovering, we kept him inside.  He is now recovered, and we need to
> decide if we should give in and let him play outside.  How can we limit
> his territory outside to our property, and away from the road and other
> hazards?  And how can we get him to dependably return when it is time to
> come in for the night?  Or is it OK to leave him out for the night?  Or
> should we just keep him inside (he won't be happy).
>
> Thanks for any ideas,
> Tman.