Transition from litter box to doing business outdoors
We've got one cat 6months and the other 3months old, currently both using the litterbox. However we're going to move to a new house soon, and eventually try to transition them to getting used to doing their business outdoors instead of the litterbox. Does anyone have any tips or best practices for this transition?
Edit: I dont live in the US, I live in Scandinavia - huge garden and away from traffic. The cats are fine being outside - most cats here are in fact outside. We have norwegian forest cats and they're meant to be both indoors and outdoors - even during winter!
People too. Lemmeenym should be kept inside at all times. That way they can't destroy their environment and will live a longer life. I'm sure confinement will have no deleterious mental effects.
I agree that cats should probably be inside for environmental reasons, but I don't care if cats live somewhat shorter lives if they are outside, because they are obviously very happy when they can go outside.
Our cat is pretty depressed during the winter months because she can't go outside (well, she can if she wants but she rarely is because it's very cold and often snowy), so she just goes around meowing at shit because she is bored. During summer she is outside a lot and is noticeably happier.
The same applies to humans.
And it's not like we live next to a highway like seemingly all Americans are, we have lots of outside cats in the neighborhood and they have been doing absolutely fine for many many years.
Shorter lives? My first cat became 17 years old before she passed away. Of course cats can live outdoors, especially here in Scandiavia, the majority of cats cats live outdoors.
Okay, if not for your own cat's safety then do it for the good of the environment.
House cats are non-native species who are subsidized by humans feeding them. Thus they can kill purely for pleasure and often do. Every year, house cats kill billions of birds (and rodents) and it's an ecological nightmare that is putting massive pressure on wildlife.
Please, just don't do it. It's unnecessary. You can create a stimulating environment inside and if you cannot then you shouldn't get a cat.
Literally 90% of cats in Norway live and enjoy being outdoors. If it had been a major problem the government would have said something about it. In fact, it's looked bad upon keeping cats indoors here.
Your government knows it's a problem but doesn't care.
"A report by the Norwegian Ornithological Association (NOF) from 2018 states that there were about
770,000 cats in Norway in 2016, and that these together kill circa 7 million birds each year. "
You better stay in your house, too. Use a home trainer for exercise. Consume media for distraction.
Maybe you can crack a window once in a while when the weather is nice.
It's dangerous out there.
I dont live near any trafficed road, and my house is at the end of a one-way-driven road. The only car getting my house is my own. In Scandinavia most cats live outdoors regardless of this, they are usually just fine.
In my experience, cats that can go outside will stop using the litterbox pretty quickly by themselves.
Just keep it around somewhere out of the way, as an emergency option.
We've owned rural homes a couple of times. One time, we owned a house on 5 acres at the end of a dirt-and-gravel road a half mile from the nearest paved road. On the other side of our neighbor's house was a culvert, with an easement - a dirt "road" - that the irrigation company inspectors would use about once a month or so to check the state of the culvert. We were one of three houses at the end of that dead-end gravel road. At the time, (in the late 90's) we had cats we'd let out during the day and bring in at night. During the four years we lived there, we had one cat that was killed by being hit by one of the irrigation inspectors. That easement was used by one truck, once a month, and it killed our cat. We lost a second cat to coyotes; at least the cat hit by the truck didn't have the terrifying death of being torn apart by coyotes.
Maybe you'll be lucky, and your cats won't go into the roads. Maybe where you live you don't have coyotes, or neighbors with dogs, or large owls. Maybe you'll be lucky and your cats won't meet any other cats and get infected with one of the exceedingly common diseases of feline leukemia, feline aids, or distemper. Maybe you don't have neighbors who poison their pest mice and rats that your cats might find and eat and themselves die in agony from indirectly ingesting rat poison. Maybe you live somewhere without rabies (although I think it's even gotten to the UK, now).
Maybe you don't care if your cats get killed. But it you do care, keep your cats indoors. If you live somewhere rural, there are predators that can and will take a cat. If you live somewhere urban, it's even more likely your cat will get killed by a car. And even if you have a perfect barrier that your cats won't find a way over or under, it won't stop poisoned rodents from getting into your yard where your cats can get at them, and your cats will get fleas and ticks and bring them into the house. Fleas are only a minor nuisance, sure; not a horrific, lingering death from rabies, and maybe you think you'll use a flea dip - although keep in mind flea dips can give cats neurological diseases: it's a poison that's spread through their systems, and some cats react poorly to it.
But, again maybe you'll get lucky. Maybe for you the inconvenience of cleaning a litter box is worth the risk of your cat being killed. If being inconvenienced is your motivation, may I recommend a Litter Robot. They're pricey, but worth every penny, and they last for years. And you'll almost certainly enjoy your cat's company for many more years.
Cats are an invasive and detrimental species and should not be allowed to roam freely outside. Just because thereβs some breed that originated from your country doesnβt negate the fact they are a non native species nearly everywhere and wreak havoc on the local population of small animals.
We've a few rescue cats - we got them all when they were about three / four years old. We kept them inside initially for six weeks or so, made sure that they'd got used to living in a new house before we let them outside.
The one which had been abandoned and had been living outside for a few weeks (a boy) stopped using his litter tray completely, as soon as he was allowed outside again.
The other two, both girls but a 'smooth' changeover, took a bit more time to get used to being outside. One transitioned off of her litter tray after a couple of months by herself; the other took more like four months, and she was a bit of a fair-weather pooper for a while as well.
My take-home message would be that cats generally prefer to do their business as far away from where they live as possible. Only possible bit of advice would be to wait until the weather's getting better in case your cats dislike the wind and the rain. I believe forest cats love the frosty weather anyway, though?
Literally 90% of cats in Norway live and enjoy being outdoors. If it had been a major problem the government would have said something about it. In fact, it's looked bad upon keeping cats indoors here.