At what age can a kitten leave the house and go outside?

At what age can a kitten leave the house?

It's been a few weeks since your kitten arrived at your home and you are wondering at what age can a kitten leave the house? Are you afraid of releasing it too soon or, on the contrary, of waiting too long before daring to confront them with the outside world?

And it is true that before letting a kitten go outside for the first time, it is important to make sure that it is ready to go out, but how old is it?

I will therefore share with you the information that I was able to gather when I myself asked myself about theideal age to take your kitten out of the house.

Risks of taking a kitten outside too early

Outside of your home, the environment can be dangerous for an underage kitten. Indeed, if your kitten is not prepared to go outside, leaving it outside will create many risks:

  • risk of catching fleas, ticks,
  • the kitten can be attacked by cats or other animals,
  • risk of being run over by a car if going on the road,
  • le kitten can get lost if he goes too far,
  • risk of disease ...

Indeed, outside a kitten can catch many diseases. However, if the kittens receive antibodies from breast milk at birth, these will disappear when after 6 weeks. A 2 month old kitten is therefore very fragile and vulnerable.

That is why, it will be essential that your kitten be vaccinated before confronting it with the outside world. However, vaccines require boosters until they are fully effective ...

Therefore, it is recommended not to let a kitten out before their last booster injection either around the age of 3 months.

Can we let out a kitten at the age of 3 months?

To this question, my vet answered me YES since your little Liquorice is vaccinated.

But he explained to me that it depends on the kittens and thatit shall really not :

  • leave a 3 month old kitten alone outside especially in winters (see my article: Can a cat freeze to death?),
  • leaving a 3 month old kitten outside for too long,
  • take out a 3 month old kitten if it is not prepared ...

More prepare a kitten for its first outing from home takes time. And at 3 months, my kitten was not yet ready so that I could leave him outside...

At what age can a kitten go out for the 1st times ?

It is from the age of 3 months that I advise you to start to prepare and get your kitten used to leaving the house while staying with him.

To prepare and gradually educate your kitten to go outside, here are some tips:

Preparing your kitten to go outside - Harness

To begin with, before taking your kitten out, it is best to start by getting her used to wearing a harness and being on a leash. See how to choose a harness for a 3 month old kitten?

To do this, you have to put on his harness, keep him on a leash for a few minutes, give him a reward and remove the equipment quickly. It is by renewing this operation over several days that your kitten will get used to wearing the harness and being kept on a leash.

Thus, for his first outings outside the house, he will be tied up and there will be no risk.

Harness recommended on Amazon

Preparing your kitten to go outside - Teaching her her name

It may seem obvious, but if your kitten does not recognize his name, it will be difficult to call him to come back when he is outside.

In order for your kitten to react when you say her name, she will need to be trained in calls and reminders:

  • When your kitten is in one room, go to another room and call him by name.
  • If he doesn't come, come back showing him a treat and go back to the other room.
  • You will call him back again and as soon as he joins you, you can reward him.
  • To properly teach him to join you when you say his name, it will take 4 to 5 days of learning by changing places to call him.
At what age can a kitten leave the house and in the garden

Preparing your kitten to go outside - accompanying her

For his first outings, your kitten will be on a leash and will explore nature, grass, trees ... in complete safety.

  • And as soon as he is familiar with the outside environment, you can remove his harness and leave him free to come and go under your supervision.
  • Consider taking some treats. Indeed, if he goes too far away, you will have to call him and if he comes back to reward him.
  • Take several short trips, gradually increasing their duration so that your kitten gets used to staying outside longer.
  • At each outing, you must train your kitten to come back when you call him and each time he comes back to reward him and let him go again.
at what age can a kitten go outside

At what age can a kitten leave the house alone?

The first times you took your kitten outside, it was always with you who educated and watched. Yes but there you go, you want to give your kitten more freedom and you are considering let him go out on his own like a grown-up!

Well this is between the age of 4 months to 6 months that you can let your kitten out of the house on its own (provided it has been properly prepared as indicated above).

Be careful because you will have to leave a door or window open or install a cat flap so he can come home on his own. See my article: How do you get a cat used to coming out and coming back?

Precautions for letting your kitten go outside

Some vets recommend against letting a kitten out unless it is spayed. In fact, a non-castrated male risks running away and never coming back if he feels a horny pussy in the neighborhood… See: How long can a cat run away?

And if you have a female kitten, the risk is to see all the cats in the neighborhood return or to see your pregnant pussy and having to manage a future litter ...

It is between 6 and 7 months that it is recommended to sterilize a female and from the age of 5 months that we can do castrate a male kitten.

at what age can we let a kitten go outside

On the other hand, if your kitten were to get lost, it will have to be able to be identified. To let your kitten go outside on its own, it will therefore have to be chipped. I also recommend that you put a collar on him with your contact details (see anti-choke collar recommended).

Finally, it is recommended that when a kitten starts to go outside that it be treated against parasites (see my article Natural flea control).

2 thoughts on “At what age can a kitten leave the house?”

  1. Ping: How to get your cat used to coming out and coming back - Letting your cat out

Leave comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *