Can my 5-month-old outdoor kitten survive and live on its own outside?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is a hard dilemma. If her kitten is under 6 months I would keep it indoors and just let her out. All indoor/outdoor cats are at risk for predation, injury from other animals and cars and death. I wouldn't expect a mother cat to be able to protect a young kitten from a car or a larger animal. At some point Monti will need to be let out and fend for himself. Billu may be less interested to go out if she was spayed and you may want to consider neutering Monit so there is no mating between the 2. Billu will eventually stop looking for Simba. I wish you the best!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I think it depends on what the kittens illness was. We know that outdoor cats have a shorter life span that those kept indoors. Outdoor cats are more likely to get hit by cars, attached by other animals or fall ill from contagious diseases. I think the odds are fair that she would live to middle age. I hope this helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am so glad you chose to send him to your gramma. Statistically, a 5YO cat doesn’t have great odds of adoption at a shelter. So that right there should make you feel good that you gave him the best chance possible. While you can never say for sure what will happen outside, many cats transition great to being indoor/outdoor. The fact that he comes in at night will help keep him a bit safer than if he were out all the time. Of course, if he is declawed, I STRONGLY encourage he be indoor only as he’s lost his main defense mechanism. I hope this helps you rest easier about your tough decision. Best of luck to you all.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! In this case, it would be best to have him removed. You can continue nursing him with kitten formula until he is about 6-7 weeks old at which point you may switch him to a kibble or canned food diet. I recommend that you have him evaluated by a veterinarian who can check him and see if he needs any therapy and they can then recommend a preventative plan including vaccines. Best of luck!

At this age most kittens begin to stray away from mom and become more independent, which they should be doing in order to build up necessary skills for survival. I would allow the kitty to venture from the mama cat and she will eventually get used to the idea of her going astray. You can also allow mama cat to go with the kitten a few instances, so that she can see that Shunu is safe and free from harm. This is quite unusual for a mama cat to miss her young at this age, but I suppose you have one dedicated mama cat on your hands. : ) Best of luck and take care.

I would have to say that preferably and in an ideal world they would be kept inside to keep them safe from predators and also from getting into fights with other stray cats. But if they must go outside they are safe after they are fully vaccinated which is around 4 months of age. And ideally having them all spayed and neutered before going outside will reduce the chances of injury and also increase their lifespan. Look into a low-cost spay and neuter facility in your area that may be able to assist you with these kitties. Best wishes.

Great question! Given that they are about six months old, you can start introducing them to the outside now. It's fine to do them together at the same time, and I would start by letting them outside on their own with you monitoring for 10-15 minutes, and then slowly increasing the time they are allowed outside over the next couple of weeks. I would recommend having them indoors at night and only letting them out during the day. Nighttime is when there can be lots of fights with cats and predators will come out at night, so it will be safer for them to be indoors then.