My indoor cat is scared of outside. How can I safely introduce her?

How lovely of you to take in this kitten! Personally I believe in keeping cats indoors. They are safer indoors, they aren't at risk of being attacked by other cats and dogs, they can't get attacked by wild animals, and they won't be hit by cars. In addition, cats who live indoors typically live longer than cats who go outside. If you want Scruff to have time outside, I recommend building or buying an outdoor enclosure for her. That way she can enjoy the sunshine outside, but won't wander away and won't have any contact with wild animals and other pets. If you provide enrichment inside (plenty of toys, cat trees to climb, a window seat for her to look outside), then she won't feel cooped up. Good luck, I hope this help!

Some cats are truly happier being outdoor cats as then enjoy roaming and hunting. It does have some safety issues but happiness may be more important. If you try to keep a safe box and food in a special place for her, she will likely return to come visit and eat and come and go

Possibly - especially if she is now pretty tame. If she is easily spooked or still not particularly attached to you it might not be a good idea. I recommend starting with short supervised trips outside. You should only feed your cat indoors and offer food during specific meal times to make sure you get her to come back in at night. You can also practice calling to her and giving a treat. Keep in mind that living indoors is much safer for cats and there are risks in going outdoors: infectious diseases, fights with other cats, and cars and dogs are a few of the threats. If she has not been vaccinated for the Feline Leukemia virus I would recommend completing that vaccine series before letting her outdoors where she could contact other cats.

The main factors to think about are risk of injury (by cars and by other cats), risk of picking up disease (from other cats, intestinal parasites), and risk to wildlife (more of a concern if your cats like to catch songbirds) VS risk of increased stress due to being indoor only and risk of aggression between the two cats because they are stressed inside. From a behavioral perspective, being outside is much better. There is way more stimulation and it's a natural life for them. From a health perceptive, being inside is probably better, but we don't fully know the effects of the stress of being kept indoors. There are definitely ways to mitigate the risks of going outside, namely vaccination for Feline Leukemia and use of flea/tick preventatives, along with yearly fecal to check for intestinal worms. FIP, which is basically feline AIDS is not one that we vaccinate for and is transferred during cats fights, so they'd be open to that if outside. I hope that helps you think through your options! There's no perfect answer.

Since she is blind I certainly think it is safest for her to stay indoors. Even though she has survived thus far outside, it is much more dangerous for a blind cat to be outside. Maybe you can let her out supervised occasionally since she does still want to go out.

Hi there and thanks for posting on Pet Coach. It is hard to know what Luna’s experiences were before adopting you, but I expect by her behavior that she may have had some bad experiences outdoors and does not want to repeat those! Cats can be perfectly happy indoors and it is certainly safer than the dangers that present themselves outdoors. Have fun with her- she sure is cute! Thank you for using Pet Coach!

Once cats have gotten a taste of the outdoors, it can sometimes be difficult to get them to want to stay inside. I would recommend getting a cat tree where she has a view of the outside and can lay in the sun. If possible, put a bird feeder just outside the window so she can watch the birds. Place a Feliway diffuser in that area. This is meant to decrease stress and is available here: This is also an excellent resource for information on how to make life for indoor cats less stressful: https://indoorpet.osu.edu/cats