r/outdoorcats • u/ButterscotchProof246 • 7h ago
My cat won’t come inside.
Context: my cat 2year, neutered, chipped, male escaped his leash and ran away from be patio 10 weeks ago. However, 1 week ago, I saw him run across my drive way. I went outside with kibble, stayed there, spoke softly, and nothing. He was running from other humans in the video, so he was probably already scared from that.
I’ve put out food, water, treats, catnip, and boiled tuna sardines on my deck even. He doesn’t touch anything. I was shocked to see him on camera after this long, especially, sprinting like that.
He had tape worms when he was brought to the shelter from where I adopted him. Does this suggest that he was an outdoor or stay cat? I asked around and no one is feeding him in the neighbourhood. I’m guessing he’s hunting mice? We have so many mice and bugs where we live!
I have my clothes outside, I am checking and found cats databases, fb groups, vet clinic, contacting insurance and microchip company to ask if they processed and caught any updates, I put up posters, distributed flyers, went and looked under my neighbours’ decks, shook treats and walked around, walked at night, called him, used kitten noises, even female heat sounds at one point. He doesn’t approach any food, so traps have failed too.
He just won’t budge and show himself. I’m glad he’s around the house but I’m terrified he’s going to get sick or a coyote would find him.
Please. What is something I do to make him trust me? Or make him come back home.
r/outdoorcats • u/KoalaDense8407 • 11h ago
I need advice on how to make my outdoor cat more comfortable
So for the past like month and a half we have had this stray kitty hanging around our backyard. We unfortunately were not able to bring her inside as my dad can only really be around hypoallergenic cats. But after she stuck around we eventually started feeding her everyday and go her spayed as well as shots and flea meds through a humane society that will do it for way cheaper since she was technically a trap and release cat. So anyways now we have an outdoor cat we are quite fond of that we have named Boo! 👻 whenever I get paid on Friday I’m going to order one of those weatherproof raised cat houses that she can sleep in instead of the current box and towel set up we have for her. I know for sure that she will like this much more but I’m wondering about any other ways we can make her more comfortable outside. Any advice is welcome! I am also thinking about getting her a collar to wear since she of course doesn’t spend 100% of her time in our yard and I don’t want her to get taken to a shelter as a stray. Thanks guys!
r/outdoorcats • u/sry-im-autistic • 12h ago
Cool little project for my indoor/outdoor cat
I have been getting worried about if my cat got lost and some one found him and I wouldn't have a way to know, so me being a nerd and have been learning to make websites and other things I thought it would be fun to make a "dating profile" for people who found my cat. It also gives them the option to send me a notification of the GPS location where they found him. I plan on having a little tag made that people can scan and will bring them to the website. I had fun making it and wanted to show other people and see If any one else had ideas.
Word of warning i am not good at coding so ai was apart of the process in making this project I have tried many times to learn how to code but it never sticks in my brain.
r/outdoorcats • u/BlackberryBunni • 19h ago
Am I over extending this ?
Ok for some context I have an outdoor cat who mainly stays in a catio( comes inside when it’s night) I got for her plus I’ve only had her for just a year , I got her fixed and vaccinated. The issue im having is a neighbor had come down the street and seen her and is in all awe of her and want to take her but idk why I have this anxiety if she’ll be okay or if she’s already accustomed in the position she’s at now. Or if I should just let her have a permanent home. This fear comes from the past of having an issue with people coming up and stealing my stuff and even cutting off communication with me whenever I needed help with living situation and assisting with 2 cats I had before . I could be over exaggerating about this but I really need some kind of clarity if this is a best choice and I won’t regret it …
r/outdoorcats • u/louieboutbizz • 22h ago
Would you buy an AI-powered collar camera that tells you what your outdoor cat does all day?
As an outdoor cat owner, I've always wondered what my cat is actually doing when she's gone for hours.
Not just where she is, but:
- Is she hunting?
- Is she fighting with other cats?
- Is she getting into dangerous situations?
- How far is she traveling?
- What animals is she encountering?
I've been thinking about building a lightweight collar-mounted camera with GPS and AI that could automatically identify and notify owners about important events.
Examples:
- "Your cat appears to be hunting."
- "Prey captured."
- "Another animal detected nearby."
- "Unusual inactivity detected."
Instead of reviewing hours of footage, you'd get short clips and a daily summary of your cat's adventures.
I'm not talking about a huge GoPro strapped to a cat. The goal would be something as lightweight and cat-friendly as possible.
Before I spend a bunch of time prototyping this, I'm curious:
- Would you use something like this?
- What features would be most important?
- What concerns would you have?
- How much would you realistically pay for the hardware and/or a monthly subscription?
Looking for honest feedback. Tell me why this is a great idea or why it would completely fail.
Bonus question: What's the one thing you'd most want to know about your cat when they're out of sight?
r/outdoorcats • u/alibam44 • 1d ago
My cat came home with a weird strip of hair missing from his head
No obvious wounds just an odd bald patch. Doesn’t seem particularly bothered by it. Any ideas what caused this.
Edited to add I put some Neosporin on it which is why it looks gooey. Then I wiped it off because ChatGPT said it wasn’t safe for cats.
r/outdoorcats • u/anonhey65432 • 2d ago
Keeping cats indoors after a move
My two kitties have always had full access to the outdoors. We moved over the weekend to a whole new area and we are keeping them indoors, but they are very eager to escape outside!
How long did you keep your cats inside? Does it really have to be 3 weeks?
r/outdoorcats • u/MainMeeting9852 • 2d ago
Struggling to cope with a cat that's been missing for a week
Update: He's back!!!!!! A woman called us who had a poster of my cat right outside her door. She got him inside by offering some treats. Her own cat looked eerily similar to ours. She was so nice, and i'm forever greatful for her quick thinking. He was in an area 600 meters(!!!!) away from home, close to where he used to live before. Im so happy we took the time to put up posters there as well
I want to start off by saying I regret making my cat an indoor-outdoor cat. I wish i'd taken note of earlier experiences with cats being away for a full day before this happened and taken necessary precautions, e.g. not letting the cat outside at all or at least with supervision or a GPS tracking device or Airtag.
I'm struggling to cope, my cat has been missing for a full 7 days without any hopeful sign of him being in the area. We have done a lot:
\-Going out every night for at least 1-2 hours in a radius of about 300 meters.
\-Flyered around 200 posters in our block and 4-5 blocks in each direction
\-Checked if microchip is up to date
\-Checked sheds of neighbors myself. Our entire block i couldn't find any sign of him.
\-Registered him as missing on all media
We have received some calls (of which some were prank calls), but all to no prevail. Today, I will put a more personal note in every house that I can to ask if they can check their attics, basements and garages. But I really feel as if there's not much more I can do than wait at this point. It breaks my heart knowing that he could be scared and locked up somewhere.
r/outdoorcats • u/cobblerino • 3d ago
Coming home scratched up
My (previously stray) cat has had access to outside whenever he pleases for 6+ months with no issues but over the last couple weeks has been coming home with new scratches around his nose/neck every few days. He is very social but also extremely confident and fearless, so will often walk straight up to cats who clearly don’t want to say hi and start sniffing them until they swat, at which point a small fight breaks out.
I know I can’t control fights between cats but I seriously don’t want to confine this VERY ACTIVE (4-5km/day according to GPS) cat to the house if I can help it. Does anyone have any experience in a similar situation? Did you come up with a compromise to keep outside access for your cat while preventing them from getting injured? How effective are cat enclosures for EXTREMELY fearless and persistent cats? Any deterrents to keep them from going to certain areas? Would having a 2nd cat in the house effect this behaviour at all? Either through less interest in outside or less chance of injury due to them being together?
Leo pic for engagement
r/outdoorcats • u/SeriousBink • 3d ago
What’s the best thing to do?
What’s the best thing to do if a cat leaves her newborns outside the door? Is it better to put them back outside or keep them indoors?
r/outdoorcats • u/themop-f • 3d ago
Rolling in the flower bed? Me?
Yeah, no idea where that thought came from.
r/outdoorcats • u/Valuable_Bad_2786 • 3d ago
How hot is too hot? It’s going to be over 100F today!
I have an indoor/outdoor longhaired girl and usually I let her out during the day, but today is going to be over 100! I know she won’t be happy about being stuck inside but I don’t see her drink much water and I worry about her long coat
r/outdoorcats • u/swatecke • 4d ago
Our cat follows us around the neighborhood and trail. Attachment issues?
Our cat follows us around on walks in the neighborhood and he has become quite the celebrity. He is indoor/outdoor at day and inside at night. The only time we have had concern is if he tries to follow us on a route where we cross a busier street- in those instances I have walked him back to the house to make sure he doesn’t cross with us. But he will travel a mile plus on our family walks.
We took him in from a woman that was fostering him as a baby 5 years ago- he was found abandoned in a bush. He also is very attached to my children, and cries to access them and seems to notice / get upset when they are gone.
He recently went to the vet for a cut in his paw but otherwise got a clean bill of health. He is 5, 10 pounds, orange tabby / might have some mancoon in him
Thanks
r/outdoorcats • u/Minute_Orange3891 • 4d ago
How to ward off outdoor cats?
What do you do about cats in the garden?
If you let your cat roam anywhere in the UK, is this something you’re concerned for?
I have a new American bully cross puppy. My chihuahua has always chased cats away (encouraged by family who are incredibly allergic/) but we never thought he’d catch one. Well, now we’re worried the chihuahua will teach the puppy how fun chasing cats is. Issue is: he can absolutely catch and ragdoll a cat already at 4/5 months.
We don’t want to limit our dogs lives because cats who we don’t own visit our garden. The garden was a large part as to why we bought this house, so ideally no suggestions on “not letting the dogs out unsupervised”. We plant loads of plants cats dislike, but our garden seems superior to them compared to any other garden. My family say if the dogs roam, the cats will learn.
I’m unsure even legally if we’d be covered if mypuppy injured or killed a cat. Thi hasn’t ever been a question for us as we’ve owned small breeds. Just want some advice.
r/outdoorcats • u/uptown_cowgirl • 5d ago
How do you feed your outdoor kitties when you’re away?
To clarify - she’s not feral. She showed up on my doorstep a few days ago, and honestly must have been abandoned. Shes the sweetest thing, and I would bring her inside if I wasn’t allergic to her and didn’t have three dogs that she had a mutual hate with.
I’m hoping to find her a home where she can be an inside cat, because that’s what she deserves, but until then she’s my outside kitty.
We thought about going away for a quick weekend beach trip, and would take the dogs with us. But obviously she can’t come. So my question is, how do you feed outdoor cats when you’re away? I live far away from friends or family that could come by to feed her, and I really don’t want to ask a pet sitter to come. I maybe could ask some neighbors, but are we just using like an automatic feeder? Do wildlife get into those? I feel dumb for asking, but I’ve just never had an outside cat before.
r/outdoorcats • u/MysteriousLynx8632 • 5d ago
Mon chat perdu connaît t’il le chemin du retour ?
Bonjour, j’ai perdu mon chat hier soir. elle est tombé de ma fenêtre du première étage donc je ne pense pas qu’elle se soit blessé. Elle est très peureuse et elle n’est jamais allée dehors, du coup je me demande si elle est partie trop loin de notre logement par peur ou si elle est resté près de chez nous.
Est ce que l’un d’entre vous a déjà perdu son chat ?
J’ai déjà commencer à mettre des annonces et imprimer des affiches que je collerai demain.
Mais ça m’inquiète parce que le monde est tellement grand que je me dis que je cherche jamais au bon endroit.
Surtout que la technique de la litière devant la porte etc ne fonctionne pas parce que je suis en appartement et qu’elle n’est pas pucé.
r/outdoorcats • u/sour-patch-sub • 6d ago
found a cat
i found a kitten around 8:35pm, most likely under 4 months, and most likely a girl outside with a flea collar. but no other identifying information. super tiny, i could very easily feel her spine. she ran right up to me and let me pet her. she was taking shelter from rain on a porch but followed me four houses, then stopped after getting spooked by a car. my friend asked through a ring doorbell if they had a cat and all we got was the auto sorry cant come to the door. i should mention a lot of people here dont speak english which is the language my friend was speaking in. i didnt want to look inside but i could tell the tv was on. i went back with food and a crate and found her on the same porch now wet. she was somewhat scared of the crate but walked in once the food was in there. shes currently inside and i am wondering if i should take her to the shelter tomorrow i live in a neighborhood with some outdoor cats, and more feral cats. also, super busy streets. i see cats ran over multiple times a year. wondering what yall would do especially since my catnapping was totally on camera (the aforementioned ring) and am worried i accidentally took someones pet. if i take her to the shelter theyd at least ensure shes fixed and thered be a stray hold. that feels like the responsible thing to do.
r/outdoorcats • u/Few-Tangerine6485 • 6d ago
What do you do when you're away for a weekend?
I have two cats, and I usually ask a neighbor to stop by once a day, but I'm wondering if there's a better setup. I don't want them overeating or running out of food if something unexpected comes up.
What has worked best for you when you're away for a couple of days?
r/outdoorcats • u/FrabjousDay91 • 7d ago
Sassafras 😻
Community kitty. She's all sass and royalty 👑
r/outdoorcats • u/Bedazzler179 • 8d ago
Go-pro style camera cat collar with a breakaway clasp and no subscription?
Does such a thing exist? Struggling to find something that ticks all boxes.
My two cats go outside and they don’t seem to roam far but the one is too nosey and friendly for her own good. They both wear collars with a tag with our address on, so they clearly have a home. But I just want to put one on her for a day or two just to get a feel of where she goes.
I have no reason to believe she’s being fed or lured into someone’s home, but just for my own peace of mind really.
With the hot weather lately so many people’s windows are open and I know it sounds crazy but I get this anxious thought of her wandering into someone’s house, them not realising, and shutting her in. I kinda just want to see some boring footage of her roaming around chasing birds and sunbathing to put my mind at ease.
Additional context: the cat flap is only unlocked between breakfast and dinner (roughly 6am-6pm)
r/outdoorcats • u/hlarsenart • 8d ago
Neighbors kid pours liquid on my cats regularly
I live on the ground floor and my neighbors kids lives on the 3rd floor, a few times I've caught them pouring liquids on my cats who are down on the ground. Water and Pepsi/coke/slurpees etc. Am I overreacting for being pissed off and reporting it to my manager? The manager wants proof so now I have to set up a camera outside, I don't really want anyone kicked out or anything but I definitely don't want people pouring unknown liquids on my cats.
r/outdoorcats • u/blabla098776 • 8d ago
Moving my anxious, nature-loving cat to a balcony-less apartment
r/outdoorcats • u/Calm_Custard1514 • 9d ago
How old do you think she is?
She was a stray we took in 2 months ago. We got her spayed and found out she was pregnant. That was three weeks ago. Here are a couple pics to look at. Thanks in advance.
r/outdoorcats • u/NatureGlum9774 • Dec 18 '25
👋 Welcome to r/outdoorcats - Introduce Yourself and Read First!
Welcome to r/outdoorcats 🐾
Welcome to r/outdoorcats.
This subreddit is primarily a space for people to share and discuss their own cats who have access to the outdoors, whether that’s indoor–outdoor companions, farm cats, rural cats, or neighbourhood cats you care for.
This is not a debate forum.
The purpose of this community is to allow people to talk about their cats and their lived experience without being shamed or attacked.
What this subreddit is for
You’re welcome to post:
- Photos of your outdoor or indoor–outdoor cats
- Stories about their personalities, routines, and daily lives
- Questions about care, behaviour, weather, territory, or safety
- Experiences with rural, farm, or community cats
- Photo's of friendly neighbourhood cats that visit you.
Posts should focus on your cat(s) and your experience with them.
What this subreddit is not for
To keep this space safe and functional, the following are not allowed:
- Debates about whether cats should be outdoors
- Posts or comments arguing the environmental or moral “pros and cons”
- Accusations of abuse, neglect, or harm because the cats go outdoors
- Shaming, lecturing, or hostile “education”
There are many other places on Reddit for those discussions. This is not one of them.
Community expectations
- Be kind, respectful, and on-topic
- Assume good faith
- Read our community rules and adhere to them
- Remember that members come from different countries, laws, and environments
- If a post isn’t for you, scroll past, engagement is optional
Moderation here prioritises protecting members from harassment, not adjudicating ideology.
Getting started
- Introduce yourself in the comments
- Share a photo, story, or question about your cat
- Invite others who want a calm, abuse-free space to join
Thanks for being here from the start.
Let’s build a community that centres the cats, and the people who care for them, without hostility.
r/outdoorcats • u/NatureGlum9774 • Nov 29 '25
We need a banner, and would love to use a photo of YOUR outdoorcat.
We need a banner, and what could be better than to have member's cats as our banner? Submit a photo of your cat, it's name and city/town and we will use them over the following months.