Many people think that cats are an outdoor animal, but many cat breeds really don't do well when left to roam and Asians are one of them. They come from many generations of indoor cats and just don't have the instincts of other cats to keep themselves safe outside.
Bubs was an outdoor cat when he came to us and had obviously survived quite well, but the first time he appeared in our garden he'd been missing from his home for 6 weeks and they only lived 2 miles away. 2 miles isn't a lot in moggy/feral/wild cat territory, so it shows that even he didn't have great homing instincts.
When we got Blondie, we thought it was fine to let her outside too. Bubs showed her the ropes and slowly introduced the garden, next door, then across the street until she went out on adventures for a few hours at a time by herself.
One day, when she was just over a year old, Blondie didn't come home. We tried absolutely everything but she was never found. Heather has statistics of how many of her kittens have been allowed to roam and how many of them survived and it's not good.
It's not all doom and gloom though, there are plenty of ways to give your cats outdoor space while keeping them safe.
There's a few different ways of doing this but we have the mesh fencing version from Protect a Pet round our garden so they can all get out and play -
There's also a rolling log version from Katzecure which our friend Lesley-Ann uses for Luna, Lola, & Vlad -
Alternatively, there is the "Catio" option where you build an enclosed structure for them to play in. Carol has a particularly nice one - PetPlan even did an article on her amazing space!
The other (or additional option) is to take them for walks on leads. Asians take to harnesses very well and enjoy exploring with the safety of their human close by. All of ours are harness trained. We don't tend to walk them but it's handy if we're away at a show and want to let them stretch their legs at the hotel after a long drive in the car.
In conclusion, Asians are not "outdoor" cats, but there are plenty of ways to give them the stimulation of the outdoors in a safe and controlled way.
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