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  • I've been trying to acclimatise Sam to the outdoors (he gets his little boys op on Monday), and I'm currently faced with a situation I've never had before. A 6 month old kitten who is so terrified of the outdoors. Usually, they have a natural curiousity and I'm chasing around the garden to get them back inside.

    Sam will sit inside the open door and might venture out about 3ft but the slightest thing (the wind blowing, a siren in the distance, a neighbours door closing) and he turns and bolts inside. If I carry him out, he struggles and darts back in.

    I'm hoping this will change and, as soon as he has recovered from the op, I will try cat treat bribery.

    Please has anyone else experienced this? How did you overcome it? I want him to be an indoor/outdoor cat and using the outside litter tray as soon as he is safe to go out alone.

  • Rats, just wrote a fairly detailed reply and deleted it...

    In a nutshell :

    I'm so sorry for not keeping up with your very sad, then much happier cat news. He's very cute indeed.

    It's frustrating but I wouldn't worry about his anxiety about the outside world just yet. My sister's cat was the same but now she isn't obviously fearful, she just doesn't particularly like it outside! I'm sure his confidence will increase over time, especially if you reward him - exposure therapy, innit? ;) When it's warmer it'll be easier for you to spend time out there with him too.

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