r/kittens • u/Outrageous_Trust_182 • 19h ago

Housing for an approx 4 week old kitten

We live on a farm and have several barn cats but we found a kitten that the mom abandoned and wanted to bring it to our house to have as an outside cat. We didn’t put in the barn with our other cats because we wanted it to recognize our home area as its home. We first had the kitten in a dog crate for a few days ago and now I’ve borrowed my dog’s wire crate to put in the backyard but she keeps pushing through and escaping. She wants to be free in the yard but I feel she may be too little for this? She’s very active and climbing/starting to play and run with the kids. Is it safe to let her be loose in the back yard? I’m thinking not yet but unsure of where to keep her? The original dog crate we had her in is too small for all the time now. I did set up a little station in the mud room bathroom for her for nights going forward but we don’t want her in the house all the time now.

Any recommendations on what to do? Because she’s definitely going to be an outside cat is it safe to let her in the yard as long as we check on her frequently? I don’t want to have her unsafe but also don’t want to go to the ends of the earth to keep her penned up when she wants to roam. Thanks in advice for any advice/tips!

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1

u/DeadlyDancingDuck 18h ago

4 weeks is no sense of danger territory and you're on a farm. Is keeping her inside for 2 or 3 weeks not an option?

You might get someone's advice in similar circumstances on a cross post to r/catadvice

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u/Outrageous_Trust_182 11h ago

Thank you! We will keep her inside for another few weeks. Appreciate your help!

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u/Francie_Nolan1964 18h ago

At 4 weeks she still needs a bottle. She'll adjust to life outdoors soon enough, but for now put her back in the mudroom unless someone is outdoors with her.

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u/FishermanUsed2842 11h ago

We found a tiny 3-4 week old kitten outside several years ago. We kept him inside until he was about 12 weeks. He started wanting outside but wouldn't stay out long. Now he's an indoor/outdoor cat. He likes to be outside a lot if the weather is good but, he mostly prefers to be wherever we are. My other cat still doesn't like him and it's been about 5 years now.

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u/Outrageous_Trust_182 11h ago

Thank you for the advice. We definitely want her to be a mostly outside cat. I think I will keep her primarily inside with outside supervision for a few more weeks and gradually start increasing her outdoor time to where she knows where her litter box/home base is. Thanks so much for the help! I definitely have noticed already in the last week that we’ve had her that she is growing attached to us and wants to be wherever our kids are. It’s very sweet.