At what age can kittens be outside?

[RockStarMom]

I rescued a sick feral kitten in August. She's now completely recovered, about 3-4 months old, and I am relocating her here rather than release her back to the mechanic shop where she was found(there's a colony here and she already gets along with 2 adult males from it who come into my yard). I've been letting her out for short stretches of time, and she's climbed to the top of our tree twice and not known how to get down(I was able to coax her low enough for me to grab her while I was on a ladder). At what age are kittens generally old enough to be okay outside?

[grahamsmom98]

Please don't release her. Keep her as a house pet (let her have her outside time on a leash or in an enclosed kennel/run).

Feral cats prey on the wildlife and have no part of the native eco-system.

Be responsible and make her part of your home. You have already shown how much you care by rescuing her. Keep her safe, keep her at home.

[betsyj]

Did you get her spayed? If not then releasing her is very irresponsible. She will only go on to have multiple litters of kittens.

Also the PP is right-cats can destroy bird populations and upset the ecosystem as they are unnatural predators being introduced.

[Noelle C.]

I'm not against cats being allowed outside, like many people are, but if she's used to being indoors and seems to be fine, see if you can find a home for her instead. She's definitely too young still to be okay on her own 100% of the time outside. If she's allowed outside at all right now, make sure she's spayed.

[Medusa]

Seriously have her spayed, or by this time next year you'll have 15 or 20 feral cats living in your yard. I think catch and release is a great thing to do, but spaying is the cornerstone to doing it right. The male cats in the area have allready found her, then it's just a matter of time till this kitten is having kittens AND those kittens are having kittens. It happen faster than you'd imagine. Trust me, I learned this the hard way.

[RockStarMom]

I do feral cat rescue. She's spayed.
Can someone please tell me at what age kittens have enough common sense to be outside?

[RockStarMom]

Originally Posted by betsyj

Also the PP is right-cats can destroy bird populations and upset the ecosystem as they are unnatural predators being introduced.

Originally Posted by grahamsmom98

Please don't release her. Keep her as a house pet (let her have her outside time on a leash or in an enclosed kennel/run).

Feral cats prey on the wildlife and have no part of the native eco-system.

Be responsible and make her part of your home. You have already shown how much you care by rescuing her. Keep her safe, keep her at home.

This is a FERAL cat. I stated in my original post that there is already a colony here which has probably existed for decades. Obviously, I am working to end the existence of feral cats, but killing them or keeping them as "pets" is not a solution. I have done feral cat rescue for YEARS and TNR is the best solution.

[Mama2Jesse]

Honestly? I'd probably go ahead and do it before she grows up and a local female kicks her out.

[Medusa]

If she's healed and her stitches are out then the sooner you get her outside the better.

Cats general have to get their "common sense" the hard way. If she gets stuck in a tree again just put some food out at the bottom of the tree and leave her be. She'll figure out how to get down.