Thread: Letting your Maine Coon Out?

I'm still undecided about this. For the moment he will be indoors only but come the summer when the doors are often left open and we tend to live in the garden it may become hard. I would feel sad not letting him out then and it maybe very hard keeping him in. I'm hoping by the time the summer comes he will be so used to being indoors he may not want to venture out. We live down a country lane so I'm not worried about traffic. Any traffic that does past is usually slow and I often see cats (and dogs sometimes) wondering around outside in the front. I think it's sad that they don't get to experience freedom outside in some ways. I understand in some circumstances it is totally impossible and understand wanting to keep them in. If we didn't have a garden or live where we do then I don't suppose he would miss being outside but if we are all out and the sun is shining then I would feel bad. It would be totally impossible for us to enclose our garden as we have a gate at the bottom that leads to six acres and we can't make that cat proof! As for the enclosures we wouldn't have room for that unless it was on the field and that belongs to my mother who keeps horses on it.

Re:problem of doors & windows being open in hot weather,I have no worry as the patio doors open onto garden where cats can go out but my daughter who has two maine coons & no garden accsses has had mesh screens made up to hang over windows & a mesh outer door so no problem plenty of air can blow through,when not wanted they are unhooked & stored away.I have to say though that I have got cats from three different breeders & they have all stipulated that they are not allowed to roam free.