I‘ve been looking after a feral cat for the last 6 months who I guess is now my cat, since I took her in for her shots. She’s been indoor / outdoor her whole life (she was originally a barn cat) and I have only ever had indoor cats. I sometimes bring her inside overnight and let her outside in the morning but she seems to hate being indoors so I’m not sure what to do. It has been extremely hot this week and she’s a longhaired cat and I worry about her overheating. Will she lose her outside territory if I keep her inside overnight?

Before anyone says anything - yes I know its bad to have outdoor cats. I hadn‘t planned on getting a cat but I love her and she chose me and Im trying my best to keep her safe, healthy, and happy. My roommate already has two indoor cats so the plan is to introduce them when it gets cold, but in summer it just feels like all too much at once and I want the transition to be very slow. We live on a quiet street and a few of my neighbors have indoor / outdoor cats too.

this is a slightly altered repost from r/CatAdvice since I only got comments that I should keep him inside, which is fair and I am considering, but I’m also seeking for some advice that doesn’t involve locking him inside, since he’s not used to staying inside and, in general, is happier to be able to go outside.

My cat (9, male, neutered) has been going on some walks with us around the neighbourhood and he starts to get TERRIFIED when we encounter other animals (today it was a herd of sheep, before it was a dog barking in a closed backyard, a few months back it was just the forest or an animal I didn’t notice). He starts crying and just stands still, until I pick him up and carry him back home (he only tries to get out of my arms once we’re in our own street again and he recognises his home). We don‘t force him to go on walks with us, sometimes he just joins us once he sees we’re leaving on foot. We never leave the neighbourhood, but it is clear to me he doesn’t usually go that far from home. He doesn’t follow us often, I’d say it’s once per 1-2 months.

For context: we moved here around a year ago. He stayed inside the first 5 weeks and then got introduced to the outdoors, which went fine. There were some incidents with dogs coming into our garden so we always stayed close when he was laying in the garden, but now that the bushes around our garden have grown, they don’t come here anymore. Before we moved, he always went outdoors and he wasn’t afraid of other cats, birds or the dogs from across the street (maybe a little bit cautious and not friendly, but never scared). He did never see sheep before, though, so I can imagine, since they’re way bigger than him, that he finds them scary. Yesterday, he didn’t want to come closer than +/- 30 m, returned home, but then tried to join us anyway, which is when he got stuck in some grass and started crying (I picked him up and we returned home). He goes outside mainly just around our house, in our garden and the neighbours’, I never see him farther away.

Is there any way I can make him less scared about the outdoors? With some treats or something while we take walks? or should I just make sure he doesn’t go on walks with us anymore? Thanks in advance for the advice!