Can We Safely Keep Cats Away from Roads and Train Them to Stay Close to Home?

Cats are cherished members of many households, known for their playful antics and affectionate nature. However, their curiosity can lead them into perilous situations, particularly near busy roads. Ensuring our feline friends remain safe requires dedication and an understanding of their behaviour. In this blog post, we will explore various strategies to keep your cats away from roads and help them stay close to home.

Understanding the Risks

Understanding the risks associated with outdoor exploration is the first step in safeguarding your cat. Vehicles pose a significant threat to roaming cats, with a cat hit by a car every two and half minutes in the UK and 10 million cats killed annually by cars in the U.S, for our American readers. Many cat owners live with the constant worry of their cat's safety, knowing that accidents can happen in the blink of an eye. While many will go on to live perfectly happy, healthy, full lives as an outdoor roamer, so many will be killed or injured on the roads with RTA death now the leading cause of cat deaths in the UK. While offering them their independence, cat owners must acknowledge potential risks and attempt to take steps to limiting the risks.

Can We Stop Cats from Crossing Roads?

We can certainly stop roaming behaviour through physical changes, training and discouraging tactics. Though completely preventing all cats from crossing roads may not be feasible, various strategies can significantly reduce this behaviour. Our primary objective should be to be a responsible owner in terms of spaying and neutering, as well as to create an engaging environment that keeps cats entertained, minimizing the urge to venture too close to roads.

To enhance safety, consider these proactive measures:

• Keep Your Cat to a Set Schedule

Try to keep your cat to a schedule whereby they are inside when traffic is at its heaviest. To help encourage them to adhere to this, you can coordinate their meal times with rush hour. Also, make yourself visible to them every so often, give them a call every half hour/hour. Leaving your cat to fend for themselves all day whilst you are out could result in them going for a wander looking for food, shelter or out of boredom. Cats left to their own devices all day/night in cold weather, tend to seek warmth in car engines. This has led to countless cats being displaced miles from home...or worse!

• Keep Cats in Overnight

The majority of road related incidents happen of a late evening and in the early hours. The timing means less people are around to help, most vets are closed, and owners are in bed so they tend to be unaware until they wake up the next morning. When you go to bed, so should your cats. Through patience and determination, they will come to realise their new routine. Though many think that it's safer to let cats out at night when it's quieter, statistically, this is the most dangerous time for ca if they are struggling with being kept in initially.

• Provide What They Need

  Having a cat flap fitted, or leaving a door open or an accessible window when your cat is outside, they can easily get back inside when desired. Cats sat trying to get inside for some time may feel the need to wander for food, water, shelter, comfort or fuss.

  Make sure to feed and water cats regularly. Cats are less likely to wander if they are onto a good thing, so make sure that their needs are being met. Make yourself visible every hour or so, even if just to give a stroke or couple of Dreamies, so they know you are around and it's worth staying close.

  If you suspect your cat has a 'second home', find out where this is and ask they do not feed your cat. Many cats cross busy roads to get to their 'second home'.

  
  

• Motivate Your Cat to Stay Close

  Turn your garden into a cat friendly space. Providing a safe and enriching environment will encourage them to stay close to home. Provide shelter from rain and comfy sunbathing spots for them. Large bare spaces can make cats feel vulnerable so provide hiding places and vantage points. Cats love anything new (if only for a week) so continuously provide more stimulation and entertainment for them to keep them interested. This could be something as simple as getting them a new cardboard box and placing it in a new spot in the garden. Plant cat favourites such as Catnip, cat thyme and cat grass.

  
  

• Deter Cats Your Cat Doesn't Like

  Avoid temptation to encourage neighbourhood cats as they may appear as a threat to your cat. Your garden is your cat's territory, and it is important your cat feels safe and secure. If they don't, they will begin wandering.

  
  

• Neuter/Spay Your Cat.

  In tact cats are at much greater risk as they are more motivated to stray.

  
  

• Use a Harness

  New adult cats should stay indoors for 2-6 weeks so they can familiarise themselves with, and be comfortable in their new surroundings. In this period, walk them around their garden with the safety of a harness on. Go at their pace and let them investigate their new territory in preparation for going it alone. Kittens, when old enough, can also be introduced to the garden using a harness at first, and they are easier to train, especially when started early.

Train Your Cat with Commands

Teaching your cat basic commands can be quite effective. With repetition, they can learn to associate specific words with staying close. A study found that cats can understand about 25 words or cues. Using positive reinforcement techniques, reward your cat for staying near, making the experience enjoyable for them.

Use treats, praise, or toys to reward your kitten for staying in the preferred area away from the road. Associate the area you want them to stay in with positive experiences, such as playtime, feeding, or petting.

Although many websites suggest spraying them with a water bottle when they venture too close to the road, we hesitate to suggest that as a scared cat will run, and we certainly don't want them running into the road. Instead, try using a cats ability to pick up on our emotions to your advantage. Cats are highly observant and intuitive creatures, able to detect and respond to changes in our facial expressions, body language, and even our vocal cues. Cats are naturally attuned to subtle cues in their environment, including human emotions. They pay close attention to our facial expressions, body language, and vocal tones, allowing them to discern when we're happy, sad, anxious, or stressed. They often respond to our emotions by mirroring our behaviour or offering comfort. For example, they might rub against us when we're sad or stay close during periods of stress. It is this skill we want to capitalise on for their own good down the track.

New cats to the family, cats that have moved home, and kittens, all taking their first steps outside a new home, are advised to wear a harness, as stated above. First get them used to their garden so they are comfortable on their land. Depending where the road is situated, training should be done once they are comfortable but still on the harness. The next step is at the owners discretion due to different road types and where the road is situated. Most commonly, roads sit to the front of the house with a garden to the rear.

Allow the cat to roam to the front where the road is but as they approach it, begin changing your behaviour and body language to indicate stress or anxiety. Don't scare them by running or shouting, this will not work. Softly but firmly say ''oh no'', look at the road and begin backing up slowly. When stressed or anxious, cats back up, so it is this behaviour you want them to pick up on. They might, at first, not understand what the adversary is, so when a car comes along, turn and start walking toward the garden. This is all more effective as a deterrent in conjunction with other training techniques like positive reinforcement so offer a treat as a reward once they go back in the garden away from the road. Don't drag your cat on the harness, you want them to associate danger with the road and learn themselves. Keep repeating this.

This can be a training technique for cats already established as outdoor roamers in their home too, but will require a little more patience. Be sure not to put your cat in danger by putting them on or near the road to begin with, as they don't have the safety net of the harness to protect them. Instead, when you see them wandering on the front, do the steps above from behind. Do not block exit routes, such as standing in front of the garden gate, as when scared cats can dart in the direction they see most clear, and we certainly don't want them running into traffic or injuring themselves running somewhere they shouldn't. Reward with their favourite treat when they retreat to the garden.

Identification

Make sure your cat is microchipped. This simple step is vital; studies show that cats with identification are much more likely to be returned home if they wander off. Also, should your cat find themselves in the unfortunate position of having been hit by a car and taken to a vets, they are only obliged to administer pain relief. Should your cat need further treatment, and vets can't contact you, you risk your cat being taken on by a rescue or being euthanised. We have known cats be euthanised with very treatable injuries because no owner could be located. Should your cat fall victim, a microchip is their only voice outside your home.

Safeguarding Our Feline Friends

Keeping cats safe from roads requires a thoughtful and persistent approach. While it may be impossible to eliminate all risks, implementing practical solutions can ensure their safety and happiness. By training, modifying their environment, and providing enriching activities, you can create a safe haven for your feline companion. The effort you invest not only enhances their quality of life but also gives you peace of mind. Your cat's safety is a priority worth every moment spent nurturing their well-being.