Does Your Cat Always Want To Go Out At Night?

Many cats will meow and pester their owners to let them outside at night. Cats are not naturally nocturnal animals, but there are two very important activities which take place primarily at night time. These are hunting and mating.

Many small animals such as mice are most active during night time so this is the obvious time for the cat to be out there to catch some prey. Cats are ideally suited to night time hunting as the pupils in their eyes dilate fully and they have a special reflective part of the eye that allows them to see the most minute movements in the dark. You and I would see nothing as our eyes are not adapted to night vision the way the cats are.

Mating usually takes place at night because cats don't like being watched when they mate. They can also feel inhibited by the daytime noise of traffic and people. Remember the cat has exceptional vision at night and can also rely on its well-developed senses of smell and touch via its whiskers for information about where and who it is with.

I'm sure most cat owners who have an un-spayed female or an entire male will be aware of the lengths their cat will go to get out at night. The tomcat will be prowling for females on heat while the females will be looking for the tomcat. This mating at night was actually the origin of the saying of 'putting the cat out at night'. This was done as the family went to bed to avoid being disturbed later. Thank goodness things have changed for the better since those days as we are more aware of the problem of unwanted kittens and feral cats. There was also the problem of cats being shut out in very cold or wet weather with no way of being able to get back in. Having a cat flap in your door makes it easy for your cat to get in and out without disturbing you. You can always bolt it shut when necessary.

There is a growing trend among responsible cat owners to have their cats spayed or neutered unless they plan to breed from them. I for one applaud this movement as much as I love cats, it helps reduce feral cat populations and the burden on animal shelters. Once your cat has been spayed or neutered, you can let it out at night to catch mice and other small rodents. Other prey such as birds and lizards are safely asleep at night time.

So does your cat always want to go out at night? If it does and if it is safe and if your cat can no longer produce kittens, why not let it out to catch up with other cats or to help reduce the mouse population. I would much rather have my cat eat the mice than have the mice eat my food and leave droppings everywhere.

Kathy Robinson has been writing articles on cat problems and the care of cats on her website, http://www.CatProblemsResolved.com for a number of years. Why not download your free copy of The Joy of Owning and Caring for a Cat when you sign up for her free Cat Care Newsletter at http://www.catproblemsresolved.com/660

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