I was outside this morning weeding the farm and installing my tomato cages and decided to let all the cats out. The momcat Mister Mittens made a beeline to get into the shade and security underneath my son's car while Shiloh did the same and Trouble did some exploring out back. After a bit Shiloh came out to check things out as well. Things went rather well as nobody ran off anywhere (although I wasn't worried about the formally feral momcat taking off).

After I let Shiloh in Mister Mittens raced back to the side door - apparently she likes being a housecat now. I went back out and played with the tomcat and watched him chase bugs and roll in the grass. When he got tired he'd park his ass up against the fence and pant while constantly swiveling his head looking for danger. He was outside and free for the first time in his life.

I didn't have my camera with me and I didn't want to leave the cats alone while I fetched it. I was just happy they caught some outdoor time and enjoyed themselves. The best laugh was when the tomcat would stalk a bug in the grass. As he tensed for the pounce every one of his claws would come to full extension.

The farm was a mess and I had some serious weeding to do so I brought Trouble out again to keep me company.

He started out as a bushcat:



But then he joined the fun:





Looking for bugs:





Gotta scope the deck:

Great pics! Nice lawn.

So glad to see the Mittens' family outside.

Curious...the girls got air then ran inside...Trouble is true to his nature as a "teen" boy!

Your fencing is solid...no one can escape under it or get in.

Ya' know if you JUST put a light-weight, free-standing wire barrier behind 1/8 Pole's car...there would be little chance anyone could "escape" to the street to danger and dogs.
You could garden w/o being on alert all the time...

All a cat has to do is chase a squirrel...cats get more confident the more they are outside

Where I live deer are a big problem and an 7' wire-fence block deer access to the backyard and prevent them from eating ALL the landscaping.

I opened the screen to the bathroom window to snap a shot of my newly-weeded tomato plants in cages when the tomcat leaped upon the sill and was on his way out until I got a hand around his scruff.

I'm thinking he liked his taste of freedom.

And then the outdoor expeditions required a long afternoon nap in my beloved recliner:

The cats have taken over your recliner

The "floor" for you!

Last night all three felines shot out the front door when the bride got home from work after dark. The two kids were rounded up quickly but the Momcat had to be flushed out of a neighbor's bushes via flashlight.

I think I screwed up by letting the cats out yesterday.

No...a lightweight wire fence behind the car would do the trick. Freestanding..like chicken wire...a barrier so cats cannot escape the yard.

Other than the front...there is no way they can escape the yard.

From past experience I would not let the cats out without the harness, and preferably not at all. If the cats see another cat, its bye bye for atleast awhile. Even though they are all fixed, they can get in fights. Also, do you want to deal with a potential flea problem? Once they're in the house,its almost impossible to get them out, and its hell on the cats and humans alike.

Once they have a taste of it, it's all over. Lock them up and keep them that way.

After my JJ met the front end of a car, it was no more cats outside for me. He lived with my slow, old grandmother and knew when the doorbell rang for the drug store deliveries, if he hid at the right time, he'd get loose. He'd get out for days at a time and come home thin and looking for food. When the person who hit him came to the door to tell us the news, grandma looked like she saw a ghost.