[ruby01]

My year old Cat has always been very nervous. She has chosen to stay in regardless of giving her the opportunity to go out. Recently she has been spending short amounts of time outside the front of the house but never goes far. Recently we have noticed other cats in the area. For the last few days our cat hisses at us as soon as we open the door and sometimes it takes a while to get through the front door. I would like her to spend more time outside to be able to have a change of scenery and get used to the outside world. How can I stop her hissing at the family and gradually introduce her to the outside world in the daytime?

[Wondergirl]

I'm concerned that you want your indoor-loving cat to go outdoors. The world out there is a nasty place. Cats who go outdoors are yummy prey for predators and too often end up as roadkill.

Is your cat spayed? If not, then why send an intact cat outdoors and allow her to mate, thereby spamming the world with even more cats than it can handle now?

And it sounds like your cat does not want to go outside. Since cats traditionally sleep sixteen or more hours a day, who or what will keep your baby safe while she sleeps outdoors somewhere?

As far as the hissing goes, it sounds like this is aggression and maybe displaced aggression (displaced from the bad boys and directed toward your family) against those evil outside cats. Your cat is very smart and doesn't want to mix with those bad boys. Allow your cat to stay indoors 24/7. She will greatly appreciate it!