Keeping indoor kitties... INDOORS!

[blueyes157]

My FI and I have 2 cats and we currently rent an apartment. Our cats have never tried to get outside, but they are always waiting by the front door when we come home, so I am afraid that with the opportunity they would leave. We bought a baby gate to put at the door (which is a pain to hurdle), but it does the trick to keep them from bolting out. Our cats have never been outdoors, and we live in a busier city, which I would not feel safe with them out on their own... too many dangers. I don't even know that if they got out if they would come back since they have never been out, nor do I want to take that chance.

Last night my Fi and I were discusing when we buy our first house in the next year or so, that it is going to be a baby gate hell! All the exits that need to be covered, and when we have kids or guests, I will always be paranoid that someone will let the cats out or keep the door open for 1 second too long.

I know many of you PSers have kitties... what do you do to keep them from bolting outside?

 

[VegasAngel]

You know, I have to let my cat go outside (& she is front declawed

) She was a feral & will leterally go crazy in the house if we dont let her out. My cat will literally stalk the door & be out in a blink of an eye, I mean there have been times she got out so quick we didnt even notice

. I think the baby gate is a good idea only other thing I can think of is keeping a water bottle outisde and be armed and ready to shoot upon entering your house

I would make sure your kitties are microchipped (If they arent already) & wear a breakaway collar with tag just in case they do slip out.

 

[butterfly 17]

Our cat has always been an indoor cat and once we moved to this house, we thought she would remain that way, but I was wrong. She has snuck out of the house a few times in the summer, but then after an hour or two she begs to come back inside.

It''s hard to keep her inside, she is so fast she just zooms by us and before we know it she is on the deck and sneaking down the stairs.

I think the baby gate sounds like a great idea, preferably one with a mesh so that your cat won''t be able to get in between. We have a baby gate on the stairs going down the deck and the cat still gets through though. But it has no mesh and she can literally jump on top of the rails.

I was really worried the first few times she went out. All sorts of things went through my mind, what if she gets in a fight (she is declawed), what if she gets pregnant (but she is neutered/spayed), what if she gets fleas (we got her a flea collar), what if she gets heart worms (we got her heart worm medicine), what if she doesn''t come back or gets lost (well, it turns out she is such a wimp, she only stays in the backyard and comes crawling back after an hour anyway).

So, when you buy your first house, just make sure all your bases are covered just in case she escapes!!

 

[sumbride]

I really think training is probably a better way to go if they haven''t proven themselves to be bolters yet. My cats are waiting by the door when I get home too but we have taught them that they can''t go outside... by YELLING "GET BACK" when we walk in, by putting my purse down by my feet and kind of swining it at them so they back up (feet work too), and by being prepared to quickly close the door behind me. It works.

Our late Max was a bolter... and kind of stupid about outside... and after spending my hubby''s 30th birthday chasing him from under cars, we learned to be deliberate with our actions about the door. We live in the city, on a very busy street, and we know that our cats would not survive out there. Max got yelled at enough that he eventually stopped trying but what worked best was our neighbor yelling at him... like kids, he was more scared and paid more attention to the stranger yelling at him than he did to his "parents".

We do occasionally let Bill go outside on the back patio, but only with his leash on. We use that door a lot, but it has glass so we can see them and can quickly put a foot in their way and push them aside with a stern "BACK". There''s not much you can train cats to do or not do, but you don''t need to live your life with babygates in your doors. That just sounds miserable.

 

[sumbride]

Also, you need a way to distract them when you come in... They are waiting by the door because they want to see you, not because they want to leave (usually). So get them away from the door quickly (especially if somebody is coming in behind you) by walking away from the door and calling them. My cat Bill will hop up on the arm of the sofa so I can pet him and that way he''s getting something out of it and I know he''s not leaving. They''ve missed you, they''re glad you''re home, now quickly distract them before they notice the open door!

 

[poshpepper]

We have two cats and it is only the older one (about 10 years old) that tries to bolt outside. She wont do it right when you come in the house, but if you leave the door open for longer than a few seconds she is stepping out. Once I left the door ajar to grab something from the porch and when I turned around to go back in the house she was already out. I yelled at her (in a stern commanding voice) "Don''t you dare!" and she turned around and bolted back in the house. She could have run away from me into the yard, but for some reason actually listened to me that day.

We pretty much do the same thing that sumbride does when we come in the house, we bat at them with our feet or just tell them "no" and they are pretty good. Just have to watch the unattended open doors

 

[Aloros]

It''s tough. I have a hard time too. My cat was indoor/outdoor as a kitten, before I got him, so he will often sit by the door and MEEEOOOOWOERRRRRR! And he is expert at sneaking out!

I usually just lead the way with something bulky - a backpack, grocery bags, my foot, etc. and I use it to guide him away from the opened door. When he does manage to sneak out, I just run after him and bring him back inside. A pain? Yes, but it works. He gets to go on leash walks sometimes too, which he enjoys.

I had a neighbor who had a kitten, and the first time his kitten stepped foot outside, he gave it a bath. After that, he could leave the door open, and the kitten wouldn''t dare put a paw outside (he really didn''t like getting wet!).

But yes, a squirt bottle might work.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Both of our cats are indoors. I think they are kind of used to it. DH left a window open (no screen) our female never left my side, our male made a break for it. I found him and all was okay but we are just really careful.

 

[Cind11]

If my cats get too close to the door I shoult a firm "No!" at them and sometimes even nudge them away with my foot. The good thing is they have never actually tried to dart out. If anything they kind of "sidle" up to the door. (I guess because they now have figured out they''re really not supposed to be close to the door so they go slowly hoping I won''t notice them) My kids are "trained" too. Both of them are careful about the cats and the doors.

 

[movie zombie]

won''t help you right now but when you buy your home consider what we''ve done. we have 5 indoor cats who are never allowed out. we took part of the deck and made it into a cat run. slider from family room opens on to it and its wired and roofed. during the winter we have panels we put up that are see through but keep the weather out. we keep their cat boxes out there, they have cots and scratching pads.....and our wood for the stove is out there too. they can look out and see the flora and fauna no matter what the weather. in the spring, its like a little hot house. in the summer we remove the panels and let the air flow through. they love it any time of the year and i don''t have to worry about them lurking by the door to get out.

movie zombie

 

[Gypsy]

We're just careful. But in the 6 years total we've had cats they've all gotten out at one time or another. We've thought about Baby Gates but Hally is a smart, jumping sociopath so... it would only challenge her to get out more.

Duncan had never gotten out before we got the apartment and in the last year he's gotten out twice! Both times because we didn't realize the screens on the sliding glass doors weren't closed. We're extra careful now. Duncan isn't a bolter, but if the screen is open for a WHILE he will venture SLOWLY outside.

Frodo's only gotten out once, in our house in NJ. He was gone for 6 hours: we were frantic, but he came back unharmed. Thank God.

Hally's gotten out four times and been walked out on a leash 4 times. She's not exactly a bolter.. but we do something similar to Sumbrides enter the house dance and stomp with her much of the time. Our cat sitter has a hard time with her trying to bolt (she's trying to find us we think) though. And that's a concern.

When we had Noel (FMIL's cat) she got out twice too. The first time she and Hally took a stroll on the roof from our second floor (we were shaking out throw rugs and left the screen on the window up. Duncan and Frodo stayed inside even though they were in the room). The second time she didn't get far as she got out the front door right after a blizzard. I noticed the door was cracked and closed it. 15 minutes later it occurs to us we can't find Noel. We start searching the house, then I remember the door, open it and a FREEZING cold Noel who had been HUDDLED against the front door (between the front door and the storm door) BOLTS in. She NEVER ever wanted to go out again.

But it's always a concern. It helps that all of ours are treat trained and treat hogs. We bribe them back. With Hally a firm "HALLY CAT!" works too, she turns tail and gets back inside. The last two times she got out (both at the apartment) were actually funny. The first time she went outside and up the stairs to the upper apartments and sat there HOWLING for us to come get her. John went outside called her and she trotted over. The second time she got out of one of the screen doors (in the bedroom) strode out of the patio, into the 'garden area' and then walked right over to our other patio (off the kitchen) and stood at the screen door staring out Frodo, who was VERY VERY confused. I walked over, open the door, and she trotted back in.

All of our cats are microchipped, but that's of little to no comfort. And they have break away collars.

 

[blueyes157]

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses! So I guess there really isn''t a sure fire way to keeping kitties indoors, just to be cautious! I will deffinitely be trying some of your suggestions as to keeping them away from the door and reprimanding them when they get too close as well as making indoors everything that they need and more! (which with all their toys and things to climb on, I don''t know how it couldn''t be!)

 

[DiamanteBlu]

Our siamese is an escape artist. She''s not as quick now that she is pushing 15 but she is still very interested in the exit doors. The other three seem to be fine staying indoors pbut we still make sure we are quick in closing the doors behind us just in case.

We use an airlock system. The front door does not get opened unless the cat is "closed in" [in the master suite]. When we leave the house we exit through the garage.

If guests come over [unless it is someone familiar with the cat "routine"] the cats get to hang around on their favorite bed [ours or DD''s - two on each] with the doors closed for the duration.

 

[sumbride]

Gypsy''s roof-walking cats reminds me of what Max used to do in my old apartment... For a little less than a year I lived in an 8th floor apartment with a balcony. It was 2 balconies connected with a little partition in the middle. I knew the cats would like the fresh air, so I got some deer netting and put it up all around the railing and then anchored it to the ground with flower pots... or so I thought. Max figured out how to wiggle under the netting and go visit the neighbor''s part of the balcony. I have no idea why... there was nothing over there, but he was a curious cat that unfortunately wasn''t afraid of anything. I didn''t realize what he was doing until one night I couldn''t find him. I looked frantically for him for about 20 minutes, but in that time I had shut the door to the balcony. I heard a "Mrow" and there was Max, at the glass door, wanting to come in. Where had he been?? I had no idea! And then I realized he was next door the whole time.

So I increased fortifications to no avail. My neighbors were a lovely couple, but we got to know each other a little too well when they kept bringing him over to me or I had to knock on their door at 11 pm one night to get him because he wouldn''t come back. I couldn''t figure out how he was doing it because I had completely closed off the under the wall section... but then one day I saw him scoot under the netting and balance on a 2 inch strip of concrete to get to their section of the balcony. Did I mention this was 8 floors up?

I never ever let him out again, which was a pity for Lucy who would preen calmy on the outdoor rug in the sunshine for hours at a time... Of course, she gave me a scare once too... she jumped up on the metal rail which was about 2 inches wide, and somehow she got her balance (she''s a clutz) and then immediately jumped back to the patio chair. I think she scared herself when she realized how high up she was and how thin the metal (thus can''t claw into it) railing was. It was one of the scariest moments ever and I didn''t say a WORD to her for fear of frightening her and causing her to fall.

So yes, my cats stay INDOORS now unless they are on a leash, and only Bill is allowed that as he was a stray for a long time.

 

[risingsun]

We have two Maine Coon cats, who are kept indoors at all times. We practice strict door control. We''ve taught them both to respond to "Go Back" at the door and have done this since they were kittens. It seems to have worked. The dog also responds to the same command. Now, I don''t leave the door wide open, but when I come in, the first thing I say is "Go back," and they do

They don''t listen to much else, but I haven''t put in the same amount of time training them, either.

 

[wolftress]

I understand your concern, Blueyes. DH and I live in a house facing a relatively busy road and I was paranoid when we first moved in that one of our two cats would dash out the door and run straight into oncoming traffic.

We have a screen door outside the front door, and when I come home I usually sandwich myself between the opening front door and the screen door, so that it slams shut behind me immediately and there is no gap for the cats to squeeze through. I''ve slammed my foot between the screen door and door ledge on two occasions, and it hurts like buggery! But the cats soon learned that there was no point trying to bolt.

At our old house, we didn''t have a screen door so it was a lot harder to keep the cats in, especially when we had to carry bags and bags of groceries from the car. I learned to speak sharply and loudly to them if they tried to go near the open front door and then distract them by leading them to the kitchen. They would then become quite interested in what was in the grocery bags and forget about the front door

I think it''s inevitable that cats will make a dash for freedom and succeed on one or two occasions. Thankfully our cats have never been outdoor cats, so when they run out the door, they stop at the front step and look at us, wondering what they should do next. That''s enough time for DH and I to scoop them up and bring them back in.

 

[anchor31]

Funny, we didn''t have this problem when I had them at my parents or since I moved in my apartment with FI. They come at the door when we come in, but they don''t try to get out, they just want to say hi!

I hope your kitties stay inside.