Hitting the Road

[mallorydawn]

Hello everyone! I have a serious problem with my Pooh, a 7 month old kitten. Everytime my husband or I open the front door he shoots out. We live in an apartment complex and we definately do not need him going outside.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how we can stop him from doing this? The water bottle does not work. I actually think he likes it.

Oh by the way. This is our first cat.

Thank you for any suggestions that you have.

Mallory

[Fran]

Hi and warm welcome :D I have 4 house cats and 5 cats that have access to the outside so I do appreciate your problem. We are lucky that both our doors have proches attached so our doors don't open straight to the outside. I'm struggling to think of a way round this for you except to suggest you confine him to one room whilst you are out so that he is unable to bolt out of the door as you come and go. Maybe someone else might be able to offer you more helpful advice. Stick around we'd love to chat to you and hear all about Pooh..

[Elaine]

You could try setting up some sort of act of god type senario to deter him from going near the door. The thing about squirting with water is that it has to be done very sneakily so the cat doesnt associate it with comeing from you. You could try things like, using empty cola cans with pennies or a few stones in, placing them precariously, so that they fall over whne he tries to get near the door, giving him a little fright.
I did this with my Diva who used to get ontop of the fridge to scratch off the wallpaper. A few little scares and she stopped.

[Kobster]

My cat used to do the same thing, you know what finally worked! I door alarm. A little sensor that sends up a loud annoying shriek everytime the door opens. Sends him scrurrying every time!

[Kay]

These seem brilliant suggestions. I really don't know how to help. I have 9 indoor cats but they never attempt to venture outside.

[Animagus]

The alarm thing sounds good..... i usually put my bag in front of my foot as i go in and block the escape route. A child gate with mesh can deter them until they can jump high enuff lol