Cat runs for the Door

[Marcasite]

Every time the door opens, my cat bolts for it. The good news is that we live in an appartment, so she doesn't have very far to go and can't get out the building. However if someone were to open the outside door, I'm scared we'd lose her. Each time she runs out we catch her, bring her inside and spray her with water, but I don't know if she gets it because we can't spray her when she runs out right away. Any advice?

[Eternal Night]

Some cats are just dying to get outside. I think they probably see you go out everyday and wants to know whats out there.
Has she always been an indoor cat?
If not then that is most probably the reason.
Has she been done?
Because if she hasn't and has matured she could be in season and trying to get to a male cat!
I've got a cat that was an indoor wen I first got him, and even though I let him out now and he has a cat flap he always bolts for the front door, because I guess just habit from trying to bolt out of his previous owners house.
You could try just shutting her in a room with her tray and food etc and then leaving, so she gets used to not seeing you leave each day.
I think it's just one of those things, she'll probably get used to it.

[Catiana]

Orion is the same exact way. Everytime we open the door she bolts, luckily we catch her every time. She was already 2 when we got her from the shelter and had been a stray, so I don't think I'll ever break her of it. My only advise is be very careful and be sure you catch her. That's what we do.

[halfwaynowhere]

My cat, Houdini, does that... He has gotten out a few times that way... he likes to take naps in the next door neighbor's yard... His name is Houdini because he's been an escape artist since the day we found him, at around 12 weeks... He's 6 now, and he still does it. He's always been an indoor cat. Luckily he's got a nice long tail which we can grab when he tries to make a break for it... My kitty, Radar, is the opposite, he is terrified of going outside. When he was young, I would hold him tightly, and take him outside so he could hear the cars going by and get scared. It worked for him, I tried to take him out the other day and he wouldn't let me go out the door. good luck, i hope you find a solution soon!

[Lunacie]

One of you could wait outside the door with the spritzer and spray her when the other one opens the door as if to leave. That would be more likely to help her associate bolting out the door with getting sprayed.

[LordHelmet]

I don't mean to be rude, but you shouldn't have a cat if you can't let it outside, it's just not right. Cats are born to be outside exploring the world. Naturaly they tend to cover at least a few square miles every day. If you live in a city where even a little of this isn't possible then you live in a place that's incompatible to most cats.

It's true that some cats will just be indoor, but thats kind of akin to people who who live in their moms basement their whole life playing video games and don't have a social life at all. It's really not that good for the cats who choose to live that way but it's just terrible for the normal healthy ones.

My recomendation is to get him a home outside the city and get a more appartment suited pet. Don't worry, cats don't really have a hard time losing their loved ones and getting new friend replacements like dogs do, they're pretty flexible that way, especialy when they're coming from a situation they don't like to begin with. The cats we have as pets are loners by nature and their socialability is really kind of a fluke.

On the other hand if your not actualy in an actual city (high rise) letting him go out shouldn't be a problem. He'll come back on his own unless he finds a new better home. (it happens, just get him the little tag thingy) I've had tons of cat's growing up and never known where they go after they take off, and never had problems with it. It's quite rare for them to get hit by cars (or even seen by drivers when crossing) or get hurt or cause any problems.

[Eternal Night]

To say people shouldn't have a cat because they choose to keep it in doors is wrong. In some cases it is impossible to let them outside. There is a breed of cat that has no fur and cannot be allowed outside, there is also another breed with short legs that also would have difficulty in the outside. Professional breeders keep their cats in doors at all times. Some are even in pens, to seperate them.
In my opinion what they've never had, they never miss. If you don't give a child sweets for the whole of it's childhood it won't miss them. The same I think goes for animals.
I think as long as the cat is loved and fed there shouldn't be a problem where it is.

[Shanti]

There are some locations, like the city near me that has laws that forbid cats outdoors unless they are leashed or in a full kennel. The reasons are because a pet is the responsibility of the owner and the outdoors pose many risk such as cars, other animals injuring it, health and various accidents. Also its disrespectful of neighbors who may not like having your cat trespass and harass their pets on their property, dig through their garbage, poop in their gardens and so on.
Domestic cats are pets, not lions. And owners are responsible for everything their pets do and for everything that happens to it.

Back to the OP problem.
Squirting her after she is brought back is probably re-enforcing her desire to bolt. She may be thinking thats its coming back or being inside thats causing the neg experience. You always want to associate the unwanted behavior with the bad experience. As Lunacie stated it would be best if someone could be waiting outside the door for her to come and then spray her so she associates going out the door with the bad experience.
Also, upon bringing her back inside or her coming back, reward her. Show her coming inside, being inside is a positive experience. Your goal is for her to want to be inside where all the good things are and outside is where the unpleasant is.


Dont give up trying. It may take some time before she feels the desire isn't worth the spray.

[FeatherGoblinglimmer]

I don't think that anyone on theis thread should assume things about the welfare of the cat because they live with someone in a flat....The cat is obviously well enough cared for that the concerned owner is asking for advice on here!

My cat Moses lived with us in a flat for 3 years before we moved to our current house and he was perfectly happy.

It is well known that most cats do not like the smell of citrus and try to avoid it. so
perhaps you could rub a little orange essential oil on the door frame at the bottom. It is non harming to cats or the door frame.
Or perhaps add a little to the water spritzer.`

[Brightshores]

Er... I personally think that letting cats go outside is rather cruel.

Indoor cats live three to six times as long as outdoor cats.


Indoor cats tend to be healthier and longer lived, as well as less expensive for cat owners. In 1992, the Humane Society of the United States estimated the average life expectancy of free roaming pets to be between 3 and 5 years, while indoor cats can commonly reach ages of 17 years or more.
http://www.bestfriendspetcare.com/cat-health/indoor-outdoorcat.cfm



If you want your cat to live a long and healthy life, keep her inside. If you allow your cat to wander around on her own, without your supervision, she is susceptible to any of the following tragedies:

becoming trapped by an unhappy neighbor
becoming hit by a car
ingesting a deadly poison like antifreeze or a pesticide
being attacked by a roaming dog, cat or wild animal
contracting a disease from another animal
becoming lost and unable to find her way home
being stolen
encountering an adult or child with cruel intentionshttp://www.sspca.org/Cats/IndoorOutdoor.html


Anyway - Marcasite, here is an article about How to make your Outdoor Cat an Indoor Cat. Hope it helps you! :)
http://www.sdnhm.org/exhibits/cats/indoors.html

[Evanescent]

LordHelmet, does this mean that I should just let my dog roam free? After all, dogs originally lived outside. It's only natural. She should have free range to kill the local wildlife and be a traffic obstruction. Let me go open the door right now...

We had a HUGE feral cat problem in my area about eight years ago. This is a suburban town and we are not a city by any stretch of the imagination. I saw no less than four feral cats dead from hit-by-cars on MY STREET ALONE in the four or five years in which we had a 'serious problem'. One of them even ended up bleeding to death in my front yard. The neighbor across the street backed over one with his car; it was sleeping in his driveway. Fortunately, the woman who was feeding them also started rehoming kittens and trapping adults to spay/neuter, so we're down to just a couple of strays (and I watch these cats cross the street; drivers on this street see it all the time). So this "cats don't get hit by cars" stuff is a total load of bovine waste.

To the OP:

You do realize you are correcting your cat for being caught, right?

You are teaching your cat that every time Mom catches him, he will be sprayed with water. This is NOT the lesson you want to teach! You have the right idea, but you have the steps mixed up. You want to spray the cat when he's in the process of going for the door, because you want to correct the cat for going for the door. You don't want to spray the cat when he is in your arms; you will lead him to associate being in your arms with getting wet. That's no fun.

If you want to go the water route, set the cat up. Have a friend go outside the apartment and open the door. You'll be ready at the door with a super soaker. The cat makes a run for it and you squirt him for going near the door.

Alternatively, you can make sure you are holding onto the cat when the door is to be opened, or that the cat is otherwise restrained somehow: tethered, in a cat carrier, etc.

[LordHelmet]

Ya I knew I'd get flack for that one, but I still stand by it, cats are explorers at their very core and most of them need to get out a little. Many of these excuses are for the owner not the cat. The Dog argument is absurd. Dog's just aren't as huge on exploring as cats, they love to, some really love to, but they can also stay home the majority of the time without going stir crazy, usualy. Cat's rarely attack people or anything bigger than the local pests, they go for the birds, some actualy get them. Many dogs will have a human kill in an average of ten minutes after leaving the front door unattended (OK, maybe a ittle exagerating). You take dogs on walks, and if you don't something is wrong. (Yayaya, if he/she's sick or something puppy may not want to. Not saying to force it or anything)

If you breed cats to not have fur you're sick IMO. If you buy those cats from sick breeders your encuraging it. (if you got them from a shelter that's different. I've never seen them there but I don't really hang out there either) It's not really any better keeping them in a kennel, maybe worse. (no I'm not saying it's wrong to have a kennel for transportation purposes, you should, but that's no way for any cat to live.) If your cat has fur and is jetting for the door all the time, he/she needs to get out. If you live somewhere where this cannot for whatever reason be accomplished, there's plenty of places it can. Yes there are risks, the same is true with people, it's good to minimize these risks as much as possible, but you still got to get out.

I wasn't awear that there was such a problem with cats outdoors in other places other then high rises. Never had those problems around here. I don't see to much wrong with cats that simply never leave the house because their lazy or something, but thats pretty rare in my experience.

Just think what if it were a human. Yes there's humans that stay home a lot, but humans that never leave the house, pretty much for their whole life? Seriously, that's not cool. It's one thing to be there a lot, but not all the time. That's what I see with a lot of cats and dogs to actualy.

On the other hand if you have a decently sized house (probably at least 2 pref 3 bedroom), and you start them out young spending a lot of time inside, (got to be young, like kitten) then after about 1year old with all the other house cat training, you should be fine just letting them out into the yard during the day if your in a suburb and you have a fence. If you don't have full fence you might try it and if they run to far off fix the problem before you try it again.

I agree about the spraying when you catch her. I can see where catching her on the way out could be hard to do but if she doesn't get the deterant as she leaves (preferably while still in the doorway) she's not going to get it.

Does the citrus thing actualy work? That'd be awesume!

I didn't say cats don't get hit by cars but where I live it's pretty rare, when they actualy do it's usualy their owners driveway and car, and usualy a warm summer afternoon. This is pretty easy to prevent. Pretty much all the other cases I've ever known were pretty unhealthy cats.

The chemicals can really be a problem, I haven't lived in a neighborhood where I saw them being left out but I know it's happening and I've seen the animals that have found these things, I will admit this does really present a problem. I could say that people shouldn't have these chemicals out but that won't change anything. besides, cats get into the weirdest places, you can't expect everyone to have a cat proof shed.

I'll also admit I wasn't really thinking of the expensive cats, they might get kidnapped, I don't know. Something about the whole idea that a cat can't go outside because he/she's expensive just strikes me a little funny though.

[Shanti]

LordHelmet, your perfectly entitled to your opinion of course. But could you please refrain from calling people names who find interest in keeping a particular breed of animal that you find disagreement with.
You don't have to call names just because you disagree with certain pet keeping or breeding.
We have a large variety of pet owners in Critter chat.
Thank you. :)

[LordHelmet]

Ya your right, i fixed it. I do think breeding freaky hairless cats is sick and wrong though.

[Shanti]

Ya your right, i fixed it. I do think breeding freaky hairless cats is sick and wrong though.
Thank LH.
Heck there are a lot of things people do with critters I don't stomach very well, but different views, different people. :)
I know some of my own endeavours are seen as a little sickening by some. But thats a different thread. :)

[person of shadow]

Ok, first, LordHelmet, And I'm not being snotty or mean when I say this.
I lived in the country for eight years. I've had a fair few cats in that time. Before I moved to town, my cats were all allowed outside at anytime of the day/night. half of those cats were hit by cars. They could have chosen to go and play in the woods behind the house, but they all got hit. And All of them were fixed as well. So now, I only let the cats out in my fenced in yard when supervised.And they don't go out more than once a week, for maybe half an hour(to sleep). But even then, they are happy and playful inside. I've noticed no behavioral change in my cat Zoe since we moved. And she was outside 23 hours of the day.
And Again, I am really not trying to sound harsh or mean.

Back on subject, I agree with lunacie and shanti

[Lunacie]

And in this part of the country, outside cats tend to get killed by coyotes and dogs that are also let to run loose.

It would indeed be cruel to try to cage a cat that started outdoors inside the house all day and night, but please at least catch them and spay or neuter.

[Darbla]

Years ago I went to the local Humane Shelter and picked out a gorgeous, huge Tom cat. Went straight to the vet for a checkup and 'fixing'. When I got him home the next day I let him loose in the house, and he hid. I left him alone for a bit to give him time to calm down, but later I couldn't find him: he'd made his escape thru an opening behind my washing machine where the water hose went outside. I was telling some friends about this later and one of the guys said "If you'd cut my nuts off I'd run from you too!!!"

Darbla

[Evanescent]

The dog argument isn't absurd. Wolf packs travel up to 30 miles a day. They certainly do love to explore -- one of my dog's favorite activities is just snuffling around in the woods in my backyard. I put her on a 30' leash, tie the end to a tree, and watch her out my kitchen window while I enjoy some tea.
And what's this "human kill" crap? Feral dogs are like feral cats down south, do you hear human kill stories all the time? No. The only dogs that kill people are rabid, EXTREMELY poorly socialized/abused, or are specifically trained to do so. From 1979 to 1996, there were 300 dog-bite related deaths in the United States. That's about 17 deaths a year. So yeah, it seems like every dog that steps outside the gate without an owner attached to it is just plowin' through them humans, isn't it?
Comparing cats to humans is just a ludicrous arguement. We're not cats, and never will be, and cats aren't humans, and never will be. A vast quantity of kitties do just fine living indoors. A vast quantity of kitties do NOT do just fine out loose getting hit by trucks and killed by coyotes/loose dogs/angsty teenagers. The average lifespan statistics quoted elsewhere in this thread are proof. Indoor cats live longer. It's a fact.

[LordHelmet]

Years ago I went to the local Humane Shelter and picked out a gorgeous, huge Tom cat. Went straight to the vet for a checkup and 'fixing'. When I got him home the next day I let him loose in the house, and he hid. I left him alone for a bit to give him time to calm down, but later I couldn't find him: he'd made his escape thru an opening behind my washing machine where the water hose went outside. I was telling some friends about this later and one of the guys said "If you'd cut my nuts off I'd run from you too!!!"

Darbla

That is funny. I think there's a pretty big difference, for starters, with partners and health available we humans choose to use our genitalia (guess) somewhere between 80 and 1100 times a year, generaly closer to the higher end in our prime. Most other mamals aren't likely to 'hit it' more than a few times a year, comonly at a piticular season. Besides, if you don't what's the alternitive.


The dog argument isn't absurd. Wolf packs travel up to 30 miles a day. They certainly do love to explore -- one of my dog's favorite activities is just snuffling around in the woods in my backyard. I put her on a 30' leash, tie the end to a tree, and watch her out my kitchen window while I enjoy some tea.
And what's this "human kill" crap? Feral dogs are like feral cats down south, do you hear human kill stories all the time? No. The only dogs that kill people are rabid, EXTREMELY poorly socialized/abused, or are specifically trained to do so. From 1979 to 1996, there were 300 dog-bite related deaths in the United States. That's about 17 deaths a year. So yeah, it seems like every dog that steps outside the gate without an owner attached to it is just plowin' through them humans, isn't it?
Comparing cats to humans is just a ludicrous arguement. We're not cats, and never will be, and cats aren't humans, and never will be. A vast quantity of kitties do just fine living indoors. A vast quantity of kitties do NOT do just fine out loose getting hit by trucks and killed by coyotes/loose dogs/angsty teenagers. The average lifespan statistics quoted elsewhere in this thread are proof. Indoor cats live longer. It's a fact.

As far as the human kill stuff I was exagerating as I said. Most of those dogs would either bark at people or lick them, but you also have to consider that some will attack people, and many people just know dogs. Also as I said 'some' dogs is what I'm talking about with the attacking humans. Most of the time this is because of the 24/7 making a 6 foot semicircle of mud in the front yard and not fixed issue. I was also exagerating the kill part as dogs rarely kill what they don't see as prey, they usualy just seriously injure if they go that far. Just because poochy isn't that way doesn't mean that all the people out for a nice summer suburb/urban (I assume it's is a little different in the country where people have more experintial reasons to worry but are less likely to freak anyway) walk with their fingers on 911 are going to realize that. I assume if you leave someone alone in like a wheelchair or tied up or something in the same house as the wrong cat, the cat might actualy see easy big pickins. I've never heard of anyone being seriously injured by a cat while walking down the street. I've never seen anyone acosted by a cat outside their own property unless the acosted person was aproaching them and ignoring many obvious warning signs. True, it does happen, but they just get scratched. I mean the guy might weigh 18 Ibs if he's a male siamese big guy type. Those guys might actualy be able to od some serious harm if they were dead set on it, but people have dogs that can hurt people by accident.

Big freandly happy bundles of joy. I loved this female half rot half I'm not sure that was 'terrorizing' our neighborhood out of so much love and energy. I positivle loved her, my mom did to. She was a healthy, beautiful, and very happy . Our houses furniture was not so indeared however when we left the door open. That was minor and funny to us as we didn't have a real problem with it. Some of the neighbors who had smaller children felt differently. Nobody was seriously injured I don't think but several kids hit the pavement. She didn't really understand that she was 130+/- Ib machine of highly polished and highly destructive muscle and sinew, she thought she was a cute little harmless bunny I guess.

I'm getting the impression however that I'm in a serious minority with the cats not getting hit by cars thing.

Evan you had your dog on a 30' leash right? wait... Woods in your backyard?! well you did say it was country. Now compare your house and backyard to an apartment or flat with now available 'back yard'. I don't know if you have a mansion or a trailor, but the typical true urban apartment/flat is very likely not much bigger then your bedroom if it's a country style house, but even if you have a single trailor, likely still smaller inside. No I shouldn't I assume that that's what anyone in piticular has just because their cat is jetting for the door, but I'm thinking there's a pretty big difference if that's the case.

I've never felt a need to keep the kittys in the back yard, so I wasn't really thinking about it, but now that I do I can't imagine a fence that would be cat proof in most neighborhoods unless you had a pretty empty backyard, which would kind of take a lot of the fun out of it. Where I live if you put barbed wire over it the neighborhood kids would stop playing with yours at your house (AKA The Compound).

Honestly I just don't know a real good solution for that one.

[Catiana]

We seem to be getting way off-topic on this thread. While everyone has their opinion on whether cats should kept indoors or outdoors, in this instance, the OP wants to keep her cat inside and is asking for advise on that topic.

With that said, I think I may have broken Orion of her door bolting. Yesterday, I opened the door to take out the trash and of course she bolted and got out, so I caught and instead of putting her back in the house, I carried out to the dumpster with me. She was so scared (I have the claw marks so prove it) since then she hasn't ran for the door once. So maybe carrying her around outside where all the cars and noises are will help break her of it.

[Marcasite]

Thanks Catiana. Our cat is making fewer attempts for the door now as we're careful to open and close it quickly.
My cat cannot go outdoors, we live right next to a major city street and I don't think there are plenty of other loving homes to take her in as she was living in the shelter for a whole year before we got her. Before that she was fostered- she has never been anything but an indoor cat. She was becoming severely depressed living in the shelter, but she is happy with us. She's constantly on one of our laps purring away. I really think it would make her sad if we were to abandon her. I know when we left Tiffany with the neighbours for a few days she stopped eating and was miserable. We got her back and moved into a different appartment and she was her old self. It really was us that she missed.
Anyways, thanks for all of the advice. I will get some of that citrus stuff for the door and hopefully she'll stay put from now on.

[Catiana]

Hopefully she'll lose interest the door. And don't feel like you need to justify keeping her inside, most of us here, myself included would agree its best to keep them indoors.

[Faunus]

One thing you can do is plug in a vacuum cleaner near the door, so that everytime your cat starts to go near it you can fire it up and usually they'll take off the other way. Do this for a few weeks and it'll get it in it's head that it shouldn't go near the door when it's open - kind of like an invisible fence but without the electric shock. ;)

[Shanti]

One thing you can do is plug in a vacuum cleaner near the door, so that everytime your cat starts to go near it you can fire it up and usually they'll take off the other way. Do this for a few weeks and it'll get it in it's head that it shouldn't go near the door when it's open - kind of like an invisible fence but without the electric shock. ;)Hey I like the vacuum idea! I never thought of that before. :)

[Sun Sprite]

You know, there are invisible fences that can be used inside. I like the vaccuum idea, and the scareing them by carrying them around outside when they sneak out anyway.

You don't want to terrify them too much though, as they do have to go to the vet's for shots.

Best wishes!

[Faunus]

For those that ask "why keep a cat inside?", I always like to point out that the average life span of an outdoor cat is 2-3 years versus a 15-17 year life span if they're kept indoors.

As for me in particular, we adopted our three cats from the humane society and all of them are declawed (not by us) and one of which is completely deaf. If they were to get outside they would have no way of defending themself and wouldn't last long in the wild (not to mention there are just way too many cruel people out there). For us it's a neccesity to make sure they stay inside.

[LordHelmet]

Actualy I should apologize, I think it's better to have an indoor cat, then for the shelter to have an indoor cat. There's just not enough homes, and your apartment, no matter how small is miles better then a cage if you treat him/her well.

Just so they're fixed.

[Shanti]

Actualy I should apologize, I think it's better to have an indoor cat, then for the shelter to have an indoor cat. There's just not enough homes, and your apartment, no matter how small is miles better then a cage if you treat him/her well.

Just so they're fixed.
No need to apologize. Very kind of you to do so.:)
But I think everyone would agree an at home indoor situation is better than a cage in a shelter.
Heck even a cat in a room is better than one in a cage.
Heck I have seen shelters that will cram several cats into one cage, too darn small for the numbers. :(

[person of shadow]

No need to apologize. Very kind of you to do so.:)
But I think everyone would agree an at home indoor situation is better than a cage in a shelter.
Heck even a cat in a room is better than one in a cage.
Heck I have seen shelters that will cram several cats into one cage, too darn small for the numbers. :(
Yes I have to agree :)

[person of shadow]

Hopefully she'll lose interest the door. And don't feel like you need to justify keeping her inside, most of us here, myself included would agree its best to keep them indoors.
I agree.


The vacuum sounds like a great idea!