Couple of Questions

[Antoninus]

We have a cat, Jersey, while hes a sweet guy, hes not...the best and the brightest. Namely his sense of balance isnt real good, this is bad because he likes to climb up in places where theres a 6-10 foot drop down to a minimally carpeted floor. He thwarts our attepts to rescue him by grabbing and holding onto whatever hes perched on when we try to grab him, not an easy task considering hes quite a hefty kitty. Is there a way to improve his balance or are we stuck with a cat that will most likely flush himself down the toilet one day by accident?

Second question, the same cat, Jersey, has a fascination with the out-doors. So much so that he has to take a running dive at the door every time someone so much as touches the knob. We cant have outdoor cats because we live in the high desert, coyote territory, and we know of several packs in the area or that come through this area. So kitties arent allowed outside. We are usually able to catch him before he goes too far, he doesnt seem too interested in running away, he runs outside, stops at some planters and starts to sniff around, then my dad usually catches him. How do we stop him from doing this? Its getting on our nerves plus Jersey seems to be fascinated with getting out AT NIGHT! And while he DOES have splotches of white on him, hes very dificult to track at night. What do you sugest we do?

[Yasmine Galenorn]

We have a cat, Jersey, while hes a sweet guy, hes not...the best and the brightest. Namely his sense of balance isnt real good, this is bad because he likes to climb up in places where theres a 6-10 foot drop down to a minimally carpeted floor. He thwarts our attepts to rescue him by grabbing and holding onto whatever hes perched on when we try to grab him, not an easy task considering hes quite a hefty kitty. Is there a way to improve his balance or are we stuck with a cat that will most likely flush himself down the toilet one day by accident?

Have you had him checked out for ear infections or problems? Balance problems often are linked to inner ear disturbances. He might just be clumsy, however...I've seen that before.


Second question, the same cat, Jersey, has a fascination with the out-doors. So much so that he has to take a running dive at the door every time someone so much as touches the knob. We cant have outdoor cats because we live in the high desert, coyote territory, and we know of several packs in the area or that come through this area. So kitties arent allowed outside. We are usually able to catch him before he goes too far, he doesnt seem too interested in running away, he runs outside, stops at some planters and starts to sniff around, then my dad usually catches him. How do we stop him from doing this? Its getting on our nerves plus Jersey seems to be fascinated with getting out AT NIGHT! And while he DOES have splotches of white on him, hes very dificult to track at night. What do you sugest we do?

Keep a squirt bottle filled with water (one of those good sized plant misters) right by the door on both the inside and outside. Put it on 'Stream' instead of "Spray."

Before opening the door, aim and fire as he comes running. That should give you time to get outside before he shakes off the water and takes another try. If you are holding it as you come in, you can fire away and slip in. Eventually, if you're lucky and he's amenable, he may decide getting wet isn't worth it.

Good luck! Our kittiies are all indoor kitties and they have adapted just fine.
Yasmine

[Old Witch]

Ear mites can cause a balance problem in both cats and dogs.......You might want to have him checked.....

[Antoninus]

Keep a squirt bottle filled with water (one of those good sized plant misters) right by the door on both the inside and outside. Put it on 'Stream' instead of "Spray."

Before opening the door, aim and fire as he comes running. That should give you time to get outside before he shakes off the water and takes another try. If you are holding it as you come in, you can fire away and slip in. Eventually, if you're lucky and he's amenable, he may decide getting wet isn't worth it.
Doesnt work, he moves too fast to hit and even when we do hit him he doesnt care.

[kblackthorne]

A couple suggestions for the running out thing:

1.) I recently saw a training-device for sale that is motion-activated, and squirts the cat. (Designed to keep him off coutners, etc.) You might look at that. (I can't find product-information, but saw it in a feed-shop, not a conventional pet-store.)

2.) I cringe to see myself typing this. But, as a last, desperate measure -- since, from your post, his life is at stake -- if nothing else works, you might look at one of those "electronic fences", setting the "fence" accross your door. I really don't like these devices, but if you cannot keep him in, it may be better than coyotes.

[Antoninus]

Squirting doesnt work, unless it was one of those XP 1 Billion super soakers and that would only stop him because the water pressure would plaster him against the wall. This is not a bright cat.

An electric fence you mean the type that sends a signal to a collar that the cat wears?

[kblackthorne]

Uh, yeah, that's the one.

I really hate that option... But a long time ago, I was taught to consider ALL options, good or bad. You can assess the risk better than I, and decide if the risk is worth the pain it will cause. Or maybe it will lead you to a different direction of thought that will solve the problem and keep Jasper safely indoors.


Speaking of which: Those ultrasonic animal-repellants placed near your door? They emit a sound, which supposedly drives animals & bugs away. (Personally, I hear ultrasonics, and find these devices painful to be near, so that would never work for me. But it might for you.)

See? I knew something better could come of that thought. Even if it doesn't keep the cat in, it might keep the cyotes away, increasing his odds.

Another option: Screen-door. One of those heavy-duty kind that closes with a deadbolt. Then he can't just dart out the instant the door is opened: He has to wait until the SECOND door is opened... which gives you time to stop him and shove him back in. It would also mean that you can leave the door open on summer evenings to catch a cool breeze. :-) (Since they're intended as a minor security-gate, a cat's claws aren't going to hurt it.) If you have the second door open on the oposite side from the front-door, it would give him a maze he has to run -- past you & your feet -- to get out, making it that much harder.

The thing is, he probably considers this "game" he has with you right now fun. (I run out, Mom comes and gets me. I am the center of attention for ten whole minutes... which is as long as I care, anyway.) What you need is a way to make it not fun anymore...

[Antoninus]

We dont have a place to mount the second door. We've tried those ultra sonic things but I always get whanging headaches whenever theyre on so I dont let them in the house. We were considering buying a leash and collar for him so we could take him out on little backyard trips for 10-20 minnutes.

[kblackthorne]

Your doorway can be expanded to accomodate the door. It's not even that hard. (Trust me - I used to work with contractors. It's a fairly simple thing, particularly if you're not using the door to keep out two-legged predators.)

The ultrasonic device would be placed outside, not inside. (I lived in an apartment that had one outside. I was fine inside -- I just couldn't go outside without turning it off. And I'm right there with you on the headaches... I couldn't use my mother's (electronic) sewing machine because I doubled over every time it was turned on from the ultrasonics.)

[Antoninus]

A little off topic, but what does it mean when your hyper-sensitve to ultrasonics?

[Witchzee1]

Yeah I'd check with the vet about the balancing issue.

And for sure, get a reflective collar so that when he makes it out he's easier to find, maybe one with his name and your phone number on it just in case he gets farther away then you want him to.

Not sure if this would help or make it worse but you might try taking him out on a lease sometimes so that he can enjoy it while being supervised.

How long have you had him? I adopted a stray awhile ago and thought I'd have problems with her going out but after I've had her in the apartment now since I got her she doesn't seem very interested in going out any more. Although she really does like to look out the windows and the squirrels and birds.

Oh ... how about a window seat? Maybe he just wants to see!

Good luck with both problems! It would be terrible to lose your kitty!

[kblackthorne]

In college physics, we studied sound and sound-waves. As with light, and the spectrum of "visible light", there is a range of sound waves that are considered audible to humans.

To make a point about what these ranges meant, my Prof. brought an occilator into the lecture hall. He turned it on, and it gave out a tone.

"How many of you can hear that?"

We all raised our hands.

"That's the 'threshold of human hearing', listed in your book."

He turned the dial ad the pitch rose.
"How many now?"

About half of us. The pitch was high, but not painful.

"That was 2x the threshold."

Again, the tone rose...

"Now?"

Very few hands... that was 3x. My hand was still in the air. It was now firmly in the "painful" zone...

By 4x, it wasn't so much a sound, as an intense pain for me. But, yes, there was still a faint ringing, just on the edge of awareness. I was about one of three people in the lecture hall still reacting. Then, thankfully, he turned it off.


The point of his demonstration is that what we consider visible or audible to humans is based on what the majority of humans are able to perceive. However, large numbers of humans are able to perceive beyond the "normal" range. Basically, if you are sensitive to ultrasonics, what it means -- plain and simple -- is that you have "better than normal" hearing at the upper end of the sound-frequency "spectrum". Kind of like having better than 20/20 eyesight.

(This doesn't necessarily mean that your hearing is better than normal in other ranges, although when I had mine tested recently, mine was, consistently.)

What really "gets" me about this is that it implies there might be humans who can see slightly farther than I can into the ultraviolet/infra-red ends of the light-spectrum, which for me is just amazing. :hairraise

[Gebo]

You might also try a catnip toy near the door he tries to escape through. You should probably hang it so that when he walks ( or runs) through the door he will get a good wiff and be enticed. Not guaranteed to KEEP him interested but will usually work to grab their attention so that the behavior can be prevented. Also, most cats hate the smell of citrus and will turn the other way so you may line the door frame with the scent of any citrus fruit.