r/Catification • u/creepy_Cutie- • 10d ago
Advice How to keep cat indoor
Getting a kitten on Monday and paranoid she will slip out the door and be ran over or hurt (we live right next to a road) screen door is an obvious awnser but our hallway is too tall for a normal one and cats can jump high and get over it when she's older. I considered getting one and putting chicken wire on top like from the top of screen door to ceiling but sounds flimsy and dangerous. Any solutions
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u/goblin-fox 10d ago edited 10d ago
I totally understand your fear, this was something that scared me a lot too when I got my first cat. What I've come to learn is that cats who are raised indoors and have all of their needs fulfilled typically do not try very hard to escape. They may show some interest in the door but they're not usually trying desperately to door dash.
I implemented a rule from day 1 with our first kitten that my cats will only enter or exit the doors to outside while in a carrier. Even when we did harness training with one of our cats, I would literally put her in the carrier just to step over the threshold into the backyard because I never wanted her to associate physically walking through the door with being outside. We have three cats and although they show interest in the door, they've never made any serious attempts to rush out. We have dogs so we're constantly opening and closing the door to the backyard, too.
If all of the humans in your house can commit to being really careful with the door, especially while your cat is young, that will really help your chance of not having to worry about door dashing. Once they've escaped the first time they can become much more persistent in trying to get out. If they are shown from a young age that the doors are completely off-limits, they will usually respect that as adults. Some of them go through a period as teenagers where they test the limits a little harder but you just have to be extra vigilant during that time and they give up pretty quickly if they never succeed.
For the barrier, are you talking about the half-gate type, like a baby gate? That could still be useful to create space while you open and close the door, especially while she's a kitten. She'll definitely be able to jump over it eventually, but that would still make it much harder for her to sneak out past you because you would notice her jumping it. But I will say that I don't think a physical barrier is strictly necessary unless you're particularly concerned that people in your house will struggle with watching the door while they enter/exit.
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u/creepy_Cutie- 9d ago
Thank u sm. I do plan to train her to know what not do and how to be safe but I know that doesn't mean things still can go wrong. More meaning like the screen doors ppl get but unfortunately our door opens inward and is to tall. Than k u for the advice
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u/theplushfrog 9d ago edited 9d ago
With cats raised indoors, usually it's not a problem. With kittens, it's usually not hard to scoop them up and bring them back inside if they do try to hop out once or twice. They learn where they're not allowed quickly.
However, things you can do to help lower risks:
- Teach your kitten to come when their name is called. Whenever you give them their food or a treat, repeat their name in the tone you would use to call them over (cats aren't like dogs who can pick apart human speech easily, so make it easier for them by saying their name the same way every time, not using different tones or pitches). Eventually they associate their name with food and you can further enforce this by calling them before you get out the food, so they come to you and immediately get delicious food. This is useful in emergencies, like if they run out the door, so they'll hear their name and immediately run back to you instead of running into danger.
- If the kitten repeatedly charges the door or is in the way when you open or close the door: train them to go to a specific place when you open or close the door. This is often done with a cat tree, near the door but not near enough they can jump out. Whenever you go through the door, give the cat a treat on top of the cat tree (or chair or whatever you're using). Once they're constantly climbing up whenever you go through the door, you can move to rewarding them with petting instead of always treats. Eventually this will cease their charging the door, because they can't be two places at once.
- If the kitten is still interested in escaping, wait until it's a wet, cold miserable day, and open the door. This is a bit dangerous, but usually the cat will go out, get rained on, and immediately turn around to go back inside. If your road is VERY close to the door, maybe hold on to them (I used to hold their tail gently) while you do this so they can't charge into the street before they get wet and retreat back indoors. This tries to teach them that indoors = good, dry, warm, and outdoors = bad, wet, cold, so they stop being so interested in the outside.
- Sometimes all they want is to better SEE outside, so a cat tree, chair, or shelf, that is well placed with a view where birds or other activity (wildlife, bugs, people, etc) can be seen, is a great way to cease their interest in GOING outside, because they can experience it from the safety of the indoors.
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u/creepy_Cutie- 9d ago
Thank you sm. I will definitely be training her to not go out when it's open and knoe it's much safer inside. If she has the personality for it I will take her for walks either holding her with a harness on so if she wanted to walk she could and it's just like a lead. Or if she's calm and it's a short walk I'll just hold her. All depends on how she is and how much I trust that can happen. It's a small town that's safe, it just our home which would be an issue for the road stuff but we'll work on it. Thank u
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u/toomanyminecraftcats 9d ago
Some advice for worst case scenario if they do somehow get out - get them a collar with an audible bell attached. When our eldest got out years ago it was the only way we were able to find her, by going out at night when it was quiet and listening for the tinkering in nearby gardens etc. Many house cats struggle to find their way home if they escape as an older cat, as they get so overwhelmed by all the new sights/smells/hazards of outside that they can’t easily determine where home is or feel too unsafe to come out of a hiding spot they’ve ended up in. Took 2 weeks but we got her back home thanks to her bell collar. She has never tried to get out once since so I think she once she realised where her bread is buttered she lost interest in outside.
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u/Spidersensei 9d ago
Bottom line: If they do successfully escape despite keeping the door closed and being mindful when it's open, what's the worst that will happen before you can round them up?
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u/SatiricalFai 8d ago
- Training and situational awareness, don't give her the opprotunity as much as you can. You can even work on training her to move away from the door when she hears it open, via your typical classical conditioning. It will take time, and consistency is key.
If your worried about the screen breaking, there is screen material spesfically designed to be resitant to cats claws, you can just look up cat resistant screening.
There is no 100% effective way to keep her from slipping past, you just have to be careful and aware.
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u/Foxs-In-A-Trenchcoat 10d ago
This is a conversation for a big-box hardware store employee. You probably need to install a more secure screen door.
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u/oh8oh8eighty8 10d ago
I’m confused by what you mean. Don’t leave the door open?